Jason Unger

Old Media Still Doesn't Get New Media

Posted by junger - 11/30/07 at 02:11:44 pm

Old media news publishers are trying to lock their information away from search engines and, in the process, shooting themselves in the foot.

Long story short, a bunch of newspaper and magazine types want to have more control over how search engines index their content. Basically, they want Google to stop promoting and linking to their content.

Why wouldn't the AP want Google News to display their headlines and summaries with a link to the article?

It's free traffic! These news sites are getting users pointed to them that they may have never seen before.

What are they expecting when they post a news story: that no one will see it? That only people who go to their homepage will be able to click to it?

These people are just like the kids who post pictures of themselves on MySpace and facebook and think that no one will see them.

Wake up: when you put something on the Internet, you can't stop people from seeing it and using it.

Why would you even want to stop people from seeing your content? Unless you're targeting a specific, qualified audience (which the AP isn't), there's no reason to block your content from the masses.

Tom Curley, the AP's chief executive, said the news cooperative spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually covering the world, and that its employees risk often their lives doing so. Technologies such as ACAP, he said, are important to protect AP's original news reports from sites that distribute them without permission.

If you don't want your content freely available, then don't make it freely available. Create a TimesSelect to limit distribution (and then watch your numbers soar when you get rid of it).

Maybe these old media folks are upset because their content can't compete. Have you tried writing better Web headlines?

(As always, Techdirt breaks it down into nice, simple terms.)

Rant: Holiday Gift Guides and Best of 2007 Lists

Posted by junger - 11/30/07 at 12:11:51 pm

It's that time of year — when news slows, consumers open their wallets, and media outlets publish their holiday gift guides and Best of 2007 lists.

Those lists are so annoying.

Every media outlet publishes some kind of list like this. And every media outlet thinks that theirs is the be-all, end-all for their audience.

News flash: it isn't!

Nothing More Than Sold Space?

There are so many of these guides published, and nearly every one in a given category has the same items.

The audience is legitimately skeptical of their usefulness: over at AVS Forum, a site where we syndicate our content, a post on "Best Gifts of 2007" was recently deleted because the members view it as "nothing more than marketing" for the items — that the space was sold.

I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm not partially responsible for this. We at CE Pro have the "Top Stories of the Year" and "Must-Have Products from 2007," but to a degree we have to do it.

It's almost expected, both from the audience side and the publishing side. But why?

Starting Arguments: Good

Bethesda Blog makes a good point about these lists: they're great for starting arguments. In the interactive nature of the Web, arguments are great!

Users get into it, become invested in the discussion, and come back to the site. That's exactly what you want from your audience — to feel a part of the discussion and become a regular.

But are these guides really worth publishing? The Best of 2007 lists add a bit of nostalgia and are good for boosting traffic to older stories, but beyond that, there's nothing compelling about them.

Maybe it's just me being cranky, but I'm tried of seeing these guides.

What do you think?

(Image from CNet's Holiday Gift Guide, the top Google search result for "holiday gift guide")

5 Reasons Bullet Points are Crucial in Writing

Posted by junger - 11/29/07 at 07:11:47 pm

You need them because:

• They make you get straight to the point.
• They make you be very specific when you use them.
• They are more attractive to the eye than large paragraphs of text.
• They designate importance.
• They are easier to digest and take in.

'Nuff said.

Nintendo Wii: Catching Cheating Spouses Everywhere

Posted by junger - 11/21/07 at 01:11:51 pm

Now this is pretty amusing/sad — according to The Register, a soldier just returning from Iraq found that his wife was cheating on him after he found a man's Mii on his system.

"I went into the Wii message board and click on the calendar option. Through this menu I was able to identify the many nights my wife's Mii and this other Mii character played Wii bowling," said husband/first-name-only solider Tony, who had apparently heard whispers of his wife's infidelity before finding the Mii.

Oh, man.

Obviously, you have to feel bad for the guy being cheated on. But I'm wondering what the deal with the wife is — didn't she and her bowling partner have anything better to do besides play the Wii?

Creativity Block: How Do I Get Over It?

Posted by junger - 11/19/07 at 03:11:44 pm

Yup — the creative juices just aren't flowing today.

Since that's the case, I leave it up to you to help me out.

How do you get over a creativity block?

Share your thoughts in a comment below.