By Steve Roll

We’ve all heard how no content should be wasted in the Multi-Platform Age.

• Those pictures that didn't make the cut for that magazine story? Use them for an online slideshow.
  
  
• The sidebar you didn't use in the feature article? Expand on it for a blog post.
  
  
• The interview you recorded last week for that profile piece. Turn it into a podcast.
  

But the New York Times has recently taken this a step further by creating content about content that hasn’t even been created yet. They do this in the TimesCast videos each morning, in which the editors discuss the topics that will be covered.

This is an intriguing use of video technology to provide public access to what had previously been private discussions among editors.

The idea of releasing incomplete content is not new. Journalists have been using Twitter to float trial balloons for story ideas or find sources for a couple of years now.

But Clark Hoyt, the public editor for the New York Times, pointed out that his publication has fallen prey to some of the risks of always being on.

On the second day of TimesCast, Bill Keller — NYT’s executive editor — misspoke about a story involving Israel. Although the TimesCast videos are edited before they are released for public view, Keller's slip up had somehow made it through.

Hoyt said:

It once did not matter if editors had all of their facts straight at the morning news meeting; there was plenty of time for reporting and editing. But with the world looking over their shoulders, things are different. Editors are dressing better, speaking in complete, sound-bite sentences, and mistakes are embarrassing.

In the same article, Hoyt noted that one of the paper's reporters said something embarrassing on Twitter and a couple of its writers for one of its blogs fell victim to an April Fool's Day hoax.

What's most interesting is that the New York Times seems bent on pressing ahead with using these new technologies, despite some of the risks they present.

Which would you say is worse: missing one or more important stories, or being wrong and embarrassed sometimes?

Steve Roll is the Immediate Past President of ASBPE and chairman of the Webinar Committee. Follow him on Twitter at @b2beditor. His e-mail is b2beditor AT gmail.com

Labels: Digital, Media Business, Steven Roll, Technology, Writing

By Tonie Auer

• How can your publication succeed online?
• What points should a social media policy address?
• What challenges will face us as we convert our magazine from print to digital only?

Answers to these questions — and quite a few others — are in these 20 high-value posts from the ASBPE National Blog.

We combed through posts from the blog's three-plus years of existence to compile some of the best. In choosing these posts, we had specific criteria in mind. We wanted to highlight posts that provide actionable, “how-to” material in an easy-to-use format (blogs with bullet lists and checklists were favored). We also wanted the posts, as a group, to cover a variety of topics.

With those considerations in mind, here are 20 of the best ASBPE National Blog posts, roughly in reverse chronological order.

• Two posts by past ASBPE president Steven Roll address social media guidelines. One is “It's Never Too Early to Adopt a Social Media Policy”; the other is
  
  
• “Got a Social Media Policy?”
  
  
• “President’s Letter: It’s All About Brand at the Symposium,” by current ASBPE president Warren Hersch, reports on ASBPE’s November 2009 Digital Symposium.
  
  
• “5 Things To Consider When Converting To Digital Only” is a Q&A with Sara Zailskas of Housing Giants on her publication's experience of the process. The piece was contributed by Chicago chapter board member Erin Erickson.
  
  
• “McCracken: Experimentation Vital to Web-Launch Success” is another report from the Digital Symposium, this time on a session presented by Technologizer founder (and former PC World editor in chief) Harry McCracken.
  
  
• “6 Ideas To Boost Revenue, Readership, or Recognition” contains advice from ASBPE Washington, D.C., chapter president Katy Tomasulo.
  
  
• “SEO Best Practices” was contributed by former Website Magazine staffer Maureen Alley.
  
  
• “Twitter Tips for B2B Editors,” another post from ASBPE officer Katy Tomasulo, features advice specifically for those of us who work at business, trade, professional, and association publications.
  
  
• “Top 10 Strategies To Drive Traffic To Your Blog” was contributed by Michelle Rafter, a long-time freelancer on technology and other topics. Rafter writes the very popular blog Word Count, aimed at freelance writers and editors.
  
  
• “Seven Reasons Why You Should Start Your Own Blog” was contributed by Steve Roll, who did just that with the Latin America travel blog Travelojos.
  
  
• “No Matter How Painful, Editorial Productivity Should Be Analyzed” came from Howard Rauch, an editorial consultant and chair of ASBPE’s ethics committee.
  
  
• “No Solid Answer To ‘What’s Next For B2B?’” reported on a roundtable hosted by ASBPE’s Cleveland chapter.
  
  
• “Want To Learn HTML? Get Your Feet Wet” offers basic coding tips from ASBPE web editor Martha Spizziri.
  
  
• “We Are Already Marketers” is Christina Pellett’s argument for why editors shouldn’t balk at requests to help market their publications. Pellett is now editor of Agent Sales Journal.
  
  
• In “Building Your Wings on the Way Down,” Technologizer's Harry McCracken gives advice on starting a new publishing venture.
  

• Joe Pulizzi, founder of the custom publishing marketplace Junta42 Match, contributed three posts with advice for freelance writers. “Getting into the Custom Game” tells freelancers how to break into custom publishing (aka content marketing);
  
  
• “The Freelance Writing Retirement Plan: Create an Asset” gives advice for maximizing income; and
  
  
• “You Are What the Web Says You Are: Writers and Social Media” explains how many writers’ online presences are lacking.
  
  
• The advice in “Making Time for Print and Online” comes from Dan Blank, director of content strategy and development for Reed Business Information. (Dan also blogs at danblank.com.)
  
  
• “Sure, ’09 Will Be Tough. You Can Tell the Grownups, Though: They Think Rationally” comes from consultant Thomas H. Temin, It still holds up in 2010.
  

The ASBPE National Blog’s value never stops. We have ongoing discussions scheduled on plenty of hot topics. And take advantage of the opportunity to express your own view via a follow-up post. Email me at tonieauer@gmail.com.

