Digital Edge Journalism

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://instacane.com

1. Live Content Creation

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

drpachec@syr.edu