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The 1871
"Link Blog":
links to what we're reading.
[READ MORE]
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What are the 1871 folks reading?
2/1/2006
We've added a new feature to 1871Media.com. It's our "news" page that has links to relevant and recent articles that we've found on the Web. Most of the stuff is related to the newspaper industry or is about online advertising.www.1871News.com Also - if you want to suggest an article for us? 'Tag it' in Del.icio.us with "1871news".
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1/15/2006
Protecting circulation at the expense of building community is a mistake Protecting print circulation revenue at the expense of building more community (and advertising inventory) on the Web is a mistake, in my opinion. The trends look awful for paid circulation and they're getting worse. I cannot think of a major daily that isn't having issues -- or worse, scandals -- and the ones that aren't are spending millions for teams of 'guerrilla marketers' to 'sell' subs with door hangers and in grocery stores. The do-not-call-list is killing renewals, and meanwhile scary rich guys are dropping huge cash into FREE distro dailies poised to compete. Worst of all are the demos -- young people don't read newspapers and my generation isn't subscribing to them. Heck -- I am in the business and I don't subscribe to any Chicago papers. I know what you're thinking -- you don't subscribe because you can read them free online. That's correct. And if I couldn't read them online -- or I had to pay -- I probably would. Today. But someday -- sooner rather than later, I believe -- someone legitimate is going to start their own string of digital local 'newspapers'. They'll have no newsprint to buy or delivery to coordinate. They'll captivate local news hounds 24 hours a day. And it will all be free. I don't mean amateur blogs here - I mean real, bona fide journalism. Original local reporting. And it will be better than what the incumbent paper provides because in most markets -- where the editor isn't a 'local' guy. They barely print anything local anymore anyway. When that happens -- and it will happen -- the daily newspaper is going to get real "local news" competition. It will still own print -- but it's rival will 'own' the Web if it isn't ultra-aggressive now. Knowing the trends are what they are, I wouldn't want to be in that position.
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10/24/2005
Subscription-only content 1871 has a customer who has recently changed half of their newspapers to a subscription-only format. The change was due to too many people reading online instead of subscribing to the print version. So they made the website subscription-only.We recommended against the change. Our main argument was that pageviews would decrease which would reduce future online revenues. I also argued that there was a simpler solution: don't make the new stuff available. Meaning - add a 48-72 hour delay in the newest articles. Obviously we were voted down. There's a Venture Capitalist in NYC that articulates are position better than we ever could. His name is Fred Wilson and his post about the NYTIMES subscription move is located here. It's a very good read (like all of his blog posts).
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8/25/2005
1871 Media August Update 1871 has been working on a bunch of new "RSS Feed" related projects. Don't know what RSS feeds do? Well you can learn more by clicking here.Feed.Us This is our stand-alone RSS feed publishing system. We're set to launch on September 1. However, you can try out the 'beta' version today: www.Feed.Us. Feed-based intranet sites This project is for a PR firm that is publishing an internal newsletter for a large energy company. They'll be using Feed.Us to create a publish an internal, non-sensitive newsletter. The internal IT staff at the company doesn't have to do much - just post our html code on an internal server - it will 'pull' from our Feed.us CMS. Why we like it? It's simple, cheap and gets past the IT gatemasters. The PR firm is also going to be able to use Feedburner to monitor the stats. Creating hundreds of sites for a retail organization We've been working on a project to produce hundreds of sites for a large chain of service centers. The real problem was getting information about the service centers into our CMS. The answer? We'll be using an RSS/XML feed to automatically propagate the content (text, images, etc) of the sites from an internal database. Why we like it? RSS is a simple API that's going to save us hundreds of hours of manual content administration. Stay tuned for more interesting projects from 1871.
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7/7/2005
Information for publishers when considering Adsense 1871 has talked to many customers about using Adsense to increase online revenue. We've been using Adsense for almost a year on our travel sites. The checks that Google sends are a nice monthly present.
However, for many publishers Adsense offers a conundrum. I found an interesting article about text advertising written by freelance writer Mark Glaser.
It's worth a look if you're considering adding Adsense.
For the flip side, Weblogsinc's Jason Calacanis wrote a nice piece about making $2000 per day with Adsense.
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6/10/2005
"What is RSS?"
 I have had many customers and friends recently ask me about RSS. "Explain RSS to me - I don't get it." I'm going to try to give a nice, simple description of RSS and why it's helpful.
I've discussed it previously here and here.
RSS supposedly stands for "really simple syndication". XML.com has a nice technical overview here.
For 1871's typical customer, RSS is way to "distribute" or "syndicate" the content on your website to people have an "RSS Reader". RSS readers are similar to Microsoft Outlook but 'pull-in' feeds from other websites. MyYahoo is probably the easiest way to get started with an RSS feed. It's a web-based part of Yahoo. NewsGator is a downloadable software product that runs on your computer (like Outlook).
You setup an RSS reader to pull feeds from all your favorite Websites. My MyYahoo is setup to have RSS feeds with stock quotes and business news from WSJ.com, sports headlines from ESPN.com, movie reviews from NYTimes.com, and articles from Blogs. Theortically you could also get updates from UPS on where your packages are, Amazon could send a feed with book suggestions... eBay could update you that there are 3 new pairs of 1985 Nike Jordans for sale.
The beauty of RSS is that it all happens on one page. You don't need to visit several websites for all of your information - just one page on your reader. You also control the content... don't like the opinion piece on the NYTimes... delete the feed. And unlike email newsletters, there is no spam.
RSS is exciting and we believe it's going to be an important tool for updating your supporters, readers, members, etc with your organization's news.