Labels: Blogging/Blogging Strategy, Career/Employment, Custom Media, Digital, Economy, Freelancing, HTML, Management, Media Business, Productivity, Social Media, Technology, Tonie Auer

B2B editors are increasingly getting into Web video. Here's a detailed, step-by-step walk-through to help you get a vivid picture of the editing process from a fellow B2B editor who today produces and edits some 40 videos a year. Other aspects of the video process will be covered but the focus is on editing with the standard editing platform: Final Cut Express. We will walk through the actual editing process of a short video.

We will show you how to:

• transfer video from your camera to the editing platform.
• edit video to create a sequence (Final Cut's term for the edited video).
• add transitions.
• add music.
• add voiceovers.
• enhance badly shot or lighted footage.
• export to a playable file.

Rob Freedman, senior editor of Realtor Magazine, has recently made the crossover to multimedia journalism and will offer his "been there, lived through that" experience so you can learn his lessons--and avoid his mistakes.

Event Details

Date: Friday, February 26, 2009

Time: 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. EST

Location: Your computer

Cost: $20 for members, $45 for non-members

To register:

Option 1: Pay online. Use the web form below to pay online via credit card or PayPal. Instructions for obtaining webinar access will be emailed to you once you have paid.

Member Status

Member $20.00 Non-Member $45.00

Option 2: Pay by check or pay for multiple registrations at one time (regardless of payment method). Fill out this registration form (76K Word doc) and return it to Christina Pellett with your payment by February 25. Webinar access information will be provided once you have registered.

Questions? Contact Steven Roll at b2beditor@gmail.com.

About Rob Freedman

Robert Freedman is Senior Editor of Realtor Magazine, published by the National Association of Realtors in Washington, D.C., and past president of ASBPE and the ASBPE Educational Foundation. He is involved in all aspects of multimedia publishing and produces weekly Realtor Magazine news videos. Robert is the author or editor of several books on business communications, including Journalism That Matters (Marion Street Press) and Best Practices of the Business Press (Kendall-Hunt).

Labels: Digital, Education, Technology, Webinars

By Steven Roll
ASBPE Past President

The Wall Street Journal has one, the New York Times has one, Bloomberg has one. What about your publication? Does your publication have a social media policy?

Like many B2B publications, chances are your publication has been dipping its toes in the social-media ocean, but hasn’t jumped in yet. Maybe you’ve set up a Twitter account or a fanpage on Facebook, but nothing more.

Even if your publication is still in the exploratory stage, it’s probably a good idea to adopt a social media policy.

After making a few informal inquiries last week to some tech-savvy editors, I was somewhat surprised at how many publications still haven’t adopted a policy for how writers and editors should conduct themselves when communicating in a professional capacity on social media. Many of the people I spoke with said they were in the process of developing one. (Of course, the reason I was asking is because I'm drafting a policy for my company.)

Maybe editors are reluctant to adopt a formal policy because they feel social media initiatives are something that should be built from the “ground up.” After all, it’s mostly the younger people who have fully embraced it. Perhaps adopting a formal policy might somehow inhibit the free flow of conversation on Twitter etc. Both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg were criticized for adopting overly rigid policies.

It seems like the danger of off-message or inappropriate communications outweigh the awkwardness of adopting a policy concerning a medium many of us don’t fully understand yet. But it seems like it would be a lot easier to change an misguided policy, than to try to somehow compensate for an offensive Tweet or misguided blog post.

The social media policy I’m working on has two levels. The first level is a set of broad principles that outline some basic rules of conduct. Here are a few:

• be honest and transparent;
• coordinate your messages with your publication;
• add value;
• blog about what you know;
• if you make a mistake, admit it, and correct it; and
• be diplomatic and professional — especially with the people who are behaving rudely or with whom you disagree.

The second level reads more like a style guide. It will include more specific information such as:

• a sample blog post;
• what a typical Tweet should look like; and
• best practices for sharing a blog post on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

To be sure, the policy my company ends up adopting is likely to look entirely different than my conception of it. But even if that turns out to be the case, I think it's a worthwhile exercise to start establishing some guidelines. Otherwise, how else will you be able to identify inappropriate conduct. Like old age, having a policy to point to sure beats the alternative.

Through a colleague, I found the following gem at the Online Database of Social Media Policies: Chris Boudreaux, author of the upcoming book Social Media Governance, has assembled 82 such policies on the book’s website. From companies to charities to military organizations, it’s a treasure trove for those struggling with social media guidelines.
Source: Social Media Governance (via Mashable)

Labels: Blogging/Blogging Strategy, Career/Employment, Digital, Electronic Style Guide, LinkedIn ASBPE, Management, Productivity, Social Media, Steven Roll, Technology, Twitter, Work Life

By Maureen Alley


Maureen Alley is managing editor for Website Magazine, a trade publication dedicated to Web professionals. She was formerly managing editor for Residential Design & Build magazine, a property of Cygnus Business Media. Alley graduated with a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and is currently attending Roosevelt University in Chicago for her Masters of Science in Journalism. She has been a member of ASBPE since 2006 and was a judge for the 2009 Azbee Awards program. She writes a blog at www.maureenalley.com about young journalists and new media. Contact her at malley13[at]gmail[dot]com.

Labels: Digital, Maureen Alley, Technology, Writing

By Tonie Auer
DFW Chapter President

After reading the notes taken from the Chicago chapter's roundtable discussions (here and here), I started thinking more about social media. I'm relatively new to the game and I'm usually dragged into it by someone else.

The National Board of the ASBPE pressured me into getting a LinkedIn account. Unwillingly, I dipped my toe in and actually started networking. It was pretty fun and has connected me with people in a positive way. It has been two or three years since I set up that account, but I've gotten a few viable leads for work out of it with minimal upkeep on my part.

