February 6, 2007

Background: Where We Are

The Internet is changing the way Americans obtain news and information

55 million blogs Explosion of social networks Growth in social news

How is mainstream media reacting to this shift?

The Research: Approach

We launched a study of the websites of the top 50 commercial magazines in America

Ranked by combined subscription and single copy circulation

Examined presence of features typically associated with “Web 2.0”

Compared results with that of the Top 100 newspapers

Three Types of Sites

Brochure Sites Provide limited content and exist to promote print version of magazine

Supplemental Sites Promote print edition and provide unique, web-only content

Integrated Sites The magazine site is part of a larger network of sites

48% of magazines used RSS compared to 78% of newspapers

All feeds were partial feeds

No newspaper or magazine included ads in their feeds

RSS: Monetization

As RSS grows in its use as a content delivery mechanism, media will have to figure out ways to monetize it

Full text feeds for subscribers Ads within feeds User-created RSS feeds

RSS: Monetization

Most Popular

10% of magazines and 42% of newspapers provided a Most Popular view of content

Sites like Digg, Newsvine, Memeorandum and Netscape are growing in popularity by offering alternative ways to discover new stories

As a supplement to the more traditional “editorial” view, magazine website should consider providing alternative views of content:

Most commented, emailed, viewed Most discussed in the blogosphereAllow user voting

Most Popular: Alternative Content Views

34% of magazines included video compared to 78% of newspapers

14% of magazines produced podcasts compared to 36% of newspapers

Video and Podcasting

Use multimedia to supplement magazine content:

Include source materials Solicit videos from users (CNN) on breaking news Request video/audio comments from users Audio version of magazine

Video and Podcasting: The Future

Tags

6% of magazine websites used tags to organize content

Use tags to: Group related content; Provide easier navigation through site; Facilitate site searching.

Mobile Version

12% of websites offered mobile-friendly versions of their content

This will become more and more important as adoption of mobile browsing and the popularity of new PDAs increases

Blogs

40% of magazines had blogs compared to 92% of newspapers

34% of magazines allowed blog comments compared to 78% of newspapers

16% of magazines linked to blogs compared to 32% of newspapers

Blogs: Best Uses

Have reporters blog to supplement/complement the articles they write

Blog as a way to Further the conversation about your print issues Break news and provide real-time updates on popular stories Provide in depth coverage of topics only touched on in print edition

Article Comments

8% of magazines allowed comments on articles compared to 16% of newspapers

Use comments to: Build community Encourage discussion Generate feedback

Registration Requirement

38% of magazines required registration compared to 24% of newspapers

If you are providing free content on your site, registration walls should be taken away

Bookmarking

14% of magazines had a bookmarking feature compared to 12% of newspapers

These bookmarking tools are an easy way to make your content “travel” beyond your own site

Message Boards

46% of magazines had message boards compared to 64% of newspapers

Good way to build community and further the discussion

Other Ideas: Wikis

Wired Magazine has a “Big Questions” wiki where they encourage reader to help them grapple the big questions

Chris Anderson has called for the “wikification” of stories so that they can evolve over time

Other Ideas: Story Format

Online versions of articles too often mimic print version, creating a flat reading experience

They should: Include source materials Link to blog discussion about the story Link to related articles Provide a different experience than print edition

Other Ideas: Reader Feedback

Provide more ways to get reader feedback:

Solicit corrections Publish every letter-to-the-editor Surveys

Other Ideas: Charging for Extended Content

Some newspapers and online-only outlets are creating Web-specific content that is behind a pay wall

Allow interaction with reporters and experts in addition to more in-depth content

Other Ideas: Embrace user-generated content

Ask readers to submit their own news stories, ideas for stories or supplementary information

Accept news in all formats

Conclusion: Our Recommendations

Deliver your content in a compelling and user-friendly manner

Make it easy for your content to be discussed and “travel” around the web

Build a community around your brand and website

www.bivingsreport.comwww.bivings.com