Newsweek’s #lastprintissue sounded to me like an epitaph. Since the Tina Brown’s “A new chapter” editorial, the issue is a memorial of Newsweek successes during its long life, with a nostalgic approach to how they told the big events of world and moreover the competition with Time. It has completely been missing an introduction to projects for the new “all-digital” experience. This sounds to me very strange. If I would been changing my business model (also if i was forced to), for a marketing purpose, I would underline what I’ll add to the project in order to motivate readers to subscribe to the digital product. Instead, they seems to want to assure readers that they will never change “[our] commitment to journalism of the very highest quality” [Tina Brown, A new chapter, Newsweek, 31 December 2012, p. 6]. Along side the wide issue, the focus was only to the big quality of information and passion they gave in the long history of printed issue. The questions are: what will be the digital Newsweek? What will be the contents they will provide? How they are reviewing the business model considering the adoption of digital? I’m having the idea that their plans will envolve only the paper’s costs cutting. If it is like that, #lastprintissue has been a true epitaph.
Leave a CommentMonth: December 2012
<<Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you. >>[Istangram TOS] The change of Term of Service by Istangram shocked web community and, as we can read, many users are deciding to quit the service. The TOS’ controversial point is that “a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.” The effect of this clause is the same as Facebook Social AD. No more. No less. Investors will use our contents to promote their brand. Ok, any job (work) must be payed. Any, indeed. So, why istangram wouldn’t be payed for its job? Mantaining a service has costs for technologies and employers to be payed. All enterprises, in actual economic system, need to monetize the activity in order to grant service. Istangram, actually, had two choices: 1) introducing a payed accounting or 2) sell the contents. In my opinion the second one is the more reasonable one for a service like Instagram. The main thought is a reciprocal support: we work together to keep Instagram alive (we give you the service for free, you give to us for free the permission to sell your contents). What Would have you done if you needed to monetize the activity in order to grant the service?
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Mario Monti non si candiderà, ma la sua presenza continuerà ad essere garanzia dell’Italia. Il futuro ex Presidente del Consiglio, infatti, sta meditando di rimanere in “campo” offrendo ai Partiti una agenda Politica e, a chi deciderà di seguirla, la possibilità – forse – di utilizzare il suo nome. Marzio Breda scrive sul Corriere: Il punto risolutore del suo ragionamento è legato a una serie di domande, cui gli è parso di trovare una provvisoria, per lui comunque già fin d’ora convincente, risposta: 1) è davvero necessario farsi eleggere direttamente per avere quello che si dice «mandato popolare»?; 2) il vaglio dei cittadini non potrebbe avere altrettanto valore se fossero invitati a esprimersi sulle idee, ciò che potrebbe avere un significato di antidoto in una fase in cui tutti si concentrano troppo sulle leadership e troppo poco sui programmi, soprattutto sulla loro reale sostenibilità economica? Mario Monti diventerebbe una sorta di Leader Politico, di Garante di quel “movimento” che intende accomunarsi attorno ad idee da Lui proposte. E supponiamo che uno o più partiti decidessero di usare l’Agenda Monti e fregiarsi del suo Marchio. Supponiamo, ancora, che un domani gli stessi partiti decidessero di mettere in discussione questa agenda. Forse potremo trovarci di fronte a una spalla sui giornali che riporta: «Al PD e PDL è ritirato l’utilizzo del logo del Amici di Mario Monti. Li prego di astenersi per il futuro a qualificare la loro azione politica con riferimento ad Amici di Mario Monti o alla mia figura» Mario Monti
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For any new technology, consumerization is the way to spread it in the business and government organizations. Without consumerization, Internet, Blogs and social networks wouldn’t never upraise as social model. The problem is that consumerization often focuses only on technology and not on social dynamics. Saying “social dynamics”, I mean the way and “the why” people uses a certain technology or tool and how this technology modifies the user’s behaviors, also in the basic aspects of life. So, we see the growing of fashioned technology trends also in business models and we observe companies competing in a crazy running, shifting from one technology to the other, without understanding the dynamics and the way to maximize investments and experiences. This happens because the main goal behind the tactics is to reach the largest number of people. A further problem of consumerization is the technology-addicted approach. It seems, today, that you can’t market if you don’t join Facebook or Twitter. This drives a dependence relationship between the platform and the business, forcing business to change the organizational model in order to use the platform. As the Guardian experience showed, this change not always is the winner one. Guardian, indeed, is leaving Facebook not because of the “numbers”. It is quitting because Facebook is making the Guardian to lose its mission of informing, filtering the news according to the users behaviors. Guardian was too dependent on the Facebook Algorithm. In some way, Facebook was forcing Guardian to review its business model in order to “be liked” by Facebook. Social Media are tools and not the world itself. They have to be useful to the business, not the opposite. If the cost of adopting social media is higher than the revenues then, from a management point of view, they are a loss. Anyway, I don’t mean that social media are the Evil, but they are not the Truth. Approaching the connected society, it’s more important to understand social dynamics than the last feature of a platform. A social media strategy can be adopted without joining necessarily Facebook or Twitter or without forcing the business to be “compliant” with the technical features of the tool . Many Big Brands, such as Vodafone, for example, use Facebook as a first-approach with users and then they drive contacts to their own community. Last, but not least, it’s time to throw the social media measurement away. Attending many discussions, I heart from non-social-media entrepreneurs the critique about the success in engaging with a low conversion rate. The social media ROI is a controversial question. Many Gurus would say that the problem relies on goal definitions and measurement system. The point is another: if your business model is purely…
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Hoping be of your interest, I want to share with you this job opportunity at Iron Sky Team now engaged into a Hollywood production. Dead Line for applying is 31.12.2012 Good Luck! IRON SKY is a science fiction film that was created in a tight collaboration with the Internet community of hundreds of thousands of fans across the world, and web services have always been one of the key elements of the success of the film. Blind Spot Pictures is looking for a full-time WEB DEVELOPER to develop, build and maintain web services for Iron Sky production, as well as for the upcoming films – such as our first Hollywood film, JEREMIAH HARM. As a Web Developer, we expect you to master all the common tools of Internet web development – php, css, js, html5, databases – you know the drill. Most importantly, we are looking for a person with social skills, sharp brains and interest and willingness to learn new things – and capability of disrupting the accepted norms of web development and film industry! You’ll get to work in the most interesting film production company from Finland, with a creative and sometimes a bit mad team set out on a course to conquer the whole world. In addition to Jeremiah Harm, Blind Spot Pictures is also slated to develop Iron Sky’s sequels, a scifi TV series and other films. If you think you’ve got what it takes, and you are willing to work in Helsinki, Finland, send your work application, CV and example work cases you’ve done to rekry@blindspot.fi – deadline is 31.12.2012.
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