Archive for October, 2009
By Kyle Austin
I’ve spent some time the last few days going over the detailed findings of Technorati’s 6th annual State of the Blogosphere report which was released as a five part series last week. Although those at the leading edge of communications and technology are now more apt to talk about Facebook, micro-blogging or the death of blogging, the findings indicate that the state of the blogosphere is still strong, hugely influential and rapidly evolving.
The research was driven by a detailed, Internet survey conducted by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associations from September 4 – 23 among 2, 828 bloggers and data that Technorati has on the 5 million blogs which have registered with it.
In addition it also conducted interviews with leaders in the blogosphere, including: Arianna Huffington, Seth Godin, Steve Rubil and Mattew Ingram and leveraged supplemental data from Lijit which tracked 2.5 million blogs within its network. All of this helps in solidifying the report as the most detailed analysis of the blogosphere, for a sixth straight year.
According to the findings, the vast majority of the blogosphere is still made up of hobbyists (72%), who post relatively frequently (71% of which post at least once a week).
As for the 28% of bloggers that are more than hobbyists?
- 15% are part-timers that blog to supplement income, but don’t consider it a full time job
- 9% are self-employed and blog for their own company or organization
- 4% blog full-time for a company or organization
These findings are intriguing, as the group of “pro” bloggers, blogging full-time, continues to rise. In addition, the numbers probably don’t adequately represent the folks that are corporate blogging for the 16% of Fortune 500 companies active in the blogosphere. They most likely have other job responsibilities outside of blogging.
However, while professional blogging is on the rise, the report also illustrates that the “hobbyists” have a voice. In fact, 45% of the 5 million blogs tracked by Technorati have an authority ranking of at least 1. This makes at least a portion of the 72% of hobbyists (with some following) a growing challenge for brands, who must allocate most of their blog relations time for more influential bloggers.
A challenge that will grow with the media meltdown increasing the number of well known bloggers: in the shape of former journalists exploring new options and reporters at surviving media outlets being encouraged to blog. In fact, 35% of current bloggers worked within traditional media of some form in a previous life. That fact has surprisingly not changed bloggers’ optimism for traditional media in the digital age, with only 31% of bloggers noting they believe newspapers will cease to exist in ten years.
Perhaps the most interesting findings, which I was looking forward to seeing, were the stats on how Twitter has affected blogging. We’ve heard stories of blogging being dead and popular bloggers hanging up their blog for Twitter or live-streams. However, most of the findings indicate that bloggers are simply leveraging Twitter as an additional tool which enhances their blogging experience, reach and distribution. 52% of respondents indicate that they are syndicating their blog through their Twitter handle.
The report does note that Schoen and Berland ran a survey earlier this year in front of the Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital conference which found only 14% of the general public use Twitter. However, when they asked the same question to this group of bloggers, Schoen and Berland found that 73% use Twitter. It may not be surprising that these technologically sound folks are using the service but it is surprising that only 26% said it was cutting into their blogging time.
In addition to Twitter, bloggers are also leveraging improvements with video and mobile technologies. 50% of respondents note that they use video on their blogs and 59% are updating their blog more often from their mobile device. These advances are also assisting bloggers with gaining industry recognition, with 70% noting that blogging has improved their awareness and recognition with their respective spaces.
As Technorati looks into its crystal ball, its no surprise that they believe that blogging will continue expand as its own medium (blogging is media). It’s also not a surprise that they believe it will continue to have an impact on business, technology and politics (as it did with this year’s election, along with the Iranian election). As they note, blogging is driving the “globalization of freedom of speech.” Maybe that’s why more than 70% of 18-24 year respondents noted they’ll be blogging more in the next calendar year.
October 30th, 2009
By Molly Galler
If you are a frequent visitor to CNN.com you surely noticed that something looked a bit different on the website this week.
Perhaps it was the blazing, fire engine red banner across the top? Or maybe it was the multiple, color photos accompanying the lead stories? Or was it the supersized video player featured in the center of the home page?
No matter what caught your attention, you’re correct. CNN.com got a facelift. In a recent article on the site redesign, Mike Shields of ADWEEK quotes K.C. Estenson, the SVP and General Manager of CNN.com, as saying “This is a revolution for us. To date, CNN has been a “largely text-driven site” that in the eyes of consumers is “a machine that spits out breaking news. We challenged ourselves to change.”
Why change now? Well, in an interview with Mediaweek, Estenson explained, “I think the portals are coming after us. I want people to not have to go someplace else to get more.” Who are these portals Estenson feels nipping at his heels? Oh you know, just two little companies called AOL and Yahoo.
