digital edge journalism
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Innovation and entrepreneurship in journalism, and some emerging technologies and trends to watch. From Dan Pacheco, the Horvitz Chair of Journalism and Innovation at the S.I. Newhouse Schooll at Syracuse University.TRANSCRIPT
Copyright 2013, Newhouse School at Syracuse University1
2
Chair of Journalism InnovationChair of Journalism Innovation
My job description: “To chart, not fear, the future.”
Teach students to think entrepreneurially, whether or not they want to launch or join a startup.
Teach the business model, both the past (successes and failures) and future opportunities.
Train “intrapreneurs” to be agile and nimble within rapidly changing legacy industries.
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Journalism innovation – new ideas, approaches, technologies, opportunities.
New business opportunities, entrepreneurial training, startup acceleration (in conjunction with Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship.
My BackgroundMy Background Denver Post: Reporter.
Washingtonpost.com: Launch team (1994-97).
AOL.com: Principal product mgr, community products.
Consultant: Rocky Mt News (YourHub), Denver Post.
Bakersfield Californian: Social mediain 2004 (pre-Facebook).
Startups: Printcasting, BookBrewer.
The new normalThe new normal
True or false?True or false?
The launch of the consumer Internet in
1994 is what caused the newspaper industry’s
decline.
FALSE! It started in 1949.FALSE! It started in 1949.
Martin Langeveld: http://bit.ly/40MZM8
1994: consumer internet launches
Radio, TV,
Cable, Niche pubs
Accelerated decline 10 yrs later
Newspapers
A tale of two cities.A tale of two cities.
Source: WikiMedia Commons
Local, national and global news
Comics
Car ads
Coupons
Sports
Apartment listings
Service directories
Share opinionsCrosswords
Find a job
The Daily Newspaper
Delivered to you every day in one nice package!
Newspapers’ view of InternetNewspapers’ view of Internet
Misconception: “The Internet is a new, more efficient delivery vehicle for our content.”
Consumer: get what you want, mostly for free.
Local, national and global news
Apartment listings: Craigslist
Share opinions: Twitter, Facebook, blogs
Find a job: Craigslist
Service directories: Angie’s List, local discussion boards.
Comics: online, apps
The network viewThe network view
“Unbundled” articles
Local, national and global news
The article as a scalpelThe article as a scalpel
“Unbundled” articles
This is fundamentally different from the newspaper model.
News articles, or increasingly just individual facts (in tweets), are the product.
Everything else that was delivered in a newspaper you get online from wherever you want.
“Delivery” is no longer the goal. Relevance and driving continued engagement are key.
Consumer
Horsey Horseless CarriageHorsey Horseless Carriage
1899 by Uriah Smith.
Misunderstood problem: “People won’t buy automobiles because they don’t want to scare horses.”
Horsey Horseless Horsey Horseless CarriageCarriage
1899 by Uriah Smith.
Misunderstood problem: “People won’t buy automobiles because they don’t want to scare horses.”
What drives change?What drives change?
It’s not just about one media form (digital) replacing another (analog).
It’s about consumers evolving, aided by technology.
Fundamental forces have always eroded away at incumbents’ advantage while encouraging more nimble competition. Digital just speeds that up.
Innovator’s DilemmaInnovator’s Dilemma
Phone industryPhone industry
Landline phones
Long distance plans
Fiber optic lines
Friends &family
Car phones – huge, bulky
First cell phones
Blackberry and Treo w/ internet
iPhone – “Phone” means data, mobility.
Source: KPCBhttp://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/2012-kpcb-internet-trends-yearend-update
Writing on the wall in ‘02Writing on the wall in ‘02
Everything, and I mean everything, is changing. And the change is only happening more quickly!
Mary Meeker’s “reimagination” slidesMary Meeker’s “reimagination” slides
Watch here:Watch here:http://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/2012-kpcb-internet-trends-yearend-http://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/2012-kpcb-internet-trends-yearend-
updateupdate
So how do you prepare yourself for a career in a world of constant change?
Get basic digital skillsGet basic digital skillsThese skills are all important, but to get or keep a job, you’re expected to have them. (If you don’t, start learning now!)
•Basic web publishing, including HTML.
•Basic mobile sites & informational apps.
•Multimedia storytelling.
•Using social media for audience engagement.
•Basic business understanding, and entrepreneurial thinking.
Think like an entrepreneurThink like an entrepreneur Important whether or not you’re in business
yourself.
Get comfortable with “The B Word.” Business means: Making money, but also … Sustaining operations for your dream. Paying for great journalism and civic
information that will improve the world. Controlling your own destiny.
Avoid the field of dreamsAvoid the field of dreams
The “If you build it, they will come” fallacy.
Who are “they?”
Do they want it?
How will they know it exists?
How will you convince them to come?
