Capitalizing on the popularity of the Apple iPhone, newspapers and vendors released free applications aimed at the second-generation model released this summer.
The New York Times, for example, launched software that gives readers offline reading capabilities, a photo browser with links to related articles and personalization options for users of both the iPhone and iPod touch models.
It syncs via Wi-Fi or the user’s cellular network and downloads the latest news directly to the device, giving readers access to content offline and in airplane mode.
NewsGator Technologies Inc., meantime, released its NetNewsWire app that syncs with its suite of RSS readers, including NetNewsWire for Macintosh, FeedDemon, Inbox and NewsGator Online. The application is available from Apple’s App Store, which was launched in conjunction with the retooled iPhone.
Washingtonpost.com launched an optimized version of its site for Apple iPhone users, using software from Crisp Wireless. Crisp apps will allow users to share the paper’s content among popular microblogging and social networking Web sites, including del.icio.us and digg.
Overseas, Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter rolled out iPhone-specific features on its mobile portal, mobil.dn.se, which were developed by Norwegian vendor Mobiletech.
Enhanced features include fingertip-sized navigation controls.
The paper’s support for the iPhone is built into the same mobile portal framework that DN uses to beam information to users of other cell phone models. Mobiletech engineered the site with device-detection capabilities that eliminate the need for DN to support an iPhone-specific URL.
The iPhone’s launch has increased the amount of mobile Internet usage in Europe, said Nick Robertshawe, a business development specialist at Mobiletech.
“This has been specifically evident in sites that are tailored to the unique presentation and user interface of each device,” he said. “In the case of the iPhone we have developed sites that use the iPhone navigation, including slide shows and larger and longer-sized clickable sections and links.”
Monday, September 1, 2008
4 questions with Greg McHale
Greg McHale, founder and chief executive officer of Good2gether, discusses the impact of social networking and where newspapers fit in.
How has social networking changed over the past few years?
Some say social networking is still in its infancy and from a business perspective, it is. However, adoption rates continue to increase, as has utility. More than 57 percent of active Internet users ages 16 to 54 globally have joined a social network, according to a March 2008 study on social media trends from Universal McCann. For younger generations, who spend as much or more time online and have more online friends than real friends, social networking is entirely ubiquitous, barely lagging behind search as the primary online activity.
Demographics aside, the biggest change is simply in the fact that social networks are everywhere. New social networks crop up almost daily; the major players boast tens of millions of users, and the trend, if we were to plot it, is an upward moving curve. Not everyone has joined a social network yet but virtually everyone has heard of them; and global brands, nonprofits, even government agencies are identifying useful ways to embrace this technology.
So I think it’s fair to say social network is changing the landscape profoundly — and yet, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
What future trends do you see with social networking?
Certainly, we can expect some consolidation among the players and much better integration between networks. Right now, many of the social networks are silos. They’re competing with one another, and from a user’s perspective, managing multiple profiles is challenging. For some, social network overload is the barrier to true adoption. To solve this problem, social network aggregators like NetVibes and PageFlakes will most likely continue to improve their offerings, and others will likely crop up as well.
But I think the biggest trend we’ll see emerging is in the way folks share and discover information. Over time, I expect it to be less about generic search and more about discovery through the network. Why do a generic search when you can get warm leads and actual recommendations from your trusted circle of friends, family and colleagues?
We’re already seeing a massive shift in the way companies and individuals are communicating — amongst themselves and with one another. Social networks are driving a more transparent, consumer-driven, vibrant two-way dialog. And the newspaper industry is beginning to embrace and encourage that, which I think is a very healthy sign of things to come.
Why is it important for newspapers to implement social networking features?
Newspapers are beginning to adopt a more holistic view of their businesses. It’s not just about the news anymore; rather, it’s about being the go-to resource for how to live in their community.
Enabling their readers to discover and share hyperlocal information about the things they care about — like causes and local nonprofits — is vital to building reader loyalty and engaging new readers online.
Additionally, newspapers are becoming more aware of the notion that not only is content king, but content that is hyperlocal, dynamic and user-generated has more stickiness and gets more mileage — and both of these things are vital to a newspaper’s success. Stickiness, page views, loyalty, time spent on site — all these things, of course, drive online ad revenue. So it makes perfect sense for newspapers to embrace and enable social networking as a means for both creating and perpetuating content online.
