WordPress  and  the  future  of  print  media

Magnus  Nystedt  Flowcom

• magnus@flowcom.se  • flowcom.se/magnus  • +46737085506  • @flowcom  • facebook.com/flowcomab

Brief  background

Tough  times  for  print

• 398  editorial  positions  disappeared  2013  (newspapers  in  Sweden)  

• At  least  38  local  offices  closed  2013  • Big  cities  doing  ok  • Rest  is  not  • Add  to  that  the  difficulties  faced  by  other  types  of  local  media

Is  local  the  answer?

• Local  • Hyperlocal  • Microlocal    !

• The  more  local  the  better?

Lots  of  examples

• thebatavian.com  • westseattleblog.com  • www.lionpublishers.com  • www.berwickshirenews.co.uk  • www.paloaltoonline.com  • www.saddleworthnews.com  • bangordailynews.com  • www.bjuvsnytt.se

Our  context

• VLT  (Vestmanlands  Läns  Tidning)  • Old  media,  print  • Trying  out  web  

• Västerås  Tidning  • Old  media,  print  • Free  (Thursday  and   Saturday)  

• Trying  out  web  • Local  offices  for  national  tv,  radio

Readers  changing  habits

• News  is  not  dead!  • We  believe  we  want  more  news  than  ever  • Consumption  habits  change  • Easy  (and  cheap)  access  to  news  and  entertainment  online  

• Showered  with  international  and  national  news  • But  where  is  the  local  news?

Revenue

• Advertising  • Subscriptions  • Other  !

!

• One-­‐two  punch:    • First  the  Internet  and  webb,  then  mobile

Paywalls

• Some  success  but  dubious  effect  • We  don’t  believe  this  is  a  viable  long  term  solution

Technology

• High  licensing  cost  • Easy  to  be  locked  into  one  solution  • Slow  upgrades  • Building  your  own  • In-­‐house  expertise  • Silos

Technology  that  enables

• Multiple  channels  • Events  • Reports  • White  papers  • Data  • Podcasts  etc.  • Sponsored  content  • Custom  solutions  • Difficult  balance  to  strike

Conflict

• Editorial  • IT  • Sales

• Shift  in  thinking  • Getting  over  the  paper  legacy  • Brands  have  lost  their  soul

Mindshift

Paper  !=  money

• Paper  will  still  be  there  but  its  role  will  change  • Paper  supports  web,  not  web  supports  paper

Use  the  brand  -­‐    Create  a  meeting  place

• Use  the  brand  • Strong  brands  that  are  not  being  used  to  their  full  potential  

• Strengthen  brand  position  • Relationships  • Relevance  

• Social  media  (integrated)  • Multiple  webs

WordPress  =  flexibility

• 2  levels  • The  power  of  the  customer  • WP  is  an  open  solution  so  the  customer  can  take  the  WP-­‐web  somewhere  else  and  continue  development  

• Modular  • WP  is  used  as  the  core  of  a  publishing  system  where  existing  plugins  are  used  side  by  side  with  custom  ones

Transparency

• As  a  consultant  you  are  open  about  what  you  do  • A  different  type  of  selling  (value,  not  hours)  • Recognizable  • Many  users  are  already  using  WordPress  for  their  own  sites  so  it’s  familiar  to  them

Cost

• Since  there  is  no  license  cost,  money  can  be  put  on  other  things

User  generated  content

• What  makes  users  contribute?  

• Familiar  interface

Microlocal,  specific

• We  are  naturally  connected  to  and  curios  about  what  happens  immediately  around  us  

• Focus  on  microlocal,then  aggregate

Empower  journalists  (and  publishers)

• Journalists  need  tools  and  skills  to  do  their  job,  do  it  quickly,  get  content  out  to  the  audience

Web  Production  Automation

• Easy  deployments  • Check  out  your  complete  web  and  go  

• Something  we’re  working  on  • wpstarter.io

Monitoring  the  news

• What  is  being  said  about  your  local  community  on  the  web,  social  media,  etc  

• Something  we’re  working  on

Conclusion

•WordPress  is  not  the  magic  bullet  • But  it  can  be  a  key  enabler  •We  carry  a  responsibility  to  influence  and  help  out  • Still  requires  mind  shift  • Limitless  opportunities

Go  WP  :)

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