Facebook came recently, and I really am addicted to it. Personally, it is a lot of fun to watch my friends. Professionally, I've seen some businesses really promote themselves in great fashion. For instance, a regional Mexican restaurant runs Facebook contests, and routinely I see dozens (sometimes pushing hundreds) of responses from fans of that restaurant. Another regional business that makes condiments runs posts every few days about something they are promoting or a recipe. There are many shining examples of how businesses can promote themselves on Facebook. And, once someone becomes a fan, many friends of that person may join in, too. It is like the old Faberge Organic shampoo commercials: You tell two friends and so on and so on.

So, what are you waiting for? My productivity has only gone down a small amount with my Facebook addiction. But, if you're my friend, you'll know my favorite movie quotes and maybe get a few referrals to some neat businesses. Why not try it and see how you can make it work for you and your publication?

Labels: Digital, Social Media, Technology, Tonie Auer

As we blogged about on Sept. 3, here is the second part of the notes taken by the Chicago chapter of the ASBPE held its first Do-It-Yourself Roundtable discussion.

Some of the information gathered included using Twitter and Productivity Tools.

TweetDeck – Downloadable application for your computer that offers “one-stop-shop” for posting, retweeting, replying, direct messaging, following topics, searching for topics.

Twhirl – Downloadable desktop application for posting, replying to and shortening URLs for Tweets.

Twitterfeed – allows you to pull in RSS feeds and send them into your Twitter stream.

Bit.ly – allows you to shorten URLS and track click throughs on Tweets.

Twitter Search – lets you search for topics, words, etc. to find out what is trending or who is talking about it.

Tweeters to follow:

@prsarahevans
@problogger
@prnewswire

More Twitter Tips

• Use PowerTwitter on Firefox (as opposed to IE).
  
  
• If you’re going to be Tweeting as a group, use your pub name and real name:
  FoodProcessing_Erin (not a real address)
  ErinErickson (not a real address)
  
  
• If you use your real name to tweet for your brand, but be careful not to mix too much pleasure with business:
  FoodProcessing_Erin: Pepsi CEO steps down; cites unruly eyebrow
  FoodProcessing_Erin: OMG that bartender is hot!
  
  
• Use #hashtags to point out keywords in your tweets. Be sure to see if such a hashtag exists already.
  
  
• @Twitter the “@” is part of your address.
  
  
• RT = ReTweet
  Example of a retweet:
  @Ehal76 RT@foodprocessing Looking for examples of your favorite ice cream flavor. DM me your ideas!
  
  
• DM = Direct Message
  

Facebook

Fan Pages. Similar to personal Facebook pages. Can post images, videos, Twitter feeds and RSS feeds which people can “friend” and see updates from. It will not show who created it.

Use Facebook’s Twitter application to feed tweets into Facebook.

Use RSS Feed to feed tweets into Facebook – OR – Twitterfeed + Twitter application will feed your RSS into Facebook.

Group Pages

• Are related around a cause or commonality.
• Can not be “friended” but joined.
• People need to visit the page to find out updates. Will not feed into their Updates.
• Person who created the group is visible to others.

Widgets

You can create widgets for your site(s) to display Twitter posts, RSS feeds, news updates.

• Spring Widgets
• WidgetBox

Blogs

Usually two types of B2B blogs:

• Personal/Personality blogs can be informative, controversial or instructional (or all three).
  
  
• Group blogs can combine different personalities or different reporters of information or instruction.

Personal/Personality blogs – it’s your name/you opinion. Attribute (and link) the same way you would an article. Let comments in unless they are downright attacks (“Purina tastes like crap”). Make sure you’re correct in your reporting and don’t publish false news.

You are not liable for other people’s opinions on your comments.

Labels: ASBPE Chapters, Blogging/Blogging Strategy, Digital, Technology, Twitter

Earlier this summer, the Chicago chapter of the ASBPE held its first Do-It-Yourself Roundtable discussion. Why a do-it-yourself? Because we realize that more heads are better than one, and what better way to learn than from your fellow publishing professionals! The attendees picked the topics, and ASBPE provided the moderators.

The format was simple: four roundtables, each with its own topic and moderator to get the discussion rolling. After 45 minutes, everyone switches tables and topics or stayed where they were.

Some of the information gathered included the most popular social media sites B2B editors can use for free:

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
YouTube

Helpful social media sites to read:

Mashable
Chris Brogan
TwiTip
ProBlogger

Important things to remember:

Have a plan for why you’re using social media with your site. Is it to find more readers? Sources? Advertisers? To conduct market research? To be in the mix with everyone else? To communicate with others?

Social media is an extension of your brand, not a replacement. Don’t bet everything on your Facebook Fan Page becoming incredibly popular or on Tweets. They are tools to communicate with the masses about who you are and what you do.

Use different information for different social media sites. Be friendly and communicative on Twitter. Invite and entice action. Post events and fun things on Facebook (in addition to news, videos, etc.). Create a group for like-minded folks on LinkedIn. Assume a more business-like persona.

Be Authentic. If you have a happy-go-lucky personality let that shine in your Tweets, blogs, Facebook posts, etc. People want to interact with a human, not a machine.

Try using social media personally first; then when you understand how to use it, do it for work/site.

On Sept. 10, we'll run more notes from the event. We're taking Labor Day off. We hope you get to, as well.

Labels: ASBPE Chapters, Digital, LinkedIn ASBPE, Social Media, Technology, Twitter

Looking back at our news archives, we found an interesting piece titled "Future News: What will our jobs be like a few years from now?" published August 1999. The article was written by Harry McCracken, who was the secretary for the ASBPE Boston Chapter at the time. (He later became the editor-in-chief of PC World and is now editor of Technologizer.) McCracken came up with the response "The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's News in the Future project offers some answers."

Here is the article he wrote in 1999. How "on target" was it?

Since 1985, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Laboratory has been at the forefront of research into electronic publishing, imaging, digital music, artificial intelligence, and other technologies.

