Publishing in a Many-to-Many Online Word

The Gilbane Conference

San Francisco

April 11, 2007Moderator is the new role model

Today’s Agenda

• About the Union-Tribune’s SignOnSanDiego.com

• Many-to-many techniques for publishers

• Problems and challenges • A new role for publishers

San Diego’s Leading Local News Site

• Updated 24x7• Focused on

breaking local news• Partnership with

print newsroom• Staff of 70 for sales,

content, operations• Email, wireless &

multimedia contentTypical mix of local, national news

Growing Commitment to Multimedia

• Online and print staff shoot video

• Averaging one local video clip daily

• Frequent use of audio slide shows

• New all-local Internet radio station

• Goal: beat local TVYvette De La Garza on location

Trend in Page Views Since 2002

15,000,000

20,000,000

25,000,000

30,000,000

35,000,000

40,000,000

45,000,000

Jan-02 Jan-03 Jan-04 Jan-05 Jan-06 Jan-07

Wildfires

Katrina

September ABC audit: 34.76 million pages, 2.51 million unique users

Big Bass Chargers

Web Sites with Largest Local Audiences

Source: The Media Audit

• SignOn ranks 13th, but San Diego is only the 27th DMA

• Online reach is 32%, versus 49% for print

• Site adds 11 points to combined reach

• Challenge ahead: build daily, repeat traffic

NYTIMES.COM 2,715,400LATIMES.COM 1,690,000CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM 1,656,000WASHINGTONPOST.COM 1,513,100AJC.COM 1,233,700SFGATE.COM 1,154,500HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM 1,150,200BOSTON.COM 1,063,800PHILLY.COM 955,400FREEP.COM 921,500STARTRIBUNE.COM 845,600DALLASNEWS.COM 805,900AZCENTRAL.COM 758,600HERALD.COM 731,300SIGNONSANDIEGO.COM 715,600

Local Web Site Audiences

Solid Economic Model, But Still Tied To Print

Fast food promoted by email

• Large, growing audience

• Profitable since 2002• 15% growth in 2006• 50%+ margin• Revenue tied to print

under pressure • Most growth coming

from direct online sales

Many-to-Many Techniques for Publishers

• Reader comments• Guest Weblogs with

reader comments• Reader-created

multimedia• Wikis• A good, old-

fashioned human touch Forums with 2.4 million posts

Reader Comments in Many forms

• Gated communities: Traditional BBS formats

• Hyde Park Corner: comments with articles

• Advice: user reviews and ratings

• Reader cataloging: photos, audio, video

Comments as front-page news

Publishers Must Encourage Give and Take

• Pay attention and nurture discussion

• Register participants, but keep in simple

• Rely on ‘common carrier’ legal protection

• Understand that you can’t control thisPadres forum on opening day

Weblogs are Niche Publications with Feedback

• Blogs give voice to a niche or community

• Readers can follow on with comments

• A discussion hosted by the publisher

• A ‘super’ thread among all discussions

Blogging from Chula Vista, Calif.

User-Generated Images, Audio & Video

• Photo galleries• Video galleries• Internet radio• Publishers gain

content and context• No organization can

field a staff this bigA day in the life of San Diego

Wikis Go Mainstream

• The next step after simple comments

• Let experts among readers contribute

• Publishers gain a breadth of new content

• Readers help shape the productPrototype indie music wiki

Wikis Challenge Many Publishers

• A major step beyond comments and photos

• Assumes the gestalt of publishing

• ‘You Tube’ had similar affect on TV

• Potentially the most powerful technique

Wikis can be conprehensive

Don’t Forget the Human Touch

• Sometimes the best conversation is in person

• Communication is not necessarily conversation

• Hire top-notch customer service staff

• Read email and take callsA person in the loop

Noise Amid the Many-to-Many Conversation

• Libel, slander & bad taste are problems

• Readers can get too much of a good thing

• It’s hard for people to find what they want

• Sometimes publishers must take charge

A community becomes crowded

Envisioning a Long-term Strategy

• Publishers nurture conversations to build new audiences

• Professional values still count…

• …but publishers must relinquish some control

• We’re moderators nowPublishers must reach out