Better pointed bullets than pointed words

Have some of both:

• Newspapers aren't the only medium past their peak.
     
• G'boro update from Jay Rosen (who has links to the source material)
     
• A great example of hyperlocal citizen journalism from Baristanet.
        
• Jeff Jarvis on the MSM in the Kubler-Ross stages of death.
        
• Hugh Hewitt in The Weekly Standard on A Unified Theory of the Old Media Collapse: On Monday on my blog, I suggested that reporters and producers employed by Big Media should make available their biographies and résumés on the web for easy viewing by the public, as well as answers to ten brief questions, including: "For whom did the reporter vote for president in the past five elections? Do they attend church regularly and if so, in which denomination? Do they believe that the late-term abortion procedure known as partial-birth abortion should be legal? Do they believe same sex marriage ought to be legal? Did they support the invasion of Iraq? Do they support drilling in ANWR?" The outrage in response to my suggested disclosures from some bloggers was intense and immediate. One even suggested that posing such questions was incipient McCarthyism.
  
  While those exact questions aren't in play, our reporters will all wear their biases like badges of honor.
     
• Lots of chatter about the Pew study on blogsplosion. Unsurprisingly, Jarvis has the best stuff.
     
• Lots of buzz on the recent Craig's List report. Having read the whole thing, I have a longer post percolating, but it will have to wait. However, this take was particularly interesting to me: Though Craig at the moment appears to be staying the course, he easily could add traditional news, entertainment listings, sports and weather to become -- Voila! -- an online newspaper rivaling the web traffic of most major titles. Add audio and video, and he becomes -- Voila again! -- a challenger to radio and TV. If he invites his community to contribute to his newsgathering efforts, he wisely will add another (no-cost) tie that binds.
  
  Does this mean that we drop the "Craig's List with content" analogy out of the propaganda pieces or push it further up?
     
• Tim Porter on the NYT purchase of freebie commuter paper in Boston.
     
• On that note, whaddya'll think of my new marketing slogan for the Dallas launch?:
  
  They call it Quick.
  We call it yesterday's News.
         
• Considering "content"
     
• Chris "Long Tail" Anderson has a tailblog as he works on a book on the topic.
     
• Ads replacing rings?
         
• How can traditional media and the grassroots work together? Because we must.
     
• Maybe micropayments (by day, by story) aren't such a bad idea.
     
• Indie freebies have to think outside the box. They won't succeed as leaner, meaner versions of the traditional metro publishing model, especially when the model itself is being shredded by a host of new information and entertainment media.
  
  Agreed. This is the "Why we aren't the AM Journal Express" part of the conversation.
  
  Talking with one of our team today, it occurred to me:
  
  It's about three things -- Content. Distribution. Revenue. If your model for all three isn't revolutionary, then you're in deep trouble.
           
• Eric is back. Ruben is gone.
     
• Consolidation is baaad. MmmK?
     
• Programming note: Blogging is likely to be spotty and half-assed for a while (probably a week and change). We're at a crucial moment (the second of many), and are working dilligently and around the clock to ensure that we have a lot to "do about" (as opposed to talk about) very soon. Don't expect any bullet posts, or comment on much of anything that isn't earth-shattering.
  
  In the meantime, subscribe to the RSS feed; re-read the "Best of" posts on the left rail; and follow Rosen, Gillmor, Jarvis and Anderson.

Now playing: Tiger Army - Cupid's Victim

Comments

[ken rickard]

A random thought by a not-too-random lurker:

One of the odd things about Craig's List, when you think about it, is that it's a hyper-local site that depends on a local's intimate knowledge of the given community.

They give absolutely no signposts or guidance to navigating the physical community that they represent. Want to drive yourself crazy? Imagine you're moving to SF and want an apartment, and then use only CL to find one -- without resorting to any reference books, maps, et. al.

The more I think about CL, the more I think that dedicated CL users are the sort who get a little thrill by outfoxing others, by being too-cool-for-school, or who enjoy otherwise gaming the system. How else to explain the loyalty of a group of people willing to wade through long compilations of unfiltered muck (hey, they barely even try to field data for searching) in order to find something of value.

CL reminds me of my great complaint about newspaper classifieds online: where are the damn maps?

I would hope that Peg News and other community sites are a little more friendly to the newbie (in both virtual and meatspace).

[Peg]

Ken:

You practically wrote my planned post for me. These are exactly the reasons that I think Craig has limited opportunity outside California and NY. I can't imagine many Dallasites making their way through that system.

[ken rickard]

I'm not sure his opportunities are limited by geography, though, just be audience type.

If, say, 10% of your potential audience enjoys the type of experience that you provide, then you have a limited available market. Fortunately for CL, they can cast a very wide net very cheaply, so they can get a mass of users that will support them, even evangelize them.

Don't overlook the fact that CL users are very, very loyal.

The trick for you is to expand the potential audience while instilling the same cadre-like loyalty.

eBay may help CL change their consumer culture, btw, and make them more successful.