Recently, members of the Boston chapter toured the Lab and listened to a thought-provoking talk by Professor Walter Bender, director of the Media Lab’s News in the Future (NiF) research consortium, a group devoted to exploring technology’s potential to make news media more efficient, relevant, convenient, and timely.

Media Lab Projects

Media Lab researchers demonstrated or discussed the following projects, among others, with members:

Electronic paper.

The Lab is developing an inexpensive, flexible material that looks and acts like paper, but can display information that can be changed electronically, without the use of consumable materials. Its inventors believe that this medium could eventually be used to produce a computer for about $10.

A notepad that listens.

The Lab has developed a reporter’s steno pad with a built-in digital audio recorder. As the user records an interview or other event and jots notes on it, the notes and audio are synchronized; later, the user can select any note on the page and listen immediately to the corresponding sound bite.

High-tech product placement.

Attendees saw a soap-opera video clip in which all of the items depicted — clothing, furniture, and more — had been electronically identified and cataloged. Using an electronic pointer, the viewer can pick any on-screen item and see its name, its price, and details on ordering it from J.C. Penney (which funded this project).

Web sites that turn senior citizens into journalists.

Silver Stringers is an NiF program that helps senior citizens report on news in their communities and publish it on the Web. Take a look at stringers.media.mit.edu.

The world’s smartest coffee machine.

Not a media-related innovation per se, but any java-loving journalist will envy the Lab’s own coffee machine. Stick your own mug (with a special chip on the bottom) under the dripper, and the coffee brews to your exact preferences — while a radio plays your favorite station.

How the Net Will Change News

The discussion with News in the Future director Walter Bender was wide-ranging, focusing as much on philosophical issues as technological ones.

Because almost anyone can publish information on the Internet, Bender believes that many consumers will become de facto journalists themselves — and therefore be increasingly demanding of the media. Of participants in the Silver Stringers Web-publishing project, Bender says that "their relationship with [newspapers] has changed — they’re more critical, more engaged. As people’s level of engagement rises, they’re not going to tolerate sloppy journalism.

"What people want are not answers but questions," Bender told the event’s attendees. "They want things that will get them to think, that let them be part of the discourse. I’m after making news harder — if you’re going to be involved, you’ll actually have to think a bit."

Members’ Questions

Among Bender’s answers to attendees' questions:

What will happen to editors?

"Editors become more and more valuable — people are looking for judgment. The service an editor provides in print is transferable [to electronic media]."

Will old-media brands thrive online?

"CNN and USA Today have done a good job. On the other hand, it seems that you can create a new brand online, and it can happen pretty quickly. A lot of organizations have thrown away their opportunity — not that they can’t recover."

Will consumers pay for online news?

"Most news is going to be free online — the economics will be such that the bottom line is that if you have eyeballs, you have a vehicle for deriving revenue. But if you don’t have something that people are interested in, it doesn’t matter."

Will print media be crushed by electronic competition?

"Tell me a medium that’s ever gone away. They change in purpose, but they never die. Text is so damn efficient — I can read and skim in a way that I can’t do with audio or video."

Labels: Harry McCracken, Technology

By Maureen Alley

Labels: Digital, Maureen Alley, Technology

By Amy Florence Fischbach
2009 Awards Competition Chair

Publications are still meeting their readers’ needs for useful, timely, and in-depth information. The 2009 Print Azbees prove it.

Despite the challenges of working with streamlined staffs and fewer resources, award-winning editors have earned richly deserved props for buckling down, going above and beyond, and still looking out for their readers.

As the editorial standard-bearer and the only U.S. professional society for B2B editors, ASBPE offers a hearty “well done.”

Equally important, each Azbee Award, with its informed and tough criteria, is a valuable marketing tool for publications willing to understand and sell the significance.

ASBPE is proud of our national winners and our numerous regional award winners. They are part of our family as well. You see, there is a lot of good work out there.

Our judges know it. As always, more than 80 “in-the-trenches” editors, artists, academicians, and consultants invested their time and energy into carefully reviewing each entry.

Making a difference

This year, for the first time, ASBPE established a Journalism That Matters Award for editors whose efforts made a tangible change in their industry. Read how HSToday editor David Silverberg beat the National Football League.

Thank you

To all the publications that chose to support us (and yourselves) this year, we sincerely appreciate it. And so does your editorial and art staff. We all value your hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence in B2B journalism.

I also want to recognize ASBPE’s members for their continued support. Please, stay involved in your local chapters and with national, and donate to the ASBPE Foundation. Participation has rewards.

Finally, thanks to our staff: Janet Svazas, Holly Lundgren, Robin Sherman, and Martha Spizziri, and all the volunteer national and chapter board members.

The new Digital Azbees

For the first time in the history of the association, ASBPE is dividing the print and digital awards competition.

We’re introducing 15 new digital categories that represent the various activities in which editors are involved.

Of course, we’re still keeping all the other categories, including the top honors, Web Site of the Year and Multi-Platform General Excellence. This will be the premier digital event.

We urge you to enter your best Web sites, e-newsletters, podcasts, microsites, show coverage, and other examples of great digital work. The submission deadline for the Digital Azbees is Sept. 1, 2009. For more information, go to our website at www.asbpe.org.

Labels: Amy Fischbach, Awards, Azbee Awards, Digital, Technology

By Maureen Alley

During my five years in business-to-business trade, I've learned a great deal about niche marketing and writing. I've also learned a great deal about magazine production. Additionally, I've learned I have a huge passion for these. But one thing that surprised me about this industry is the struggle editors and publishers have with social media and new media in general.

I've always been excited about new media. Maybe this comes from my age, or maybe from the fact that I've been surrounded by computers my whole life (my dad is a computer guy) — but nevertheless, I have always looked at the computer as advantage, not disadvantage. And this is where I drift from the traditional B2B world. My ideas are different, and those who've been in B2B for a while don't tend to agree with me or see what I see.