What are some of the more popular tools used on social networking sites?
The ability to share information of interest with your friends and contacts is essential, whether it’s e-mailing a link, posting something to your Facebook or MySpace profile or using a social book-marking tool like Digg or del.icio.us.
Of course, folks love to share their opinions and experiences with others, which is why tools that enable and encourage comments, reviews, ratings, or uploading one’s photos and videos, relevant to the site content, are also key. Widgets are another popular feature on social networks that allow users to identify their passions and engage with the community.
How has social networking changed over the past few years?
Some say social networking is still in its infancy and from a business perspective, it is. However, adoption rates continue to increase, as has utility. More than 57 percent of active Internet users ages 16 to 54 globally have joined a social network, according to a March 2008 study on social media trends from Universal McCann. For younger generations, who spend as much or more time online and have more online friends than real friends, social networking is entirely ubiquitous, barely lagging behind search as the primary online activity.
Demographics aside, the biggest change is simply in the fact that social networks are everywhere. New social networks crop up almost daily; the major players boast tens of millions of users, and the trend, if we were to plot it, is an upward moving curve. Not everyone has joined a social network yet but virtually everyone has heard of them; and global brands, nonprofits, even government agencies are identifying useful ways to embrace this technology.
So I think it’s fair to say social network is changing the landscape profoundly — and yet, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
What future trends do you see with social networking?
Certainly, we can expect some consolidation among the players and much better integration between networks. Right now, many of the social networks are silos. They’re competing with one another, and from a user’s perspective, managing multiple profiles is challenging. For some, social network overload is the barrier to true adoption. To solve this problem, social network aggregators like NetVibes and PageFlakes will most likely continue to improve their offerings, and others will likely crop up as well.
But I think the biggest trend we’ll see emerging is in the way folks share and discover information. Over time, I expect it to be less about generic search and more about discovery through the network. Why do a generic search when you can get warm leads and actual recommendations from your trusted circle of friends, family and colleagues?
We’re already seeing a massive shift in the way companies and individuals are communicating — amongst themselves and with one another. Social networks are driving a more transparent, consumer-driven, vibrant two-way dialog. And the newspaper industry is beginning to embrace and encourage that, which I think is a very healthy sign of things to come.
Why is it important for newspapers to implement social networking features?
Newspapers are beginning to adopt a more holistic view of their businesses. It’s not just about the news anymore; rather, it’s about being the go-to resource for how to live in their community.
Enabling their readers to discover and share hyperlocal information about the things they care about — like causes and local nonprofits — is vital to building reader loyalty and engaging new readers online.
Additionally, newspapers are becoming more aware of the notion that not only is content king, but content that is hyperlocal, dynamic and user-generated has more stickiness and gets more mileage — and both of these things are vital to a newspaper’s success. Stickiness, page views, loyalty, time spent on site — all these things, of course, drive online ad revenue. So it makes perfect sense for newspapers to embrace and enable social networking as a means for both creating and perpetuating content online.
What are some of the more popular tools used on social networking sites?
The ability to share information of interest with your friends and contacts is essential, whether it’s e-mailing a link, posting something to your Facebook or MySpace profile or using a social book-marking tool like Digg or del.icio.us.
Of course, folks love to share their opinions and experiences with others, which is why tools that enable and encourage comments, reviews, ratings, or uploading one’s photos and videos, relevant to the site content, are also key. Widgets are another popular feature on social networks that allow users to identify their passions and engage with the community.
Associated Press cites growth in mobile network
By Marcelo Duran
Associate Editor
The Associated Press, which rolled out its Mobile News Network only a few months ago, isn’t wasting any time enhancing the news service.
AP last month said that 728 newspapers have already joined MNN, a five-fold jump since its May launch. MNN is now available across the nation’s top 100 media markets.
Traffic meantime, topped 2 million page views in the first month, AP, said, with 150,000 unique visitors logging on via the service’s Web application version.
AP gave another boost to the service when it launched software aimed at capitalizing on the capabilities of 3G iPhones, which were introduced in July. The software lets iPhone or iPod touch users access MNN and it was downloaded more than 10,000 times the day it was launched, the cooperative said.
