ellen siminoff presentation to national college media convention
DESCRIPTION
Discussion of the history of journalism in America, Yahoo!, Google, and Education for an Audience of College NewspapersTRANSCRIPT
Change Happens. Embrace it. Love it. Ellen F. Siminoff
President and CEO Shmoop University, Inc.
November 2, 2008 Associated College Press / College Media Advisers NaFonal Conference
Shmoop University, Inc. ConfidenFal 1
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 2
‘Man plans and God laughs.’
Very o?en, in life and business, you won’t end up doing what you think you’re going to do
I Fell in Love with Business and Media (Dad Forgave Me. Eventually.)
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 3
Then I Met My Husband
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 4
The World Was Changing
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 5
The Newly Liberated Masses Were Hungry…
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 6
…for Arnold and Care Bears
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 7
Media Was About to Change DrasOcally
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 8
LATimes.com Dec 21, 1996
Don’t UnderesOmate the Importance of Luck and Timing
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 9 Yahoo! in 1995
Rule #1 of a Cambrian Explosion: Run Fast or Get Eaten
Yahoo! in 1996
We Evolved Constantly, Relentlessly
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 11 Yahoo! in 1997
Now with Email, Sports, Entertainment, Local, …
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 12 Yahoo! in 1999
… Shopping, IM, …
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 13 Yahoo! in 2000
…Finance, Kids, Jobs, Music, Movies, etc.
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 14 Yahoo! in 2001
Then Along Came Google
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 15 Google in 2000
Google Spawned a New Ecosystem
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 16
Great Companies O?en Fail to Adapt
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 17
Next Act:
EducaOon
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 18
Do You Love Your Textbooks?
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 19
Introducing
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Check Your Dossier for Deets
Shmoop: (v) “To Move Something Forward”
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 21
www.shmoop.com
Shmoop Will Make You a Be^er Lover (of Literature, History, Poetry, and WriOng)
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 22
Organize Your Thoughts
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 23
WD‐40 for Writer’s Block
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 24
Vietnam War for YouTube Learners
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 25
Tell Us How We Did NEW: History of Journalism in America
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 26
Joseph Pulitzer, owner and editor of the New York World, and the benefactor behind the Pulitzer Prize.
"Spanish Treachery.” Front page of William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal after the sinking of the USS Maine.
Trivia Break – Win a Shmoop Tee
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 27
Trivia (from Shmoop’s History of Journalism in America)
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 28
5: How many ciOes were served by Craigslist in 1999?
1: In what decade was the first American newspaper published?
2: What turn‐of‐the‐century media baron was mercilessly saOrized by Orson Welles in CiOzen Kane?
3: In a 2008 poll, what percentage of Americans aged 18‐34 said that they believe that newspapers are trustworthy?
4: What was Supreme Court JusOce Po^er Stewart's famous definiOon of obscenity in the 1963 case, Jacobellis v Ohio?
More Recent History Hasn’t Been So Kind to the Newspaper Industry
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 29
Newspapers Everywhere are Facing Similar Challenges
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 30
Gannett, McClatchy, Wash. Post Co., NTY, Scripps
Explosion of Choices for AdverOsers and Consumers
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential
Very Tough AdverOsing Climate for Everyone (Including New Media)
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Pardon Me, I’m StarOng to Sound Like this Guy
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“The picture’s pre^y bleak, gentlemen … the world’s climates are changing, the mammals are taking over, and we all have a brain about the size of a walnut.”
“The Far Side” by Gary Larson
But, there are Some Bright Spots
Source: Newspaper National Network LP, 2006 MRI Doublebase, Base= Top 3 Market Adults 18+
Heavy Newspaper
& Heavy Internet
Heavy Magazine
& Heavy Internet
Heavy Radio &
Heavy Internet
Heavy TV &
Heavy Internet
HHI: $100K+ 166 162 147 128
HHI $150K+ 188 169 148 130
OccupaOon: Mgmt
173 167 166 135
3+ DomesOc Trips
149 141 134 116
Uses Financial Planning / Money Mgmt Svcs
147 127 120 107
And Opportunity for Those Willing to Adapt
Estimated Share of $361m Spent on Local Online Video Advertising, 2007
Source: Borrell Associates
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 36
“Nobody is making money online and print is hurFng.” – anonymous college newspaper adviser (not from Princeton)
College Newspapers are Feeling the Pain, Too
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 37
“We think that most of our online visitors are alumni, but we’re not really sure.” – anonymous college newspaper adviser (not from Stanford)
Remember, You’re Running a Business
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 38
>70% of college students have read their newspaper at least once in the past week
You have one of the most highly sought‐aaer and most difficult to reach audiences for marketers
You Are in a Great PosiOon, Believe it or Not
Smart: Bloggers, Video, and Photo Galleries
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 39
Smart: Video, Podcasts, Bloggers, AP Video, Robust Classifieds and Apartment Search
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 40
Love this: the217 from The Daily Illini
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 41
And There are More OpportuniOes
• Email alerts and daily news with ads • Blog / RSS with ads ‐ Feedburner
• SMS alerts with ads – 4INFO
• Widgets – they have to be fun or useful to consume on Facebook/MySpace, not just a news feed – e.g. try a “today on campus” calendar widget, sports trivia, sports video highlights
• TargeFng alumni/student ediFons of your website
• New brands for your online property
• SEO – it’s free and it’s the best online markeFng • Partner with your student radio staFon – stream and podcast
• Partner with your visual arts – try mulFmedia online storytelling
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 42
Not All Dinosaurs Died. Some Adapted.
Shmoop University, Inc. Confidential 43
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www.shmoop.com
Thank You!