Motivated by the idea of providing their visitors with all the types of news and content they are seeking, CNN.com has formed several partnerships that launched with the new website on Monday. New members of the CNN.com family include: Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine, Anderson Cooper, Larry King, Pete Cashmore and even Oprah Winfrey!
In addition to the fresh, vibrant look and the all star line up, CNN.com has also added personalization capabilities to the site. Visitors can tailor their homepage by adding local news, sports, and weather to their CNN.com experience.
It is clear from the components of the website redesign that CNN.com is paying attention to market trends and user preferences, and adjusting their offering accordingly. This new approach will likely delight existing fans and entice new ones.
Bravo CNN! Mission accomplished.
October 29th, 2009
By Ben Haber
It was announced today that the Wall Street Journal is closing down its Boston Bureau. The following email was sent from WSJ editor Robert Thomson to the staff, notifying of them news.
Colleagues,
Today we told our team in Boston that we are closing the bureau in its present form. The economic background to the closure is painfully obvious to us all. An investigative function will remain in Boston, but the core reporting team will be disbanded, though all nine reporters affected will certainly be able to apply for openings elsewhere on the paper. Coverage of the Boston mutual fund industry will switch to the Money and Investing team and we are creating an enhanced New York-based education team. Any such decision inevitably stirs apprehension and uncertainty, but there are no plans, nascent or otherwise, to close any other U.S. or international bureau. Meanwhile, the Newswires bureau and the MarketWatch team in Boston will remain at their present staffing levels.
That there has been truly great reporting under the generalship of Gary Putka out of Boston over many, many years is not in doubt. But we remain in the midst of a profound downturn in advertising revenue and thus must think the unthinkable.
Robert
This is a sad day for the WSJ and for the Boston market, which often had a large technology and health care focus in the paper. As the letter above said, nine reporters will be affected by this closing, through there will be an “investigative function” that remains. It us unknown how this will affect coverage of Boston-area companies and news.
October 29th, 2009
By Kyle Austin
Michael Bush of AdAge took yet another look yesterday at the shift towards directly communicating with consumers, versus communicating through the media, as outlets grow increasingly scarce and social media continues to proliferate.
Of course the idea ties back to the view we’ve expressed here numerous times: All companies are media companies and communicators are on their way to becoming chief editorial officers, charged with creating and distributing original content it in new ways.
In dissecting the piece, the guys from PRNewser tied the story to some recent data from King Fish Media, which noted 86% of companies are currently creating or planning to create original content.
It will be interesting to see how the shift accelerates in the upcoming months with marketing budgets being boosted by the current economic rebound. In most cases corporations have focused on cutting back on traditional television and print advertising during the downturn. Instead they’ve focused on online programs that can be scaled down and measured in real time. If these have been effective through the downturn and illustrated return, don’t be surprised if marketers double-down on these programs and look for additional ways to allocate money on consumer relations – as part of integrated media campaigns moving forward.
October 27th, 2009
By Ben Haber
On most days when you hear about someone’s email being posted to a blog or Web site, it’s never a good thing. Sometimes it’s a journalist posting and making fun of a lousy PR pitch, other times it’s a blog posting a leaked or confidential email. Simply put, you never want to see your email suddenly appear on one of these sites – until now.
Scott Kirsner, a columnist for the Boston Globe, recently launched a new blog through Posterous called Read Scott’s Email. The blog consists of interesting and informative emails that Scott has received and wants to share with her readers. Yesterday Scott summarized his intentions for the blog:
Basically, I get way too much interesting e-mail about company launches, product debuts, fundings, executive comings-and-goings, and conferences to ever blog about here, or write about in my column. For much of this stuff, there isn’t much that I’d really want to add: if there’s a cool event happening, you may just want to know where it is and how much it costs, without any commentary from me.
So “Read Scott’s E-Mail” is a chance for me to share some of the stuff that might be worth knowing about, occasionally with a quick remark at the top
My intention isn’t to embarrass anybody with these e-mails, but rather to help spread the word about stuff that people intend to make public. But if you’re sending me a message and you absolutely don’t want it to appear on “Read Scott’s E-Mail,” just let me know and I’ll honor that.
Talk about a refreshing perspective on email!
If anything, this should increase the level of emails and pitches that Scott receives, as people realize there is an increased chance of Scott sharing the content with his readers (it’s quite clear that he receives more interesting story ideas then he’ll ever have a chance to write about). Scott is also turning something that is normally very fearful into a positive, and using Posterous takes relatively little time.
October 22nd, 2009
By Ben Haber
In April 2009 the New York Times Co. threatened to shut down the Boston Globe, unless $20 million in cuts were made from the unions. After a tumultuous 6 months, it appears that the Boston Globe is ready to move on, and just last week the Times Co. decided to take the Globe off the market after receiving at least two preliminary offers for $35 million. The Times Co. noted that the Globe has significantly improved its financial footing by following the strategic plan it set out at the beginning of this year, a positive sign for the paper that was losing $1 million a week earlier this calendar year.