Browse full stories
Among other features, the iPhone software allows readers to browse full stories even when out of network reception and it also enables users to customize navigation options. The program also allows viewers to save stories of interest and to flip through photos and videos dynamically.
AP members made a conscious choice to provide full-length articles from the AP and newspaper partners instead of abbreviated versions to iPhone users, said Jeffery Litvack, the cooperative’s global director of new media.
We wanted to take advantage of the larger screen size and graphical capabilities,” he said. “The videos through the iPhone are of a higher quality than you might see on other types of phones.”
The iPhone application was developed in tandem with Verve Wireless. The software manages content and determines the types of ads transmitted to users. Earlier this year, AP led a $3 million round of financing in the company.
Litvack said AP is now examining how to optimize MNN further to support more next-gen handsets with sophisticated display capabilities.
“So when you look at sites on the Verizon Voyager, LG Dare or Samsung Instinct (handsets) we are going take advantage of the additional graphical user capabilities of those phones and offer a lot more navigation and customization options than you would be able to have on a simple WAP site,” Litvack said.
AP is also building client applications to support devices like the BlackBerry.
Ads, national and local
On the advertising front, AP is working with national ad networks as well as examining how to tap the local market, Litvack said.
MNN’s ability to target news based on location will eventually allow newspapers to offer hyperlocal ad programs, he said.
“AP members developed a set of business rules so that the ads will be placed by the newspaper,” he said. “So if you go and buy an ad within a given newspaper for print, you’ll also be able to buy it on the Mobile News Network in the future.”
Litvack said that location-based ad services will be rolling out over the next few months. Some options may include ad services cloaked with the ability to deliver coupons to users as they walk by a particular retail outlet.
“With mobile in particular, we want to drive the consumer to take an action — to walk into the store — that you can’t do if (the ad message) is delivered to your computer.”
MNN is the first product released by AP’s Digital Cooperative, an initiative aimed at finding new digital outlets for the news and information produced by AP and its members.
Other initiatives expected
Other initiatives include a Newsmap, a way for search engines to have a complete map to the news online, especially the originating source of a story, Litvack said.
“Rather than having to ping thousands of Web sites, the search engines can ping one database that’s a complete collection of all the news.”
AP is also testing its Marketplace program, a strategy that allows members to share stories among each other in a given local market.
Associate Editor
The Associated Press, which rolled out its Mobile News Network only a few months ago, isn’t wasting any time enhancing the news service.
AP last month said that 728 newspapers have already joined MNN, a five-fold jump since its May launch. MNN is now available across the nation’s top 100 media markets.
Traffic meantime, topped 2 million page views in the first month, AP, said, with 150,000 unique visitors logging on via the service’s Web application version.
AP gave another boost to the service when it launched software aimed at capitalizing on the capabilities of 3G iPhones, which were introduced in July. The software lets iPhone or iPod touch users access MNN and it was downloaded more than 10,000 times the day it was launched, the cooperative said.
Browse full stories
Among other features, the iPhone software allows readers to browse full stories even when out of network reception and it also enables users to customize navigation options. The program also allows viewers to save stories of interest and to flip through photos and videos dynamically.
AP members made a conscious choice to provide full-length articles from the AP and newspaper partners instead of abbreviated versions to iPhone users, said Jeffery Litvack, the cooperative’s global director of new media.
We wanted to take advantage of the larger screen size and graphical capabilities,” he said. “The videos through the iPhone are of a higher quality than you might see on other types of phones.”
The iPhone application was developed in tandem with Verve Wireless. The software manages content and determines the types of ads transmitted to users. Earlier this year, AP led a $3 million round of financing in the company.
Litvack said AP is now examining how to optimize MNN further to support more next-gen handsets with sophisticated display capabilities.
“So when you look at sites on the Verizon Voyager, LG Dare or Samsung Instinct (handsets) we are going take advantage of the additional graphical user capabilities of those phones and offer a lot more navigation and customization options than you would be able to have on a simple WAP site,” Litvack said.
AP is also building client applications to support devices like the BlackBerry.
Ads, national and local
On the advertising front, AP is working with national ad networks as well as examining how to tap the local market, Litvack said.