Just a few questionsJust a few questions
Start with a problemStart with a problem
What’s the pain, and what’s your painkiller?
What’s broken for someone, and how do you fix it?
What personally drives you crazy, and how do you solve your own problem?
Talk to real peopleTalk to real people Don’t assume you just know their
interests, concerns, desires, etc. Ask!
Share your idea, request frank feedback.
Listen carefully.
Once you have a target …Once you have a target …
Get some real data to determine how large the target market is.
Government data Census.gov, data.gov,
opendata.socrata.com
Wikipedia (but check primary sources)
Analyst reports Forrester, Gartner, Nielsen
Quantcast.comQuantcast.com
KeywordspyKeywordspyShows which keywords your competitors buy.
Cheap online testsCheap online tests
Set up a “coming soon” page with a video demo and beta signup form.
Create a one-page site around an idea. Pay for one Google ad w/ specific keywords to see if there’s interest.
Make a prototype using free tools (Cacoo.com), post online, tweet it and ask for feedback.
Types of biz modelsTypes of biz models
Subscription model – not realistic for most topics. Currently the fad in newspaper companies, but out of whack with how people use the Internet.
“Freemium” model. Most free, but the best requires small payment or subscription.
Revenue sourcesRevenue sources
Advertising – Put Google Adsense ads on your site (why not?) but don’t expect huge payments without millions of pageviews.
Syndication – other, more established sites pay you for your content.
Revenue sourcesRevenue sources
Premium reports – If you’re an expert in something, create a report and sell it for $300 to businesses.
Events – Once you have an audience, create a conference and invite experts to speak. Sell tickets to your audience.
Revenue sourcesRevenue sources
Services – Freelance the skills you use daily for your business (writing, editing, page design, social media marketing, etc.)
Solicit donations – Tip jar. Put a PayPal button on your site encouraging people to contribute if they like what you’re doing.
(The opposite: red ocean!)(The opposite: red ocean!)
e.g. Cirque du Soleile.g. Cirque du Soleil
Cirque “… did not win by taking customers from the already shrinking circus industry … it created uncontested new market space that made the competition irrelevant.”
- Blue Ocean, Chapter 1
How to find blue ocean?How to find blue ocean?
Live on the digital edge. What I’m currently watching:
1.Live content curation.
2.Interactive data visualization.
3.Made-for-mobile content (phone, tablet).
4.Immersive experiences.
5.Robots (both physical and software) and automation.
http://embedstagram.com
Curated from social Media APIsCurated from social Media APIs
2. Data visualization2. Data visualizationHelp, we’re all drowning in zettabytes! Help me understand …
Source: KPCBhttp://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/2012-kpcb-internet-trends-yearend-update
Some stories are easier to see and explore through data than to read about and imagine.
http://hint.fm/wind/
http://project.wnyc.org/election2012/
Patchwork Nation’s election results.
3. Mobile3. Mobile
Source: KPCB. http://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/2012-kpcb-internet-trends-yearend-update
Global: mobile is 13% of all traffic.
In India, mobile has already surpassed desktop internet usage.
Mobile “Infosnacking”Mobile “Infosnacking”
Cir.ca
Mashable – responsiveMashable – responsiveWeb (on a laptop) – made for your mouse.
iPhone
“Thumb friendly.”
iPad – Index-finger friendly.
4. Immersive experiences4. Immersive experiences
Video: http://bit.ly/QPsECH
Moving from telling a story, to letting you step in and experience it.
Until now …Until now …
1. Get personal computer.
2. Connect to internet.
3. Computer pocket (smartphone).Rise of the tablet.
Transition is over, right?
Wrong! Up next:Wrong! Up next:1. Devices clothing.
SixthSense
Camera + projector
http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html
Beyond clothingBeyond clothing2. Devices bodies.
Google Glass.
Screen.
Camera that watches your world and tracks your eye.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/7050489913/sizes/c/in/photostream/
Leapmotion.com
Beyond devicesBeyond devices
And into our bodiesAnd into our bodies
http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2012/june/june8_retinalprosthesis.html
Summly
5. Robots and automation5. Robots and automationRewritten for display on a mobile phone by software, which was written by a 17-year-old.
Get ready for flying camerasGet ready for flying cameras
FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 – “The Drone law” – makes it legal to fly in federal air space for commercial reasons by Sept. 30, 2015.
FAA projects that 30,000 drones could be in the nation’s skies by 2020.
FAA working on rules and licensing procedures.
FAA: 30,000 commercial drones in U.S. airspace by 2020.
60 Minutes used drones for a piece on salvage operation of the Costa Concordia cruise ship in Italy in December, 2012.
60 Minutes footage60 Minutes footage
What are your predictions for the
future?
Dan Pacheco
Chair of Journalism and Innovation
S.I. Newhouse School
Syracuse University
@pachecod
@journovationSU