The new CNN.com: the good, the bad, the ugly
CNN is one of the world's leading news organizations and it's website is arguably one of its most valuable assets today. In an effort to make it even more valuable, CNN has launched a new design for CNN.com over the weekend for both its U.S. and International versions.
According to Nick Wrenn, Vice President of Digital Services for CNN International, "We had a look on how our users use the site, and put a lot of thought and research behind it". The finding: "Breaking news is our core brand and will continue to have a prominent spot. But we wanted to showcase a lot more of the deep, rich content we have. It was falling off the main page too quickly and people couldn't find it".
Volkswagen goes all in on the iPhone for the new GTI launch
The iPhone's App Store has made a lot of people a good deal of money during its short existence. But can a new car launch on the iPhone alone? Volkswagen is betting it can. The automaker is launching an app to announce its newest vehicle.
The car maker is betting that the highly targeted app will reach the caliber of customers interested in purchasing the vehicle.
AdAge calculates that the new app will reach more of that demographic than a much costlier television purchase. But does the math add up?
CMS guide highlights need for seamless content delivery
Econsultancy has this week published its 2009 CMS Buyer's Guide, containing profiles of 23 leading platforms and a discussion of key market trends. A lot has changed since the last version of this report in early 2007, including the explosion of social media and much wider use of mobile phones to access the web.
Four steps to profiting from a decent domain name
If you're an entrepreneur, or budding entrepreneur, making money online can sometimes seem like a real challenge. In my opinion, that's often because entrepreneurs focus on the wrong thing. They want to create a 'startup' and become the next Facebook or Twitter.
That's a tall order and, for most of us, a recipe for disappointment. But if you're willing to start out small and work hard, profit on the internet isn't so elusive.
Wall Street Journal taking paid content into new markets
While other newspapers like the New York Times grapple with how to charge readers for content online, the Wall Street Journal stands out as one of the few newspapers that doesn't have to deal with such issues.
Unlike many other newspapers, the Journal didn't drink the 'content just wants to be free' kool-aid. When it seemed like advertisers had an unlimited amount of money to throw around, the Journal stuck to its guns and ironically, has managed to have its cake and eat it too. Its ad sales are healthy and the mixed model it employs has apparently proven to be the secret sauce.
Conde Nast hunts for new revenue with GQ iPhone app
Amid staff layoffs and magazine closings, Conde Nast launched a new potential source of revenue today with the launch of a GQ iPhone app.
Conde Nast will start selling digital versions of its issues on the iPhone for the discounted price of $2.99 (versus $4.99 on the newstand). The first question that comes to mind is this: Who will start doing this next?
Will BusinessWeek bring social media to Bloomberg?
Times are tough for many magazines these days. BusinessWeek knows that first-hand. The weekly business magazine will reportedly lose some $40m this year.
But after a long bidding process, it has found a knight in shining armor: Bloomberg LP. The privately-held financial software, data and news company is acquiring BusinessWeek for an undisclosed sum rumored to be in the range of $2-$5m (yes you read that right, million). It will also take on BusinessWeek's liabilities, which could far exceed that amount.
The Economist puts up a paywall
By just about any reasonable measure, The Economist is doing pretty darn well for a magazine. As the print world frequently looks to be in a state of perpetual implosion, The Economist stands out as one of the print publications that's not only surviving, but thriving.
While struggling print publications like The New York Times mull a paid content strategy from a position of desperation, The Economist is going paid from a position of strength.
Google wants to crawl your AJAX
Every day, more and more web designers and developers are taking advantage of new technologies and tools that enable more enjoyable user experiences. From jQuery to Flex, designers and developers have no shortage of options for building more intuitive, responsive and efficient websites.
But many, if not most, of these options come at a price: an SEO hit. That's because it's difficult for search engines to make sense of content that is controlled by these technologies and tools.
SlideShare gets into the lead gen, PPC business
SlideShare is a hub for wickedly-awesome slideshows and presentations. And that has made it a popular place for savvy marketers to publish some of their wares.
That's something SlideShare is not unaware of and like any smart startup looking to find new revenue streams, The company is looking to turn popularity with businesses into profits with a new offering called SlideShare Business.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