MNN’s ability to target news based on location will eventually allow newspapers to offer hyperlocal ad programs, he said.
“AP members developed a set of business rules so that the ads will be placed by the newspaper,” he said. “So if you go and buy an ad within a given newspaper for print, you’ll also be able to buy it on the Mobile News Network in the future.”
Litvack said that location-based ad services will be rolling out over the next few months. Some options may include ad services cloaked with the ability to deliver coupons to users as they walk by a particular retail outlet.
“With mobile in particular, we want to drive the consumer to take an action — to walk into the store — that you can’t do if (the ad message) is delivered to your computer.”
MNN is the first product released by AP’s Digital Cooperative, an initiative aimed at finding new digital outlets for the news and information produced by AP and its members.
Other initiatives expected
Other initiatives include a Newsmap, a way for search engines to have a complete map to the news online, especially the originating source of a story, Litvack said.
“Rather than having to ping thousands of Web sites, the search engines can ping one database that’s a complete collection of all the news.”
AP is also testing its Marketplace program, a strategy that allows members to share stories among each other in a given local market.
User-generated publications on horizon with Printcasting
By Marcelo Duran
Associate Editor
A project now under way at The Bakersfield Californian could give newspapers nationwide the ability to let readers easily create their own niche publications.
The Californian earlier this year won an $837,000 grant from the Knight Foundation to develop an interface, dubbed Printcasting, that allows readers to customize publications containing content from participating blogs and newspaper Web sites.
The upshot: user-generated publications that can be e-mailed as a PDF or printed at home or in the office, said Dan Pacheco, senior manager of digital products at The Californian.
“Maybe it’s about music and you can get a bunch of content from (The Californian’s Web site) Bakotopia, or maybe it’s about a certain craft or neighborhood news,” he said, explaining that Printcasting dovetails nicely with the paper’s strategy to identify important audiences that could be served through niche products.
“What we know is that there are so many audiences that may not be as big as that for a newspaper, but there still will be a certain community that’s interested in that topic or organization,” he said.
Printcasting will also help newspapers capitalize on the continued appeal of print and allow them to reach local retailers wary of current print advertising models, Pacheco said.
“If you look at a small niche interests that may have 5,000 people dedicated to that community, there could be a half dozen or more businesses that would love to reach them,” said Pacheco. “Those types of businesses are not advertising in our larger print products and certainly not in our main newspaper because it’s too expensive and it would use their entire marketing budget in the span of a week.”
Making it happen
Printcasting sprang from what The Californian learned by creating its own network of social networking sites (see related story on page 37.)
“Initially, what we talked about was how we can have people create their own social networks about very specific interests,” said Pacheco. “And the term used for that was instabrand, but we haven’t quite gotten there yet. I think that Printcasting is going to make that happen.”
The Californian is touting Printcasting as a way for users and advertisers to benefit from the generation of customized publications geared toward a specific audience. The paper is in the first phase of a two-year project to fine-tune the concept.
The newspaper is three months into its first leg of a two-year project that will make Printcasting available to anyone who wants to use it. It will be offered as an open source product, thus allowing newspapers to download the software and integrate it into their existing systems, Pacheco said.
The first phase of the project includes design and beta testing the Printcasting interface. The second phase, slated to start next March, includes testing the system at The Californian and the third phase encompasses testing Printcasting with five volunteer publications.
Printcasting also includes a self-service ad interface to enable advertisers to place ads on their own, Pacheco said.
“Printcasting is also a bridge strategy for serving local advertisers that may not be advertising anywhere right now, let alone in print,” he said.
Once The Californian begins testing Printcasting next spring, Pacheco said he hopes to create an “American Idol” effect around the subsequent user-generated niche publications.
“We figure if we get enough people to create these things and we track which ones are the most popular, certain stars are going to emerge,” he said. “We hope we’ll see 100 come out over a three-month period where 10 of them are consistently good.”
If that part of the plan pans out, The Californian will evaluate printing and distributing those magazines that spark the most popularity or best meet a specific demographic, Pacheco said.
Hyper customization
Pacheco said Printcasting meshes with the current demand among consumers for products and services that meet their specific interests.
