The end of publishing? Not exactly…

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Matt

Here’s a great video that highlights a key point in the real disruptive power that the Web has had on publishing of all stripes. Stick with it until the end.

Apparently created by Penguin Group USA for a sales conference of Dorling Kindersley Books, it’s really a clever look at how off-base curmudgeons’ laments really are. Bravo!

Thanks to Lost Remote for the tip.

Taking journalism lessons from revolutionaries

Posted on April 24, 2009 by Matt

I just finished watching a fantastic video, produced for the 2009 Craft Brewers Conference.

Take a minute and check it out:

I Am A Craft Brewer on Vimeo.

For the record, I live in Oregon (Beervana) and I love craft beer.

But I’m also a journalism fanatic and I just couldn’t help but think about my own professional values every time these folks were talking about their own work.

This weekend, many of the best and most heretical minds in the field will be meeting at BarCamp News-Innovation Philadelphia to hammer out some new ideas and models for remaking the news industry. I couldn’t make it to Philly, but I’ll be there in spirit and following along from afar.

And so, to journalists who feel abused and stranded by the industry that controls the work we love, let’s borrow the creed of passionate brewers to wrest control of our craft and duty and move boldly into the new century:

We must illuminate our strengths, keep true to our standards, educate those who seek to understand what we’ve created. We must draw hard lines, we must expose those who would seek to capitalize on what we have created. We must not chase after those who do not understand what we’ve created or care about what we do. We believe in quality, bold character, fun, responsibility, and we believe in pushing the boundaries.

Do good work in Philly. And every day forward.

Excellent flood coverage at CR Gazette

Posted on June 24, 2008 by Matt

Shame on me for reading it first somewhere else, but my eyes were glued to Web coverage of Iowa flooding by the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

My friend Jason Kristufek heads up the paper’s Web efforts, and he’s been doing them proud.

From a map-enabled display of stories as they were breaking (sorry, no link) early on and wall-to-wall coverage during the event to reader-driven clean-up resources and assistance and postings of “Random Acts of Kindness” by volunteers in the area, the Gazette rocked under extreme conditions.

Great work!

Excuses, excuses

Posted on May 20, 2008 by Matt

Aaron Swartz piles on the praise for a This American Life show focused on the U.S. housing market meltdown. Swartz starts off by drawing lessons to fix the news: declining circulation, talk show shouters, aging readers.

Here are three points he suggests we can learn from the episode:

It believed in the intelligence of its audience.
It didn’t assume you already knew the subject.
It was done in an entertaining and conversational tone.

Not groundbreaking, but good points. After a quick look at his blog, I see a non-journalist (at least a non-journalism-focused blogger) starting to understand the problem.

It’s the comments that get to me. Here’s a guy who’s wrangling with a fundamental question of our industry and this is how people respond:

The decline in sales is probably indicative of some other wider (societal) issue.
I don’t think there is enough time in the day to allow one hour programmes examining each and every pressing issue arising in the world.
I enjoy TAL too … but more relevantly, you might note they eke out a living on the fringes of the media world, competing with rant-radio and pop-music. Quality is a hard sell in terms of profitability.
1) this is not a model that can be replicated enmass. 2) this is not the reason why newspaper/print media companies are performing poorly.

Excuses. Whining. Plain and simple. And for someone who’s just starting to understand how fundamentally our industry must change, it’s discouraging.

So Aaron, if you can read this, keep up the good thinking. You’re right, and your three points illustrate good journalism, whether done today or 30 years ago.

No excuses.

Lessons from Leatherman

Featured

Posted on April 17, 2008 by Matt

I had a chance to hear Tim Leatherman, inventor of the multi-tool today (yes there is a guy named Leatherman). He was featured at Speakerlunch a monthly pep-talk for entrepreneurs put on by a local guy in Corvallis.

I came away with a couple of entrepreneurial lessons to consider that I wanted to share:

Leatherman had his moment of insight on a European vacation. His Scout knife wasn’t hacking it for repairs on his $300 Fiat 600, so he jotted down a quick note, “Put a pair of pliers on a pocketknife.” Lesson: Carry a notepad everywhere to capture ideas. Even on vacation.
Once he’d created a working prototype (after three years of cardboard, wood and metal models) he took the thing to knife and tool makers. Knife makers wasn’t interested because the thing wasn’t a knife. Tool makers called it a gadget. No thanks. Lesson: Sometimes the industry best positioned to capitalize on a good idea can’t tell one when they see it.
That prototype looks a lot different from the first PST (Personal Survival Tool). It’s got two pair of pliers mounted to the top and a bunch of other stuff. He also was asking $40 wholesale, which meant retailers would have to sell it for $80. Buyers for mail order house Early Winters took him under their wing and suggested paring down the expensive multiple pliers and scissors. Final price: $24 wholesale. Leatherman was selling a million in 10 years. Lesson: Sometimes paring your idea down to the basics is what people want. Bells and whistles just get in the way and boost the price to unmanageable levels.
Once Leatherman got his business rolling, he farmed out some of the knife blade tempering to Portland neighbor knifemaker Gerber (who was the first to turn him down years before). Gerber execs realized exactly how many blades they were subcontracting and learned just how big of a business the multi-tool market had become. They engineered their own tool and became Leatherman’s first prime competitor. Lesson: Be careful who you partner with. Even if you’re the only game in town, it’s a temporary condition.

By the way, Leatherman carries two of his tools at all times: the Charge and the Squirt on his keychain. Are you surprised that the inventor of the American version of the Swiss Army knife wouldn’t be prepared?

Matt Neznanski

A media, technology, journalism and idea mashup.

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