Posted using ShareThis

Posted using ShareThis

Posted using ShareThis

Posted using ShareThis

Posted using ShareThis

Posted using ShareThis

It’s then that the “old media” companies sit back and wonder how they can compete with companies that have little overhead but yet remain some competitive to them. The answer is quite simply to disrupt the disruptor.

How do you do that? By taking your products and treating them as equals. Many in the newspaper industry feel that their newspaper website is basically the newspaper, but online. That’s where they fail. Their website could be much more, but because many in leadership positions haven’t had the foresight to plan for necessary enhancements, it gave the disruptors a venue to disrupt. Sites like CraigsList.org, Wikipedia and eBay.com filled niches that newspapers used to fill in their print editions. Now, it’s easier and cheaper to find things with more relevancy on these websites than it is in the newspaper.

Where do newspapers start?

They have to look at the jobs to be done. What do people in our communities need, not just from us as newspapers, but in general? And the bigger question is, how do we make money?

Here are a few initiatives that will put any media company on a path to grow revenue outside of their core product with minimal investment while engaging and involving the community:

I) Community Wiki
Imagine having a resource that would be the end-all, be-all for your community. Historical information about the immediate region, information about local government, maps tied into a business directory via a google or yahoo mashup and other local general information like phone numbers for the power company or what the average water bill is in the city all would be information that local residents would seek on a daily basis. The wiki would be open to be posted to by the community, with the understanding that if something isn’t correct that a correction should be submitted to the wiki administrator. Imagine all of the information that could be housed and sifted through on a daily basis and all the traffic that would result from it. The possibilities are nearly endless. The traffic could almost rival the newspaper’s website itself.

2) Niche publications
One way newspaper companies supplement their advertising in their newspapers is to create niche publications or magazines to offer targeted advertising opportunities. By why limit yourself by simply putting a crappy PDF of it online or simply just posting the articles to a template? These niche publications are directed towards specific segments of the population who like to discuss and share information between themselves. To not facilitate that is turning your nose at thousands of page views a month. Imagine taking articles from your niche publication and creating a social networking site, complete with polls, forums photo galleries and video sharing. You would then solicit feedback through the site and gain insight on what is and what isn’t working as far as content in your publication. Readers will come back and visit stories they’ve already read to see responses other have left. That increases site stickiness, which in turn increases page views.

3) Other Niche Sites
And why stop at niche sites based on publications? Mom-centered sites have sprung up in nearly every community over the last two years. Entertainment sites continue to drive traffic for young folks that want to spend money. Sports sites get rabid and passionate fans visiting all year long, often several times a day to get the latest nugget of information on their team. With the new AP rules that are in place, a niche site with information you already pay for can drive more traffic with less work. User generated content is huge, so why not facilitate it? If you don’t someone else will — in your community.

Of course, all of these sound great, but how do they get done? With a shrinking newspaper staff, it’s not a good idea to put this burden on them. Let them focus on the core product. A new position, even positions need to be created to facilitate these new initiatives. The right person would understand the technical and content sides of the product. They’d have to follow the industry and web 2.0 culture, and would have to have the right attitude to facilitate discussion and invigorate the community.

These are just a few examples.

If you are interested in finding out just how you can achieve these and more, I am available to discuss a customized road map on where to begin and how to sustain it.

Chipotle cup. Innocent enough, right?

I ordered my burrito, got my cup and went to get my drink.

I put the cup under the Dr. Pepper fountain, hit the lever, and drink exploded all over my arm. Not thinking anything of it, I put my cup under the Coke and filled it with drink.

I enjoyed my lunch, enjoyed my drink.

It wasn’t until I got back to the office and I finished my drink that I noticed there was something at the bottom of my cup:

Chipotle mishap

The Nozzle had exploded and fallen into my cup, without my knowing.

Gross? Kinda. At least the nozzle looked clean.

Should I keep the nozzle? I haven’t spoken to them yet. They might need the nozzle back for their machine.

Still, kind of grossed out. If this kind of thing can happen to my drink, what could have fallen into my food?