“The print world hasn’t been forgotten and when you see circulations go down it’s not that people don’t want to consume print,” he said. “It’s more of a statement about the one-size-fits-all audience strategy that newspapers have pursued for so many years.”
The development of Printcasting comes as newspapers begin to explore more deeply ways to serve niche audiences.
“I’ve learned that there is this whole movement that I didn’t know existed, but we are starting to learn about each other,” said Pacheco. “Printcasting is part of that movement. Fortunately we’re not the only innovators in that area, which makes it exciting.”
Associate Editor
A project now under way at The Bakersfield Californian could give newspapers nationwide the ability to let readers easily create their own niche publications.
The Californian earlier this year won an $837,000 grant from the Knight Foundation to develop an interface, dubbed Printcasting, that allows readers to customize publications containing content from participating blogs and newspaper Web sites.
The upshot: user-generated publications that can be e-mailed as a PDF or printed at home or in the office, said Dan Pacheco, senior manager of digital products at The Californian.
“Maybe it’s about music and you can get a bunch of content from (The Californian’s Web site) Bakotopia, or maybe it’s about a certain craft or neighborhood news,” he said, explaining that Printcasting dovetails nicely with the paper’s strategy to identify important audiences that could be served through niche products.
“What we know is that there are so many audiences that may not be as big as that for a newspaper, but there still will be a certain community that’s interested in that topic or organization,” he said.
Printcasting will also help newspapers capitalize on the continued appeal of print and allow them to reach local retailers wary of current print advertising models, Pacheco said.
“If you look at a small niche interests that may have 5,000 people dedicated to that community, there could be a half dozen or more businesses that would love to reach them,” said Pacheco. “Those types of businesses are not advertising in our larger print products and certainly not in our main newspaper because it’s too expensive and it would use their entire marketing budget in the span of a week.”
Making it happen
Printcasting sprang from what The Californian learned by creating its own network of social networking sites (see related story on page 37.)
“Initially, what we talked about was how we can have people create their own social networks about very specific interests,” said Pacheco. “And the term used for that was instabrand, but we haven’t quite gotten there yet. I think that Printcasting is going to make that happen.”
The Californian is touting Printcasting as a way for users and advertisers to benefit from the generation of customized publications geared toward a specific audience. The paper is in the first phase of a two-year project to fine-tune the concept.
The newspaper is three months into its first leg of a two-year project that will make Printcasting available to anyone who wants to use it. It will be offered as an open source product, thus allowing newspapers to download the software and integrate it into their existing systems, Pacheco said.
The first phase of the project includes design and beta testing the Printcasting interface. The second phase, slated to start next March, includes testing the system at The Californian and the third phase encompasses testing Printcasting with five volunteer publications.
Printcasting also includes a self-service ad interface to enable advertisers to place ads on their own, Pacheco said.
“Printcasting is also a bridge strategy for serving local advertisers that may not be advertising anywhere right now, let alone in print,” he said.
Once The Californian begins testing Printcasting next spring, Pacheco said he hopes to create an “American Idol” effect around the subsequent user-generated niche publications.
“We figure if we get enough people to create these things and we track which ones are the most popular, certain stars are going to emerge,” he said. “We hope we’ll see 100 come out over a three-month period where 10 of them are consistently good.”
If that part of the plan pans out, The Californian will evaluate printing and distributing those magazines that spark the most popularity or best meet a specific demographic, Pacheco said.
Hyper customization
Pacheco said Printcasting meshes with the current demand among consumers for products and services that meet their specific interests.
“The print world hasn’t been forgotten and when you see circulations go down it’s not that people don’t want to consume print,” he said. “It’s more of a statement about the one-size-fits-all audience strategy that newspapers have pursued for so many years.”
The development of Printcasting comes as newspapers begin to explore more deeply ways to serve niche audiences.
“I’ve learned that there is this whole movement that I didn’t know existed, but we are starting to learn about each other,” said Pacheco. “Printcasting is part of that movement. Fortunately we’re not the only innovators in that area, which makes it exciting.”
Yahoo steers 100 million to member sites
Yahoo said that it has driven more than 100 million visits to Newspaper Consortium member Web sites through the distribution of local news headlines across the Yahoo network.