There's no arguing that B2B is struggling to find its footing between loss of ads and growing reliance on the Web for users. I don't think it's as difficult as some think. The first step is being open-minded and realizing that past models are outdated. We must change the way we operate to succeed. I truly believe B2B has the most advantage of all media to succeed with the different platforms available. However, to do that, things need to change. Below are a few tips for B2B editors to guarantee you're getting the most out of social media and online.

• Get on LinkedIn and make sure your profile is up-to-date and active. Only have connections on LinkedIn that you can vouch for — quality vs. quantity.
  

• Start reading RSS feeds. RSS provides a more efficient way of reading more content faster.
  
  
• Get on Twitter and use your name as your handle. Too many editors think you need a personal Twitter as well as a separate professional one. This is a huge mistake. Make yourself a brand — and your brand will enhance your magazine's brand.
  
  
• Create your own website or blog. Again, use your name if possible as your domain name for branding purposes. Then use your website or blog to showcase your knowledge making yourself an expert in whatever you're an expert in.
  
  
• Stay up to date on the latest technology and try it out. Most of them are free, so why not? Example: I just signed up for FriendFeed because it was being talked about so much online and I didn't know what it was. Surprise — I like it better than Twitter!
  
  
• Participate in conversations online. Use Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook, LinkedIn — and any other social platform to make connections.
  
  
• Don't limit your connections to those in your industry. Read blogs and tweets from technology insiders so you stay up to date on the newest tools.
  
  
• Despite my annoyance that Google has such a large market share (73 percent), it offers good tools. Use them!
  
  
• Google Docs allows multiple people to collaborate, edit, share information on spreadsheets and other documents. This is huge for efficiency and communication.
  
  
• Google Groups allows you to collaborate with others in a forum-like fashion.
  
  
Create your Google profile to guarantee your owning your brand. Even if you only set it up with the basic information, you still own it.


• Write blog posts on your magazine's website at least three times a day.
  
  
• Readers like new content. If you're constantly putting new information up, they will come back.
  
  
• Search engines like new content, so make sure you give it to them.
  
  
• Market these new posts on all your social platforms such as Twitter.
  
  
• Make sure these posts are of the highest quality (relevant information, written professionally, no spelling or grammatical errors).

These are just a handful of ideas that you should be doing at a minimum. Once you get this far, you'll have your own ideas on how to keep moving forward. It's just getting to this point that's been a struggle for so many. Good luck!

Maureen Alley is managing editor for Website Magazine, a trade publication dedicated to Web professionals. She was formerly managing editor for Residential Design & Build magazine, a property of Cygnus Business Media. Alley graduated with a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and is currently attending Roosevelt University in Chicago for her Masters of Science in Journalism. She has been a member of ASBPE since 2006 and was a judge for the 2009 Azbee Awards program. She writes a blog at www.maureenalley.com about young journalists and new media. Contact her at malley13[at]gmail[dot]com.

Labels: Blogging/Blogging Strategy, Digital, Maureen Alley, Social Media, Technology, Twitter

By Steven Roll
ASBPE President

For the past year or so I've been reading about Twitter and quietly hoping it would just go away. After all, I bet in 10 years from now we'll look back at some of these social networking Web applications as a long-forgotten fad — like the CB-radio craze of the 1970s.

In 1976, it seemed perfectly normal for someone to communicate over a radio frequency with people who used made-up names like "Metroliner" or "Uncle Pickle."

There was a community aspect of CB-radio culture too. If you saw a patrol car up ahead, you told those sharing your frequency to look out for "smokey."

The whole thing seems kind of silly now.

I suspected Twitter might go the way of the CB Radio because they share some of the same characteristics:

• most people use a "handle" instead of their real name,
• it's perfectly acceptable to "follow" and interact with strangers,
• the conversations are conducted without any expectation of privacy, and
• there's no stigma attached to those who send out overly frequent or inane messages.

Of course, I'm not the first person to notice the similarities. This ham radio enthusiast refers to Twitter as his "lifeline."

But here's why I've been giving Twitter a second look:

• It seems like it’s gaining widespread adoption. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger launched a blog a few weeks ago called TwiTip, which focuses exclusively on Twitter. A post he wrote last weekend about influential people who use Twitter generated over 130 comments. Each comment was a list of influential people within a given niche that use Twitter.
  
  
• It allows you to connect with smart or influential people. One of the people I've been following is online marketing guru Guy Kawasaki. As I expected, Kawasaki is a prolific tweeter. But to my surprise, he is actually following me.
  
  
• Most tweets contain a link to an interesting Web site or news story.
  
  
• You can search Twitter to find out what people are saying about you, your company, or any other subject you care about. After you identify these people you can follow them.
  
  
• You can use Twitter to do things like post an appointment on your online calendar or update your status on Facebook.
  
  
• Once you have enough followers, you can start using Twitter as your new Google.

To be sure, Twitter has some real limitations. The biggest of which is that messages or "tweets" must be no more than 140 characters. But I'm learning that this social technology application has more than enough going for it to overcome this deficit.

You can follow me on Twitter at b2beditor.

10-4 Good Buddy!

Labels: Digital, Social Media, Steven Roll, Technology

By Martha Spizziri
ASBPE Web Editor

"Anyone can launch a media brand. The time is right now, especially because buying behavior has changed." That's the judgment of Joe Pulizzi, who copresented the ASBPE webinar "A B2B Journalist’s Guide to Creating the Next New-Media Resource" on Monday.

Pulizzi is founder and chief content officer of the content-marketing community Junta42. He also launched Junta42Match, a service for matching up buyers and sellers of custom publishing services. Presenting with Pulizzi was Harry McCracken, the former editor-in-chief of PC World, who left that publication to start the personal technology blog Technologizer. The site launched this year with zero traffic, but was getting 950,000 monthly page views and 400,000 unique visitors per month by its second full month of operation.

