Two Worlds Struggle To Become One
While this year's Connections and NEXPO conferences shared space, joint sessions and lots of talk about convergence, that made the contrast between the industry's traditional suppliers and its johnny-come-latelys all the more striking.
The upshot? Neither industry stalwarts nor flashy Silicon Valley newcomers have all the answers in the changing new-media world.
At last year's conferences, show-goers focused on three Cs--content, communities, and classifieds. This year, add two new ones, commerce and convergence, with emerging revenue models both stirring and sweetening the pot.
CONTENT
Content-repurposing solutions, in particular, highlight the contrast between old and new. Veteran suppliers focus on such pressing needs as Year 2000 problems, while new developers resist the need to "work backwards," said Donna Conner, Microsoft Corp. Internet and information-publishing marketing manager.
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Stauffer Media Systems reps donned spacesuits to promote its new archiving software. |
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"I see, on the traditional side, more recognition of [the need for integration], but it's much more difficult for them to transition," agreed Elizabeth Sholar, Thomson Newspapers' publishing-systems director. "On the new-media side, I'm seeing less recognition, but it's obvious that you could take the pieces they develop and move the other way much easier."
More traditional suppliers offer solutions, typically HTML conversion of articles developed for and built into existing systems. Instead, Unisys Corp. of Blue Bell, Pa., developed a plug-in enabling a third-party solution, Microsoft's FrontPage--a recognition that products "are already in the marketplace," said Gabriella Franzini, publishing-solutions marketing director.
One such tool is FutureTense Inc.'s Internet Publishing System, co-developed by Community Newspaper Co. of Needham, Mass. Dynamic publishing--having the server create HTML pages on the fly, as requested--separates design from content, reducing the labor required to build hundreds of pages a day.
COMMUNITY
A year-old online catch phrase, community publishing, now actually connects with the nonvirtual world. Koz Inc.'s self-publishing tools are used by The Denver Post to provide statewide prep-sports coverage and as the cornerstone of Guy Gannett Communications' efforts to wire virtually every Maine organization. Meanwhile, NAA's New Media Federation uses collaborative InType technology developed by Seattle's Alki Software Corp. to create its online-newspaper database (see "Selling Success").
The tools now also become part of city-guide services. Zip2 Corp. integrated tools into The New York Times' New York Today city-guide site, allowing community organizations to maintain and update their own event calendars.
While Zip2 remains the city-guide leader with more than 160 newspaper affiliates, other players are making inroads. Deals with The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass., and California's Alameda Newspaper Group extend Regional Network Communications Inc.'s city guide-like "wrap" beyond Pennsylvania. And InfiNet of Norfolk unveiled Directories Online, allowing papers to create and manage directory applications using local or national business databases.
Novel community concepts also emerge. More than 30 newspapers will use e-the-people's interactive political service, allowing online users to circulate cyberpetitions and contact lawmakers.
CLASSIFIEDS
Traditional and new vendors now offer ways to automate the movement of newspaper ads online, but the ongoing trend has been attempting to win classifieds that never see newsprint (see Connections coverage).
Several companies have developed inventory-management systems linking car dealerships with print and online newspaper advertising. Now Management Process Integrators Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., extends the same concept to the equally critical employment category, automating ad production for human-resources managers, as well as offering résumé-matching and in-store kiosks.
During a NEXPO general session, former Atex
executive Daniel R. Chapchal demonstrated a Cambridge Display
Technology flat-panel display built
Photo by Stephen M. Dowell |
Extending the same virtual relationship to Realtors, Nova Publishing Systems Inc.--whose parent company AISI Inc. co-developed the groundbreaking AutoBase with the Times Union in Albany, N.Y.--unveiled RealtyBase, allowing agents to monitor listings and provide print and online ads.
Meanwhile, newspaper-classified networks like CareerPath.com of Los Angeles, AdQuest Classifieds of Waupaca, Wis., and AdOne Classified Network of New York City offer publishers ways to beat national aggregators at their own game. And look for classified technology to generate revenue using other databases. Executives with Fairfax, Va.-based IsoQuest Inc. predict their classified-parsing technology, used by Knight Ridder New Media and Electric Classifieds Inc., will someday drive "transactional content," from obituaries to recipes.
COMMERCE
Whether newspapers can tap into the burgeoning e-commerce market becomes a billion-dollar question: Depending on the study, Internet sales totaling between $220 million and $1.1 billion are expected not in 2005, not in 2000, but as soon as the fourth quarter of this year.
Such figures include, but go far beyond, classifieds. Consider Auction Universe, the person-to-person transaction service purchased last year by Times Mirror Co.'s Hartford Courant and now boasting 27 media partners, including 11 newspapers.
For publishers seeking ways to help advertisers make online sales, InfiNet offered an electronic-storefront solution, including industry-standard Open Market's ShopSite technology married with custom forms and secure-server transactions. And Boldly Interactive Inc. touted its turnkey online-content packages featuring integrated merchandise offerings.
CONVERGENCE
Perhaps the strongest sign of newspapers' online commitment is that publishers now develop comprehensive one-stop services, following the "portal" strategy of such Web juggernauts as Yahoo! Inc.
Nando Media licensed search-index technology from Pittsburgh-based News Index and offers Web-hosting services; the Daily News of New York City was the first to sign up. Companies touting novel sources of add-on content included Cybermeals Inc., an online takeout service; Web-search and directory providers Infoseek Corp. and Switchboard Inc.; and broadcast.com, offering streaming audio and video solutions for content and advertising.
Yet integration with existing print operations isn't just a supplier problem, it's a publisher problem, some observers note. "The industry remains much too centered on print," Apple Computer Inc. Strategic Relations Director Chris Gulker said during a Connections workshop. "We're not rehooking the core of our enterprise."