Under a content distribution program, Newspaper Consortium member sites provide news headlines to Yahoo for placement across Yahoo properties, including the Yahoo home page, news, finance and sports, as well as across its mobile network and messenger service. The links take Yahoo users directly to the full articles on the local news sites.
Content distribution is just one of the components of the partnership between the Newspaper Consortium members and Yahoo. Initially focused on providing a local and national recruitment network through Yahoo HotJobs, the Newspaper Consortium is expanding to provide member newspapers with Yahoo’s advertising platform technology.
Under a content distribution program, Newspaper Consortium member sites provide news headlines to Yahoo for placement across Yahoo properties, including the Yahoo home page, news, finance and sports, as well as across its mobile network and messenger service. The links take Yahoo users directly to the full articles on the local news sites.
Content distribution is just one of the components of the partnership between the Newspaper Consortium members and Yahoo. Initially focused on providing a local and national recruitment network through Yahoo HotJobs, the Newspaper Consortium is expanding to provide member newspapers with Yahoo’s advertising platform technology.
Topix announces partnerships, new widget
Topix announced six new content partnerships, giving visitors in each of the United States’ 32,500 ZIP codes access to localized event and entertainment information, business directory data, pet classifieds, mortgage resources, and apartment listings.
Information from Eventful, a database containing more than 8 million events, and Zap2It, which collects movie show times and television listings, is part of the new offering. Topix also partnered with four other companies, InfoUSA, LiveDeal, Apartments.com and Informa Research Services, as part of its expansion.
Meantime, Topix is introducing a headline widget this month that will use the company’s categorization technology to return highly relevant articles and related categories to its newspaper customers.
Papers can customize the results to include headlines from around the Web, or restrict them to links specifically from their property.
Information from Eventful, a database containing more than 8 million events, and Zap2It, which collects movie show times and television listings, is part of the new offering. Topix also partnered with four other companies, InfoUSA, LiveDeal, Apartments.com and Informa Research Services, as part of its expansion.
Meantime, Topix is introducing a headline widget this month that will use the company’s categorization technology to return highly relevant articles and related categories to its newspaper customers.
Papers can customize the results to include headlines from around the Web, or restrict them to links specifically from their property.
NAA report: Newspaper Web traffic increases 12%
Newspaper Web sites attracted nearly 66.4 million unique visitors on average in the second quarter of 2008, a 12.2 percent increase over the same period a year ago, according to a custom analysis provided by Nielsen Online for the Newspaper Association of America.
The NAA said newspaper Web site visitors generated an average of more than 3 billion page views per month, compared with nearly 2.7 billion in the year-ago period.
To help promote newspapers’ value for online advertisers, the NAA created a new Web site, www.newspapermedia.com, which highlights the benefits newspapers can provide, the group said.
“With newspaper sales staffs placing an unprecedented emphasis on digital advertising, newspapermedia.com offers the information they need to demonstrate the effectiveness of the medium’s multi-platform offerings,” said Randy Bennett, NAA’s senior vice president of business development.
Rochester, Washpost tops
Meantime, the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle and Washingtonpost.com retained their No. 1 positions for weekly print and online audience ratings, respectively, in Scarborough Research’s second release of its Newspaper Penetration Report.
Scarborough’s report tracks newspaper audience ratings for newspapers and their Web sites across 81 local markets.
The Democrat and Chronicle took top honors with a market penetration of 80 percent, Scarborough said, while washingtonpost.com each week attracted a higher percentage of local market adults — 22 percent — than any other newspaper in the country.
The Democrat and Chronicle also took first by boasting an integrated newspaper audience of 81 percent. The integrated newspaper audience combines a paper’s weekly reach — both electronically and in print.
The report covered data collected from February 2007 to March 2008.
The NAA said newspaper Web site visitors generated an average of more than 3 billion page views per month, compared with nearly 2.7 billion in the year-ago period.
To help promote newspapers’ value for online advertisers, the NAA created a new Web site, www.newspapermedia.com, which highlights the benefits newspapers can provide, the group said.
“With newspaper sales staffs placing an unprecedented emphasis on digital advertising, newspapermedia.com offers the information they need to demonstrate the effectiveness of the medium’s multi-platform offerings,” said Randy Bennett, NAA’s senior vice president of business development.
