Next Up: Multimedia
Ah yes, the Web-boon or bane of the industry, depending on your perception (or job title). This may be the year newspapers finally got serious about it as a revenue source.
"We really saw a huge turnaround at NEXPO'97," says Lyn Chitow Oakes, vice president of marketing for Electric Classifieds Inc. of San Francisco. "Previously, people were really trying to see what the potential was. I think they realized this year that the Internet is a vehicle in which they have to participate.
"Newspapers are the leading provider of information in the local marketplace," Oakes continues, "and they need to leverage those assets. Putting existing classifieds on the Web isn't enough--you need a system that can put classifieds on the Internet but also add value."
As examples, Oakes cites not just digitized pictures, but multimedia such as streaming audio and video--the "virtual" space of the Internet as opposed to the "2 rms riv vu" space crunch of paper classifieds. She also foresees form-based mechanisms such as online mortgage applications and links to information about real-estate brokers and their agencies.
"We're wrapping all of these around the classified ad to generate multiple revenue streams," Oakes says.
If it were up to Oakes, there might be a color picture of that river view, or maybe a virtual-reality "tour" of the apartment. The capabilities for both are available right now in Web browsers. All that remains is to come up with a way to put it on the Web and make it possible to charge for it.
Founded in 1995, ClassiFind Network Inc. of San Diego has developed a way to add multimedia (video, audio and up to five color photos) to classified advertisements on the World Wide Web. ClassiFind is licensing its technology to newspapers to add multimedia classified ads to their content or to upgrade their current classifieds area through ClassiFind's Partnership Program.
How can a newspaper manage all of this new technology? Enter Multi-Ad Services Inc. of Peoria, Ill. The exclusive distributor of classified advertising-management software, Multi-Ad can now extend the utility of the CAMS program to include full multimedia Internet classified advertising through ClassiFind. Publishers using CAMS can instantly place classifieds on the Web. ClassiFind's multimedia classified services will be offered to users of Multi-Ad's CAMS program without their having to invest in new equipment, Internet software or personnel.
"We can now offer our customers an opportunity to increase their revenues through Internet advertising without becoming ensnarled in the costly process of developing and maintaining a multimedia classified Web site," says Ron Davis, product manager for database-publishing systems at Multi-Ad. "ClassiFind Network can do it all or simply be an extension of the paper's Web site."
"Our emphasis on full multimedia ads will bring a whole new dimension to real estate, merchandise, employment and the fast-growing personals section of classified advertising," says Tom Pipkin, ClassiFind's vice president of business development. "Newspapers can now keep pace with emerging Internet technology without the expense."
John Bryan is a member of the Technology Resource Group at the Los Angeles Times. E-mail, john.bryan@latimes.com; phone, (213) 237-4711.