Although both presenters offered advice for editors who want to start their own ventures, most of their suggestions would be just as helpful to existing media companies planning to introduce a new-media property. Pulizzi explained how buying behavior has changed, and what that means for those who want to provide B2B information online. "More than 90% of business purchases begin online. So you have to find out how they’re using that information and become part of that process." Here are some of the other tips he and McCracken shared during the webcast:

Know where the money will be coming from before you start. Joe Pulizzi says a three-tier revenue model works in any market - that is, a new enterprise should be able to get revenue from at least three groups of people. Usually there are a main group or audience and a few ancillary groups.

Copy a model from another industry. Pulizzi used Digg as a model in starting Junta42. eHarmony and AgencyFinder were the models for Junta42Match.

Leave your job with a job. If you're striking out on your own, Pulizzi advised, continue to write or consult for their old companies while getting a new project started. Harry McCracken seconded this advice, noting that he's still a contributor to PC World. The writing he's done for that publishing franchise not only helped keep money coming in as the site ramped up, but it's great publicity for Technologizer.

Partner with other companies. You can't do it all yourself, Pulizzi stressed. In getting Junta42 started, Pulizzi partnered with American Business Media, BtoB Magazine, and the Custom Publishing Council. Working with established companies adds credibility to a new venture, and many of those companies will be willing to work with you because they need help figuring out how to build online products.

Treat your audience like editorial staff. Your audience contributes to your site in the form of blog comments and discussion forum posts, McCracken notes, and many of those participants may know more than you do about certain topics. What's more, based on their input to your site, you might even get to know users you'll want to hire to write for you. "Don’t think of your community as a database that you can sell to people. Do lots of polls and surveys. Find the best people and highlight their work – and even pay them," McCracken said.

Use free tools, even if you're a big media company. Big companies often bog themselves down in processes or tools. McCracken noted that there are many free tools now that are easy to use and comparable to products companies used to pay tens of thousands of dollars for. (For how to avoid getting burned when dealing with free web services, see this post from Technologizer.)

Don't bother with traditional search engine optimization. That's Harry McCracken's advice, and he admits it's unorthodox. But in his opinion, if you write good content and promote it via the social web, you'll rank high on Google. (For more, see this post from the blog McCracken on Media.)

McCracken and Pulizzi also discussed specific tools and marketing strategies they used, how to find writers when you're on a tight budget, and revenue streams beyond advertising. An archived version of this webcast will be available to attendees. Watch ASBPE's webinar page for updates on availability of the archived version, as well as updates on upcoming webinars.

Labels: Digital, Harry McCracken, Joe Pulizzi, Martha Spizziri, Media Business, Social Media, Technology, Webinars

By Steve Roll
ASBPE President

One of my favorite blogs is Lifehacker.com. Every day it offers an abundance of productivity tips. While some of the tips are aimed at the technically proficient, there are still plenty left over for rest of us. In fact, there are so many tips that sometimes I need to remind myself that I usually make up for the time I spend perusing the multiple posts by finding truly game-changing Web applications or productivity ideas.

So it was as a loyal fan that I purchased the second edition of the book authored by Lifehacker's founder Gina Trapani. Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better contains many of the same tips that were included in the first edition of Trapani's book, which was published in late 2006. The second edition's cover claims to have "more than 50 new & revised tips!"

Here are a few of my favorite tips from Upgrade Your Life:

Set up a morning dash. Dedicate the first hours of your day to accomplishing an important task. The key is to do this before checking your e-mail or going to any meetings. I am not a morning person, so it was hard for me to implement this tip. But once I got into the habit, it has increased my work output.

Remember the Milk. This free Web site allows users to keep to-do lists for work, home, or any other activity they would like to track. Deadlines may be assigned to each task and notifications of each day's agenda can be sent via text message or e-mail. This is a great service because it helps close the open loop of thinking about something that needs to be done and then forgetting about it. Whenever I think of something I need to do (for work or at home) I send an e-mail to RTM and it's on my to-do list.

Automatically back up your hard drive. Like life itself, it's not a matter of whether or not your computer hard drive will crash, but when. Mozy.com, an online backup service, will automatically backup your files for about $5 per month. More expensive plans are available to businesses.

Use multiple sites as your web browser's home page. Both Internet Explorer and Firefox allow users to open multiple tabs. This trick allows you to save time by starting out with multiple tabs already opened as soon as you launch your browsers. To do this open the tabs with the pages you would like to save. Then, go to the homepage option, which is in "Tools" for both Explorer and Firefox, and click the "Use Current" button.

Google by Keyboard. Over time, even little things like using keyboard shortcuts can improve productivity. One of the main advantages that the Web browser Firefox offers are its open-sourced applications. One that I have been using is Google by Keyboard. After going to the search menu by pressing "control -K", I can then scroll through the hits using my keyboard.

Although only about 20 percent of the market is using Firefox, I believe the abundance of open-source software applications available for it make it the best browser. (Almost 80 percent of the rest are using Explorer). I've noticed that Google's Chrome is also supported by open-sourced applications. But it seems like it will probably take some time for them to catch up.

Labels: Productivity, Steven Roll, Technology

By Harry McCracken
Editor, Technologizer

“You’ve got to walk up to the edge of the cliff, jump off, and build your wings on the way down.” I didn’t hear Ray Bradbury say that until I saw him interviewed in late July, nearly two months after I left my job as editor in chief of PC World to launch Technologizer, my own Web site about personal technology. But the great man neatly summed up — better than I ever could — why I quit one of the best jobs in technology journalism to build something from scratch.