Rochester, Washpost tops
Meantime, the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle and Washingtonpost.com retained their No. 1 positions for weekly print and online audience ratings, respectively, in Scarborough Research’s second release of its Newspaper Penetration Report.
Scarborough’s report tracks newspaper audience ratings for newspapers and their Web sites across 81 local markets.
The Democrat and Chronicle took top honors with a market penetration of 80 percent, Scarborough said, while washingtonpost.com each week attracted a higher percentage of local market adults — 22 percent — than any other newspaper in the country.
The Democrat and Chronicle also took first by boasting an integrated newspaper audience of 81 percent. The integrated newspaper audience combines a paper’s weekly reach — both electronically and in print.
The report covered data collected from February 2007 to March 2008.
ChiTrib touts Web gains
Chicago Tribune Media Group said the number of unique visitors to the Chicago Tribune’s Web site soared 55 percent since the paper redesigned the page in June 2007.
The company said the site attracted 4.8 million unique visitors in June 2008, nearly doubling the audience of its closest local online news competitor.
“The jump in our Web traffic reflects the increased interactivity that our sites offer as a result of improvements we made last year,” said Alison Scholly, vice president of interactive.
Site improvements included frequent updates, a greater emphasis on photos, graphics and maps and improved search functionality.
The company said the site attracted 4.8 million unique visitors in June 2008, nearly doubling the audience of its closest local online news competitor.
“The jump in our Web traffic reflects the increased interactivity that our sites offer as a result of improvements we made last year,” said Alison Scholly, vice president of interactive.
Site improvements included frequent updates, a greater emphasis on photos, graphics and maps and improved search functionality.
Boston.com rolling out the online social graces
By Marcelo Duran
Associate Editor
Boston.com is trying to become more neighborly with its readers through a series of social networking initiatives designed to enhance its local presence.
The Web site — the online arm of The Boston Globe — embarked on a three-pronged approach, embracing publishing, aggregating and convening, said Bob Kempf, vice president of product.
“What has been a strength of Boston.com from the beginning has been our ability to serve the originally produced content at The Globe with the original Web production of the site,” he said. “We don’t consider that to be everything we do, but that is just one piece, an important piece to which the other elements can react.”
To bolster its role as a convener, the Web site, last month upgraded its forum and commenting capabilities for articles, using software from Waltham, Mass.-based developer Awareness.
Boston.com already used Awareness’ software to enable photo uploading, so it’s tethering the new blogging and commenting features around user profiles to enable readers to easily track a user’s participation.
Boston.com is also segmenting content to create vertical Web sites targeted toward specific interest groups.
On the site is: BoMoms, a page containing articles and forums aimed at young mothers in the Boston area.
“It is populated largely by forums and by a community of users posting a lot of comments on stories that are posted there,” Kempf said.
Local support
Another aspect of Boston.com’s user-generated content/social networking strategy is its recent partnership with non-profit advocate Good2gether to launch the Do Good channel. The site is aimed at linking readers with local non-profit organizations.
“We have a tremendous opportunity, because of the content that we publish, to offer the right context for people to respond to causes,” Kempf said. “We need to give them a channel and capability to do that.
“The Do Good channel is a way for readers to say, ‘I’m reading an article about a hurricane and I want to help, how can I help?’ and on Do Good there is a link to take them where they want to go.”
Do Good now contains links and information about more than 650 local non-profits, Kempf said, and Boston.com is gearing up to seek sponsorships.
“The whole area gives us a chance to provide a platform for cause-based marketing,” he said. “We know that a lot of our major companies locally have cause-based marketing messages they want to get across.”
Hyperlocal horizon
Boston.com also plans to branch out by developing a hyperlocal platform, scheduled to be rolled out later this year. The wiki-based sites will be populated with town-specific news and information.
The Awareness-anchored platform will contain a mix of internally and user-generated information, from Globe staffers and “trusted” contributors, Kempf said.
“Newspapers tend to take some of those separate brands and products and keep them isolated and not integrated with the core content experience,” Kempf said. “We need to get that mix exactly right. I think isolating your user-generated content in one place makes for a difficult business and audience proposition.”
SF Chronicle gets social
The San Francisco Chronicle last month launched SFGate BayList; a site that allows Bay Area residents to vote for and comment on local businesses.
