Comments on: Newspapers and local - who owns who? http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2007/01/15/newspapers-and-local-who-owns-who/ ... at the intersection of media, technology, business and the web Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:08:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Rob Hyndman http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2007/01/15/newspapers-and-local-who-owns-who/#comment-201845 Rob Hyndman Wed, 17 Jan 2007 04:17:49 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2007/01/15/newspapers-and-local-who-owns-who/#comment-201845 More on this later, as I collect thoughts for another post. But the germ of the idea I'm bouncing around on this begins with the notion that the newspaper's mode of local communication / content delivery - essentially, the neighbourhood bulletin board - was suitable once upon a time, but only because of the alternatives available then - yellow pages and ads on the local radio and TV stations. It was never a very efficient way to get that content delivered - ads, flat listings and the local expert's reviews. Blech. My Dad used to clip that stuff out and save the clippings in file folders. Years later, when I was travelling somewhere, a letter would appear a couple of days before witha few useful clippings in it. Nice, but wildly inefficient of course. Now that stuff is online. That's an improvement of course, but just mimicking the same mode of delivery online is baby steps. As to the talk of optimizing the data; yes, if you want to be found, it's a good idea to be, er, findable. No controversy there. But again, baby steps. There are now a gazillion other ways to deliver that content, and many of them seem to me to be profoundly better than broadcast (I write, you read); even adding on to that the bells and whistles that papers are now getting around to adding on. So I just don't see papers as being efficient or even useful tools for communicating local information like this. News, yes. Opinion, yes. The rest - hmmm, not so much, I suspect. More later :) More on this later, as I collect thoughts for another post. But the germ of the idea I’m bouncing around on this begins with the notion that the newspaper’s mode of local communication / content delivery - essentially, the neighbourhood bulletin board - was suitable once upon a time, but only because of the alternatives available then - yellow pages and ads on the local radio and TV stations. It was never a very efficient way to get that content delivered - ads, flat listings and the local expert’s reviews. Blech. My Dad used to clip that stuff out and save the clippings in file folders. Years later, when I was travelling somewhere, a letter would appear a couple of days before witha few useful clippings in it. Nice, but wildly inefficient of course.

Now that stuff is online. That’s an improvement of course, but just mimicking the same mode of delivery online is baby steps. As to the talk of optimizing the data; yes, if you want to be found, it’s a good idea to be, er, findable. No controversy there. But again, baby steps.

There are now a gazillion other ways to deliver that content, and many of them seem to me to be profoundly better than broadcast (I write, you read); even adding on to that the bells and whistles that papers are now getting around to adding on. So I just don’t see papers as being efficient or even useful tools for communicating local information like this. News, yes. Opinion, yes. The rest - hmmm, not so much, I suspect. More later :)

]]> By: engtech http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2007/01/15/newspapers-and-local-who-owns-who/#comment-195148 engtech Tue, 16 Jan 2007 04:38:33 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2007/01/15/newspapers-and-local-who-owns-who/#comment-195148 I don't think anyone can compete with Google for search. So far their local searches haven't taken off as well as would be hoped, but I think they still do more local search traffic than any independent site could hope. I know I routinely use maps.google.com with Find Businesses to find restaurants or stores. I don’t think anyone can compete with Google for search. So far their local searches haven’t taken off as well as would be hoped, but I think they still do more local search traffic than any independent site could hope.

I know I routinely use maps.google.com with Find Businesses to find restaurants or stores.

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