July 2012 – CGW's Blog

Niche news site membership model perspective brought back to life from 2009

The internet doesn’t forget. So I often stockpile perspective (links) for the future.

In 2009, we at Technically Philly were digging our heels into looking at how diversify revenue for a local community news site. In the end, the largest driver turned out to be events, specifically the annual Philly Tech Week we organize. Before then and after some advertising, jobs board and light underwriting revenue, we toyed with donations, gettingsome prominent support and the requisite pushback.

In all the experimentation back then, I saved some great insight, much of which has been relevant lately. As we move back to a new form of that older conversation, I wanted to share a few takeaways from my reading back in 2009.

Continue reading Niche news site membership model perspective brought back to life from 2009

Either build the news site for the mission or build the mission for the news site

Updated I gave a presentation similar to this theme to a pair of college classes recently, one of which resulted in these takeaways.

To have a news community ‘succeed,’ it needs to either be built around a mission or the mission needs to be built into its community.

That means, if, for the foreseeable future, a more competitive, newly web-based news and information environment best attracts audience by way of connecting a community to a mission, those best suited to succeed will have one.

Continue reading Either build the news site for the mission or build the mission for the news site

My first vegetable garden

Though it’s surely something I’ll continue long into the future, this summer I spent a little money and plenty of time on my first ever vegetable garden.

Two cherry different species of cherry tomatoes (sweet olive and lizzano, though I didn’t see a big difference between either) and two of the same mini-green pepper plant (cute stuff). They came in divinely, particularly as I gave more than a half gallon to each every morning. (I also planted out front a Vinca ‘cotton candy’ mix that came in beautifully and last much of the summer)

Turns out those little yellow flowers on a tomato plant is from where the tomatoes blossom.
I didn’t have many bug problems: some grasshoppers and worms I let alone, some flies that never really stayed, once some birds were checking them out but my cat scared them away.
Aside from a single tomato purchase for a rush salad I was making for a party, I didn’t buy any peppers or tomatoes all summer.
I spent probably $40 this year to start the garden, though it’ll be cheaper next year, and probably would have spent, say, $60-$70 on those vegetables throughout the summer.
I went to Greensgrow Farms for my purchases: the tomato cages cost $5 each (though will be reused each year), the plants each cost about $3 each, if I remember correctly, and two bags of potting soil for $5 total.

This is what goes into a functioning news ecosystem

A functioning local news ecosystem, one that has mechanisms to ask tough questions and serve as a hub of a common set of facts for a region, seems to have some straightforward ingredients.

What traditionally drove a functioning modern news ecosystem (20th century)

PROFITABLE – Funding mechanism (advertising)
AUDIENCE – Mass dissemination tool (front page or TV news top)
COMPETITIVE – Connected network of reporters (newsroom) and competing mass audiences
IMPACT – Investigative journalism (ideological and financial subsidy)
DEPTH – Robust, focused news coverage (niche newspaper beat reporting)

What this might look like in the near future (and in some ways now)

PROFITABLE – Funding mechanism (patchwork of profitable sites, technologies, new orgs with journalism DNA and more focused legacy, philanthropic outlets)
AUDIENCE – Mass dissemination tool (top-level aggregation, applications) to service fractured landscape made up of far smaller, much deeper niche communities
COLLABORATIVE – Connected network of reporters (news coworking), link building, partnership-driven, fewer big players, more smaller oens
IMPACT – Investigative journalism (new nonprofit organizations, journalism DNA), bigger audience for community-focused efforts
DEPTH – Robust, focused news coverage (crowd sourcing, social media, niche blogs and indie sites)

So looking at your market, what is lacking? Set about serving that role.

Why are city assets shared by a region but not problems (and solutions)?

In most regions across the country, cultural assets are shared widely but problems aren’t. It’s a mindset we should try to change.

This perspective came up at an event I helped organize a couple months ago, and it’s still rattling around in my head as I try to work out its meaning.

Continue reading Why are city assets shared by a region but not problems (and solutions)?