Actually, when people asked me what the heck I was thinking, I did have a ready answer: “I want to scare myself.” I loved PC World—I’d spent nearly fourteen years there, starting as an associate editor—but it was successful before I got there, and I knew it could thrive without me. Being a good steward of an existing brand is hard; jump-starting an entirely new brand is a harder, more exciting challenge. Moreover, I believed that the Web, open-source software, free services, and ad networks made it possible for a smart editor to reach millions of people and make money doing so, without the backing of a large media company. So I resigned from PC World (while remaining a contributing editor) and got to work on Technologizer.

As I write, it’s been about six weeks since I began posting content on Technologizer in earnest. That’s way too early to gauge the success of a new media brand, but I’m extremely happy with the site’s progress. Its monthly traffic now numbers in the hundreds of thousands of page views. Its most popular stories receive tens of thousands of views. It has a growing community of visitors, and the technology industry I cover has been tremendously supportive.

And every day, I feel like I’m building my wings on the way down—taking risks, experimenting, and learning as I go. Yes, it’s scary. But it’s also the highlight of my career to date.

Herewith, some advice to any journalist who’s intrigued by the idea of going it alone:

Don’t do it if it sounds awful. If you launch your own business, you’re going to need to pour your heart into it. If you love what you’re doing, that’s a joy; if you don’t, why bother?

Use everything you know. I’ve been in this business for seventeen years, and I use every bit of my knowledge about journalism every day—including plenty of things I learned when my words appeared on dead trees. Much of the art of pleasing readers is the same whether you’re working at the world’s largest magazine or the world’s smallest Web site. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Focus on creating compelling content. Plenty of Web gurus will tell you to obsess over search engine optimization or other technical matters. None of them matter much unless you’re producing articles, video, and/or audio that captures the imagination of the type of people you want to reach. I work far harder to optimize Technologizer for smart human beings than I do to optimize it for search engines, and it’s paying off.

Understand your traffic. On one level, building a successful Web site boils down to one rule: “Figure out what people want, and give them lots of it.” Use tools such as Google Analytics (analytics.google.com) to see what your readers do — and don’t — find interesting enough to click on.

Join conversations. It’s easiest to attract visitors to content that’s newsy and which links to other discussions of the topic at hand elsewhere on the Web. Link to sites you like, and you’ll often find that they link back to you, bringing new readers to your material.

Be part of the community. That means building community features into your own site and participating in them. Technologizer, for instance, includes a full-blown social network, using the Ning (www.ning.com) service. It’s also worth introducing your site to new readers by participating at other sites where people who might like what you’re doing hang out. (To that end, I’ve guested on several podcasts since Technologizer’s launch.)

Leverage the power of free. So far, I’ve incurred two major expenses: I hired a lawyer to help me incorporate my company and deal with contracts, and I bought a nice new notebook. Otherwise, I’m feasting on free stuff. I use services like Google Docs and Gmail, hop on free Wi-Fi networks whenever possible, and generally try to avoid paying for anything when a solid no-cost alternative is available.

Find good partners. At the moment, I’m Technologizer’s sole writer and designer, but I knew I couldn’t do everything. In particular, I needed help on the advertising front, so I signed up with Federated Media — one of a growing number of companies in the business of handling ads for independent blogs and other small sites. I also partnered with Automattic, creators of the WordPress blogging platform, to host my site. When the day comes that I get hundreds of thousands of page views all at once, I want to be ready, and nobody knows more about handling massive amounts of traffic than Automattic does.

Be patient. Building a site that has enough readers and advertisers to be a self-sustaining business can’t be done overnight. Create a business plan that’ll get you there—and make sure that you know how you’ll pay your bills along the way.

I still run into folks who are surprised at my new adventure, and even skeptical. And I wouldn’t recommend that every journalist do what I did. But a few years from now, I think that going it alone will be entirely commonplace—and that the world of journalism will be far better for it.

Editor's Note, added Sept. 18, 2008: Inspired partly by writing this post for us, McCracken today launched a blog featuring his observations on the media business. It's called McCracken on Media.

Labels: Digital, Harry McCracken, Technology, Work Life

By Emily Kay André
Denver ASBPE Board Member

I heard something intriguing recently on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, an ESPN syndicated radio show. The Brett Favre saga, the sports story of the year, finally came to an unpredictable end late recently. This news was so interesting that it hurdled news-genre lines to become mainstream and, in even in some markets, headline news. The former face of the Green Bay Packers, the living legend, was scrutinized as closely as the former queen of pop during the embarrassing weeks of last year’s Britney Watch fiasco that caught all our voyeuristic attention.

So when Favre inked a deal in the wee hours with the New York Jets, the August 7 edition of the Washington Post had already been printed. Likewise, its Jersey Shore competitors and its reporters slept soundly after hard days of bringing the most relevant stories to its readers. And yet, no mention of the Favre deal.

Take that in for a moment. The most accredited news sources covering specifically the region of this national news story had no mention of the deal.

For the sports industry, the Favre story creates its own legend as an ironic tell-tale of the lack of loyalty within an industry that exists on fans’ loyalties to their teams. For the media industry, it demonstrates the urgent need of our audiences for information. It crystallizes the waning relevancy print media has in the context of its Internet and television counterparts. So where does that leave print media?

Obviously, technical journalism and business-to-business media operate under a subset of conditions that shelter them from certain growing pains and changes that mainstream media face. But I argue that the foundation of all print media and the forefather of all branches of journalism is newsprint. And I think we as an industry would be remiss not to take heed of this big lesson.

So the newspapers can, and did, update their online counterparts. But isn’t this in essence confirming the inherent flaw of print editions? Are we sending this same message to our respective audiences?

In response to the demand of online presence for evolutionary purposes, there’s one trend of replicating printed editions and making them available online. Sure, technologies such as Texterity enhance the print version in its virtual state with search tools and click-through ads. But the information is the same. If the essential component of electronic media is up-to-the-minute information, if that’s what our online audience expects from online news sources, we aren’t meeting these criteria.