Yesterday, it was Boston’s neighboring city that would receive the bad news, as the New York Times executive editor Bill Keller sent out a memo announcing that the newsroom needs to be trimmed by 100 people. Employees will first receive buyout offers (which the Globe did in February 2008), and layoffs will occur if the needed cuts are not met.
Here is an excerpt from Keller’s memo to his staff:
I had planned to invite you to the newsroom and break this news in person today, but I’ve been hit by something that seems to be the flu. Though I strongly believe in delivering bad news in person, I don’t want to add insult to injury by spreading infection.
Let me cut to the chase: We have been told to reduce the newsroom by 100 positions between now and the end of the year.
We hope to accomplish this by offering voluntary buyouts. On Thursday, the Company will be sending buyout offers to everyone in the newsroom.
Getting a buyout package does NOT mean we want you to leave. It is simply easier to send the envelopes to everyone. If you think a buyout may be right for you, you have up to 45 days to decide whether you will accept it or not.
As before, if we do not reach 100 positions through buyouts, we will be forced to go to layoffs. I hope that won’t happen, but it might.
Our colleagues in editorial and op-ed, and on the business side, also face another round of budget cuts.
October 20th, 2009
By Ben Haber
24 hours after yesterday’s events when “Balloon Boy” became a national focus, Twitter is still abuzz about the boy that was actually napping in his attack. Two of the trending topics on Twitter are “#balloonboy” and “Balloon Boy” – showing that this strange event was able to take over the social media world in a matter of hours.
The cool thing about this event is that everyone was able to become a reporter in this situation. Just a few years ago we would have had to turn on the TV or go to a news Web site to get periodic update about the status of this situation. Today, just by going onto Twitter, Facebook or another social network with real-time information, we are able to get a comprehensive look at the news for major (or small) events, and can have a massive variety of opinions.
The amazing thing is that it’s still going on 24 hours later…
October 16th, 2009
By Molly Galler
Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, the woman behind the Twitter handle @healthythinker, is a health economist, management consultant, the founder of the Health Populi blog and this week’s #Follow Friday recommendation.
Via Twitter, Jane provides her followers with a steady stream of breaking health news, new health study and clinical trial results, her newest Health Populi blog posts, as well as tweets live from industry conferences, trade shows and events. Jane recently tweeted live from the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco, CA.
Over the past few months the nation’s health news had been dominated by President Obama’s plans for healthcare reform. Jane tweets relevant healthcare reform news while also delivering stories from more niche health sectors. Jane is social media savvy and makes great use of linking, @replies, and hash tags. Follow @healthythinker and you will soon find her your primary source of health related news.
October 16th, 2009
By Kyle Austin
The Economist, which has been in the news lately for launching a pay-wall on its Website, has also begun to experiment with digital and social media.
One of its latest digital moves is a weekly online video series, which it is dubbing “Tea with The Economist.” Like every step the Economist has made in moving carefully into digital waters, the series is very true to the The Economist brand.
According to Beet.TV:
“The 10-15 minute videos are conducted by The Economist reporters and editors around the globe who pour tea and query their subjects.”
However, the The Economist isn’t attempting to turn this into an online version of Charlie Rose’s two-way conversations. In fact, true to the anonymity that the The Economist maintains for their bylines, the reporters are never shown on camera or identified.
October 16th, 2009
By Ben Haber
Over the past 1-2 years, ProfNet (a service from PRNewswire) has found itself overtaken by HARO (Help A Reporter Out), Peter Shankman’s brainchild. While both sites offer the same product (a platform for reporters to find sources and PR companies / individuals to receive some publicity), HARO has seen tremendous growth over the past couple years, and how has over 100,000 subscribers and a significant revenue stream.
Yesterday Shankman was in Boston for a PRSA event, and shared an interesting piece of information about how HARO came to be. While his service was still a Facebook group with a small group of members back in its early days, ProfNet placed a call to him, wanting him to stay clear of their businesses. Shankman suggested meeting in person to discuss their differences, and told them to call and arrange a time to meet.
At the time, Shankman insists that he had every intention of providing them a lit of his members that they could add onto their subscriber list (which comes with a fee). However, no one ever called him to arrange a meeting, and a few weeks later he decided to build out a Web site for HARO and draw in the masses.
The rest of this story is history, as Shankman’s free service has trumped ProfNet, which is still very much in existence but has certainly taken the backseat.
Editor’s note: ProfNet was contacted for this story but has not offered a comment.
October 15th, 2009
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