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6/6/2005
The Guardian Publisher talks about RSS If you read the Drudge Report, then you're familiar with The Guardian. Simon Waldman runs the digital media division at the venerable british tabloid. The following link is to a speech given by Mr. Waldman at last week's World Editor’s Forum in Seoul. It's about the impacts of RSS on newspapers. SimonWaldman.net Also, on Simon's blog, he states the following about RSS: "RSS/Atom/Newsreaders etc are the start of a seismic shift in how we consume media; and there is going to be continuous dramatic movement in this area over the next three to five years."
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5/26/2005
The $$$ of AdSense This just in: there is big money in "Blogs" coupled with Google's AdSense. WebLogsInc. founder/publisher Jason Calacanis reports, on his blog that WeblogsInc. had reached the $2k per day in Google Ad Sense pay-per-click ads. WebLogsInc has a series of weblogs dedicated to a range of verticals.
1871 has had a very positive experience with Ad Sense as well. We run Ad Sense on our travel-related Websites. The act of logging into Ad Sense and and literally watching people pay us is sheer bliss.
Google isn't the only "pay per click" advertising network out there - we've had limited success with Ad Brite. However, Google's ad network and search engine are so strong that it makes Google the clear leader.
Anyone interested in reading more about Google's advertising growth can visit the GOOG IR website.
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5/25/2005
Strange things are afoot at Ad Sense. This morning there was a very strange-looking Ad Sense ad on our BarbadosTourist.com website.
I was able to click on the ad and even input text within the ad itself. The Ad seemed to be asking the reader for suggestions on what should display. Please see the below JPG for details.
>>UPDATE: Tim Yang (www.timyang.com) found this:
http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/001433.html
It explains that these types of ads have been in testing since January.
Thanks, Tim. 
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5/16/2005
The newspaper Website revolution We have compiled a list of links to relevant articles on the evolving impact of the Web on the newsroom. We'll keep adding to this list.Paid vs. Free: The Debate That Never Ends
Steve Outing from the Poynter Institute
as I see it, we're heading into an era when free access for the consumer is necessary for a general-news publisher to operate in the digital networked economy
Poynter Website
Craigslist founder to create community news source:
Editor and Publisher
"Newmark hopes to develop a pool of "talented amateurs" who could investigate scandals, cover politics and promote the most important and credible stories. Articles would be published on Internet sites ranging from Craigslist to individual Web logs, or blogs."
Article link Wall Street Journal hires "free content" editor:
Media Bistro
WSJ increasing its focus on creating a "free" service vs. its normal paid online service.
Media Bistro website NYT Online VP interview
Martin Nisenholtz discusses NYT's move to offer a paid service. Article is about half way down the page.
PaidContent.org article Brian Timpone: Sacrificing Community for Circulation is a mistake
1871 Media, LLC
1871 Website Link LA Times on the Greensboro News & Record's switch to a 'digital newsroom'
LA Times
This article talks about incorporating citizen journalism into the News & Record's reporting.
LA Times Website
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4/1/2005
Protecting circulation at the expense of building community is a mistake Protecting print circulation revenue at the expense of building more community (and advertising inventory) on the Web is a mistake, in my opinion. The trends look awful for paid circulation and they're getting worse. I cannot think of a major daily that isn't having issues -- or worse, scandals -- and the ones that aren't are spending millions for teams of 'guerrilla marketers' to 'sell' subs with door hangers and in grocery stores. The do-not-call-list is killing renewals, and meanwhile scary rich guys are dropping huge cash into FREE distro dailies poised to compete. Worst of all are the demos -- young people don't read newspapers and my generation isn't subscribing to them. Heck -- I am in the business and I don't subscribe to any Chicago papers. I know what you're thinking -- you don't subscribe because you can read them free online. That's correct. And if I couldn't read them online -- or I had to pay -- I probably would. Today. But someday -- sooner rather than later, I believe -- someone legitimate is going to start their own string of digital local 'newspapers'. They'll have no newsprint to buy or delivery to coordinate. They'll captivate local news hounds 24 hours a day. And it will all be free. I don't mean amateur blogs here - I mean real, bona fide journalism. Original local reporting. And it will be better than what the incumbent paper provides because in most markets -- where the editor isn't a 'local' guy. They barely print anything local anymore anyway. When that happens -- and it will happen -- the daily newspaper is going to get real "local news" competition. It will still own print -- but it's rival will 'own' the Web if it isn't ultra-aggressive now. Knowing the trends are what they are, I wouldn't want to be in that position.
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11/1/2004
Political spam as national pastime On January 1, 2004, President Bush signed the CAN SPAM ACT. The CAN SPAM ACT defines spam as "Commmercial email". Cleverly, politicans left themselves out of this act. AccordIf you read the law's fine print, you'll notice that politicans cleaverly In this article, CNET's Declan McCullagh describes the loop-holes left open by the politicans that created the Act. According to Declan: "[The CAN SPAM ACT] lets political spammers off the hook." Article:
http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5213287.html?tag=nefd.acpro
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3/28/2004
A Tale of Two Web Sites From Archpundit.com:On the one hand we have a web site done by 1871 Media, a quite good on-line company that does sites such as Georgia's Political Vine, The Illinois House Republicans, Jack Ryan for Senate, Chris Lauzen's site, and the Illinois Leader. They produce the Illinois GOP site.
On the other, we have the Illinois Democratic Party.
Trending Demcratic or not, Illinois Dems need better than this. Feel free to send this to Steve Brown in Madigan's office and see if the problem registers with him.
Read More:
http://www.archpundit.com/archives/009102.html
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