Deal with the Devil: Facebook, Google, mobile apps

A deal with the devil. Versión en españolIt was the science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke who wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” And clearly many people think that way about applications for smartphones.   Mobile apps can show us detailed maps of most places on earth.    They can read QR […]

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Reader loyalty gains strength as a news metric

Michael McCutcheon of Mic.com As the publisher of a business newspaper in Baltimore, I used to tell advertisers confidently that no other news medium could duplicate our audience of CEOs, business owners, and high-income decision makers. First Yahoo Finance undermined us. With their user database, they could deliver advertisers the same people who were reading […]

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7 mobile stats that should scare digital publishers

After years of predictions that this year would be the year of mobile, finally it has arrived. So here are some numbers that should prompt strategizing and action by digital media publishers. 1. Web traffic from mobile devices was up 78 percent year over year in mid-2013, and 109 percent over 2011, according to Ayaz […]

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10 entrepreneurs test new style of learning

Tenth in a series on teaching entrepreneurial journalism. Parts of this post are adapted from an article originally published in Revista Mexicana de Comunicación. Latin American journalists have a great thirst for establishing independent media. Many of them are tired of working for low pay at media outlets that protect the friends and punish the […]

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Journalists selling ads: think of it as a fair exchange

When I was going through the transition from editor of a business publication to the role of publisher, I dreaded sales calls with clients. It meant I had to ask clients for money, which was a new and uncomfortable experience. The hilarious irony of this is that, as a reporter and editor, it was my […]

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You create more value with ‘community’ than ‘audience’

Versión en español aquí.When I teach entrepreneurial journalism, the first thing I emphasize is the need to create a community.An audience is just a group of observers.  A community shares values and a deep interest in a topic or geographic area. It often has a bias toward action. That is where value comes in.Connecting these […]

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When will mobile ad revenue reflect time spent?

Two years ago the buzz was that mobile was the next big thing, and now that consumers are moving to tablets and smartphones, the moment has arrived. Nielsen says that 50.4% of mobile users now have a smartphone. More than two-thirds of those in the 25-34 age group have a smartphone. The report is here. […]

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