The other alternative is creating unique and original content for online editions. The internal struggle here, at least for my magazine group, is the issue of internal competition: If a topic or news item is relevant to our readers, we present it to them in print; if it’s trivial, we skip it. So where does this “extra” content come from. And if we’re giving our online readers extras, what message does that send to our print readers? Think again about the Washington Post reader whose paper omitted this story, which he then finds online. What incentive does he have to pick up that paper tomorrow, when he can get all of its contents, and more, online?

Then there’s the issue of creating extra original and unique content in and of itself. Where will the resources to support the needed staff come from before the profits, assuming some, are reaped? Most likely, at least for private (those not backed by associations) publications, the words will come from our overworked computers. For those who are healthy enough to hire new staff to cover emedia — both sales and editorial — this strengthens the argument of internal competition.

I sense we are on the tip of the answer to all of these revolutionary questions, which is a scary place to teeter. But if the Favre situation has another lesson in it, it’s that you have to be flexible in order to survive in a changing atmosphere. Though Favre’s medium changes from Lambeau Field to the Meadowlands Sports Complex, he still has the same job to do. Under a new set of circumstances, new playbook, coach and uniform, he will take his skills and put them to good use. Will you do the same?

Emily André is managing editor for Printwear and Promowear magazines, imprinted-apparel industry trade publications headquartered in Broomfield, Colo. She has been active in an editorial capacity for various business-to-business publications for six years and serves on the board of the Denver chapter of ASBPE, of which she has been a member since 2004. André additionally freelances out of her home office in Denver. She can be reached via email at emily@nbm.com.

Labels: Digital, Emily Andre, Technology

By Erin Erickson
ASBPE Chicago Chapter Board Member

I have just about had it with the journalism dinosaurs that refuse to learn to use the Internet. If I had a nickel for every request I've received to do a Google search I would be as rich as Sergey Brin or Larry Page. Those requests don't even count the numerous times I've had to post something for someone who refused to learn the article uploading software that a five year old could master.

This is the 21st century. If you call yourself a journalist and can't figure out how to do an internal search of your own magazine's website, you need to pack it in and retire or find a new profession. Stop using the "I just don't get the Internet" as an excuse to act like your time is more valuable than mine.

Move over dinosaurs. It's time to let the Internet generation through.

Labels: Erin Erickson, Technology

By Howard Rauch
President of Editorial Solutions Inc.

If you believe everything you read on industry websites, the biggest impending trend is the abandonment of print in favor of a stronger website position (whatever that means). Recent blogs and articles warn that print is dead or dying. Among other things, this means that every editor must become extremely proficient at posting web articles. Allegedly, there is a big difference between writing for print vs. the web. Well … that depends on your point of view.

In my case, it seems that no matter in what media format our articles eventually appear, there is — or should be — an equivalent standard for highly informative, universally adaptable content. And no matter what else is true, we as editors should maintain an industry leadership position in terms of what we publish.

So what is “leadership?” In fact, it’s something we’ve let slip for a number of reasons. An obvious one might be lack of resources. Another might be the current round of belt-tightening that’s spurred a spate of salary freezes. Or perhaps we’re so preoccupied with the newest challenges to become technically proficient, we’ve let timely, high-quality editorial material slip through the cracks.

Am I exaggerating? Are we as good as we used to be? Here is a simple four-question challenge excerpted from a 16-factor self-scoring profile I’ve used in my consulting work. Each factor earns a maximum score of 25 points. The profile is a good starting point for any future discussion about rebuilding editorial enterprise. Please rate yourself right now!!!

(1) More and more, I am accepting second-best performance from staff members and myself. You deserve 25 points only if you never accept second best. Give yourself fewer points depending on how often you allow yourself or others to fudge on quality. SCORE: _____

(2) Alibis such as “not enough time” or “had to fill space” have become more acceptable to me when I decide to run second-rate material. Give yourself 25 points only if such rationalizations never cross your mind. If they do, downgrade your score accordingly. SCORE: _____

(3) I have developed an “I have paid my dues” attitude that exempts me from working on nitty-gritty — or “getting down” with my staff in emergency situations or when the workload is unusually heavy. Score 25 points only if your crew can count on you for an extra pair of hands when things on the firing line go bananas. SCORE: _____

(4) I find myself devoting a greater percentage of office time to personal business and justifying it. Give yourself 25 points only if personal business amounts to a maximum of a few minutes a day. Subtract points liberally if you shut your office door often so you can deal uninterruptedly with personal matters. Chop off even more points depending on how frequently you are out of the office, ostensibly on business, but in reality taking care of other affairs. SCORE: _____

If you scored 90 out of 100 points on this miniexercise, your leadership position should be solid. The next consideration is whether leadership opportunities are confined to the chief editor or distributed evenly among staff members.

Perhaps we can delve into that matter at another time via a follow-up self-scoring challenge.

Editorial Solutions Inc. is a consultancy focusing on B2B magazines. Rauch is the 2002 recipient of ASBPE’s Lifetime Achievement Award. You can contact him directly at howard@editsol.com.

Labels: Career/Employment, Howard Rauch, Productivity, Technology, Work Life

By Tonie Auer
DFW Chapter President and National Blog Chairwoman

There are times when I feel technically challenged and I often fear that this lack of comprehension of technology will hurt me if I ever want to return to a newsroom full-time. I've gotten spoiled to working as a freelance writer and editor - making my own hours, writing in my pajamas and working on the laptop from Panera when I need a break from sitting next to a basket of laundry that needs to be put away and a dishwasher that needs to be unloaded in the next room.

Then, I read Folio:'s commentary on MS Word falling out favor in the publishing world. It definitely makes me worry about how competitive I'll be when I go back into the world of magazines and newspapers.

What other programs out there should I be looking for and learning about? What sorts of technology and programs do most publishing houses, magazines and even newspapers use these days?

Labels: Freelancing, Productivity, State of the Industry, Technology, Tonie Auer