“The SFGate BayList gives our site visitors a uniquely local resource for identifying and recognizing the best businesses that the area has to offer,” said Michele Slack, vice president of digital media for SFGate.com.
The Chronicle uses software from CityVoter to run the site and for the next 12 months the paper will roll out new content in phases, with contests promoting the new features occurring in each phase.
Meantime, The Chronicle also launched a social networking channel aimed at connecting users with non-profit community organizations. The Do Good portion of SFGate.com is fueled with software by Good2gether.
Do Good will allow users to find, research and support the issues and will be able to search by the type of cause, as well as type of involvement, including volunteering, making donations or attending an event.
Users can also look for organizations or events within certain geographical locations that will be flagged on area maps. Other social tools like the ability to e-mail search results to a friend or share on social networking and bookmarking sites are also embedded within each listing.
Associate Editor
Boston.com is trying to become more neighborly with its readers through a series of social networking initiatives designed to enhance its local presence.
The Web site — the online arm of The Boston Globe — embarked on a three-pronged approach, embracing publishing, aggregating and convening, said Bob Kempf, vice president of product.
“What has been a strength of Boston.com from the beginning has been our ability to serve the originally produced content at The Globe with the original Web production of the site,” he said. “We don’t consider that to be everything we do, but that is just one piece, an important piece to which the other elements can react.”
To bolster its role as a convener, the Web site, last month upgraded its forum and commenting capabilities for articles, using software from Waltham, Mass.-based developer Awareness.
Boston.com already used Awareness’ software to enable photo uploading, so it’s tethering the new blogging and commenting features around user profiles to enable readers to easily track a user’s participation.
Boston.com is also segmenting content to create vertical Web sites targeted toward specific interest groups.
On the site is: BoMoms, a page containing articles and forums aimed at young mothers in the Boston area.
“It is populated largely by forums and by a community of users posting a lot of comments on stories that are posted there,” Kempf said.
Local support
Another aspect of Boston.com’s user-generated content/social networking strategy is its recent partnership with non-profit advocate Good2gether to launch the Do Good channel. The site is aimed at linking readers with local non-profit organizations.
“We have a tremendous opportunity, because of the content that we publish, to offer the right context for people to respond to causes,” Kempf said. “We need to give them a channel and capability to do that.
“The Do Good channel is a way for readers to say, ‘I’m reading an article about a hurricane and I want to help, how can I help?’ and on Do Good there is a link to take them where they want to go.”
Do Good now contains links and information about more than 650 local non-profits, Kempf said, and Boston.com is gearing up to seek sponsorships.
“The whole area gives us a chance to provide a platform for cause-based marketing,” he said. “We know that a lot of our major companies locally have cause-based marketing messages they want to get across.”
Hyperlocal horizon
Boston.com also plans to branch out by developing a hyperlocal platform, scheduled to be rolled out later this year. The wiki-based sites will be populated with town-specific news and information.
The Awareness-anchored platform will contain a mix of internally and user-generated information, from Globe staffers and “trusted” contributors, Kempf said.
“Newspapers tend to take some of those separate brands and products and keep them isolated and not integrated with the core content experience,” Kempf said. “We need to get that mix exactly right. I think isolating your user-generated content in one place makes for a difficult business and audience proposition.”
SF Chronicle gets social
The San Francisco Chronicle last month launched SFGate BayList; a site that allows Bay Area residents to vote for and comment on local businesses.
“The SFGate BayList gives our site visitors a uniquely local resource for identifying and recognizing the best businesses that the area has to offer,” said Michele Slack, vice president of digital media for SFGate.com.
The Chronicle uses software from CityVoter to run the site and for the next 12 months the paper will roll out new content in phases, with contests promoting the new features occurring in each phase.
Meantime, The Chronicle also launched a social networking channel aimed at connecting users with non-profit community organizations. The Do Good portion of SFGate.com is fueled with software by Good2gether.
Do Good will allow users to find, research and support the issues and will be able to search by the type of cause, as well as type of involvement, including volunteering, making donations or attending an event.
Users can also look for organizations or events within certain geographical locations that will be flagged on area maps. Other social tools like the ability to e-mail search results to a friend or share on social networking and bookmarking sites are also embedded within each listing.
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