I’m a big fan of the New York Times web site, and the company in general. So when, the chairman, Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr., announced that they are seriously considering a paid model online again, I took it personally. It will surely end just as badly as last time they tried it.
Taking a page from Rupert Murdoch’s playbook will do more harm than good. What they need to do is fix their business in three areas: web product development, online ad revenues and print ad revenues.
By all rights, they shouldn’t. Ideas are valuable things. They can launch multi-billion dollar businesses, win wars and bring fame to those who possess them. Moreover, an elaborate legal infrastructure has evolved to protect them. Yet they not only spread, they often get better as they do.
Biologist Richard Dawkins coined the term meme in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, to make the point that cultural evolution is very similar to biological evolution. If we want to know more about how ideas are created, disseminated, that’s as good a place as any to start.
Many people doubt the future of the advertising model. However, while new strategies for supporting content financially such freemium and e-commerce partnerships are exciting, predictions of the demise of a half trillion dollar global industry are foolish, juvenile and utterly unsupported by the data.
Advertising continues to prosper and it’s share of the global economy is stable, if not growing slightly (mostly due to emerging markets). In fact, it is much more likely that we are entering an advertising renaissance.
Here are 5 trends that will drive the future of the industry:
Apple is one of the most successful companies in the world today by almost any measure, except one. They seem oblivious to the wisdom of today’s business experts.
Sure, everybody loves their products and they are immensely profitable. Yet they fail to answer basic strategic questions that management gurus believe are key to running a successful business.
While much business discourse focuses on high concepts and complicated theories, a lot can be accomplished simply by paying attention. Unfortunately many people, even CEO’s, consultants and other “experts” often don’t even make a minimal effort to check their facts.
The reality is that a lot of people who should know better, don’t. Many well known “truths” are actually false. The following is a guide to my favorite fallacies.
A very long time ago I was working in sales at a business journal. While the newspaper itself just about broke even, the annual Book of Lists was enormously profitable. I became a big hero when I not only broke the record for the biggest ad package ever sold, but shattered it.
What makes the story interesting though isn’t the event itself, but how I actually made it happen.
Beyond the headlines and hype, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the magazine business and most likely stage a strong comeback.
While no one can predict the future, the most likely scenario going forward is very positive for print periodicals (although not for dailies). Moreover, any problems magazines might have won’t be due to any digital threat. Whatever the future holds, publishers hold their destiny in their own hands. Any failures will be their own.
As Marshall McLuhan once said, “A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.”We encounter that perilous luxury every day. Achieving true insights is easier said than done.
What can seem like a great idea when mutually reinforced among colleagues in the office often falls flat in the marketplace. Moreover, those of us who are senior managers often find our ideas accepted without question. How can we achieve insight into the greater world when we only directly experience our local environment?
As 2009 is winding down I’d like to thank everybody for all of the fantastic support. Here is a list of the posts that you read, commented on and tweeted.
I’m often asked about the references I use to write my articles so I thought it would be a good idea to make a list sources that I used in my most popular posts. I hope you find them helpful and best of luck to everybody in the New Year!
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