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#aop3c: Think duration, not page views for online video says MSN’s Peter Bale

October 8th, 2009 | 1 Comment | Posted by Judith Townend in Advertising, Events, Multimedia

In a session discussing the future of video at the the AOP Publishing Summit 2009 (also featuring BBC Worldwide, ITN On, CBS Interactive, InSkin Media) Peter Bale, executive producer for Microsoft UK said that in the next 18 months to two years we will see a shift in the way video is measured for advertising purposes.

Duration spent watching, or ‘dwell-time’ will become a much more important measure than page views, and the format of advertising itself will change – with more connection between television advertisements and online campaigns, Bale predicted.

Listen to Bale talking to Journalism.co.uk here:

“Page views at the moment are used – rightly or wrongly – as a proxy for ad impression delivery,” said Bale.

“For example, we deliver something like 10 billion page views on MSN in UK, a couple of years ago it was only five billion – and there is a vague approximation between that and ad impression – it’s become a necessary currency for us for advertisers and it does give you a sense of scale, but what it doesn’t give you is a good measure of engagement.

“It is not information that works tremendously well with a video intense site or this environment where people are trying to make more money off the web.

“Average revenue per user and dwell time are going to become much more important. It’s about time online, as opposed to pages moved through and consumed.”

It will require new advertising formats, he said. “It will become more engaging, it is going to become more easy to click on an ad in a video environment.”

In addition, television advertising will become more interactive and connected to the online offering:

“I despair at the moment at the lack of real connection to a major brand’s web campaign – it rarely gets promoted effectively on television,” said Bale. “It’s as though people are working in two completely different environments.”

Summit coverage at this link.

This teetstream featured choice 140-character updates from digital journalists and publishers at the event

Tags: aop 2009, aop09, aop3c, Association of Online Publishers, microsoft uk, msn uk, online video, Peter Bale

#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – building conversations online

October 8th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Laura Oliver in Top tips for journalists

Building conversations: If you haven’t got an invite to Google Wave, check out TechDigest’s list of apps for encouraging discussion around online articles. Tipster: Laura Oliver.

To submit a tip to Journalism.co.uk, use this link – we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

Tags: conversations, Google Wave, tips

Malcolm Coles: Rate of growth slows for newspaper Twitter accounts

October 7th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Malcolm Coles in Newspapers, Social media and blogging, Traffic

This is a cross-post from Malcolm Coles’ website www.malcolmcoles.co.uk.

National UK newspapers had 1,665,202 followers for their Twitter accounts at the start of October – an increase of 193,266 on September 1 (when they had 1,471,936).

The rate of growth has slowed, however. This is a monthly increase of 13.1 per cent, compared with 17 per cent from August 1 to September 1, and also from July 1 to August 1.

What’s more, 151,555 of the increase (or 78 per cent of the total) is down to just one account – that of @guardiantech (which owes its popularity to its place on the Twitter Suggested User List). Indeed, of the 131 accounts I’m tracking, 51 have fewer followers than me!

You can see the full table here, or below.

Tags: malcolm coles, Twitter

Kindle expanding to more than 100 countries

October 7th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Laura Oliver in Newspapers

According to a Reuters report, Amazon’s e-reader, the Kindle, will now be sold in a further 100+ countries, including China.

While significant for the digital book market, the move is also of interest to publishers investing in e-editions or e-reading technologies.

Many high profile newspapers are available on a Kindle: the Financial Times, Times, Daily Mail and USA Today to name but a few.

This expansion could see new news clients for Amazon; potentially more Kindle-specific editions from publishers, such as that launched by Tribune Co.

A wider Kindle audience worldwide could also help publishers build their reach and possible revenue streams.

Tags: Amazon, e-reader, e-reader technology, Kindle

NCTJ and PTC shortlists for new journalist awards released

October 7th, 2009 | 1 Comment | Posted by Laura Oliver in Events

Two UK industry awards focusing on new journalists have announced their shortlists for 2009.

The National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Excellence in Journalism Awards cover six categories and recognise the best journalism students completing NCTJ-accredited courses and journalists/photographers with less than two years’ experience on the job.

The full shortlist is available on the NCTJ awards site. The winners will be announced at the Society of Editors conference on November 16.

Meanwhile the Periodicals Training Council’s (PTC) shortlist for the New Journalist of the Year Awards is now online.

The winners of the eight categories will be announced at a ceremony on November 20.

Tags: Excellence in Journalism Awards, nctj, New journalist of the year awards, PTC

Medill running course for ‘enterprising’ working journalists

October 7th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Laura Oliver in Training

Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism has a history of running innovative journalism training courses.

The school previously launched a masters programme for programmers looking to pick up journalism skills – producing some great graduates.

Now the institution has created a masters in journalism-programming for working journalists with at least seven years experience:

“The Medill School of Journalism seeks experienced media professionals who want to create or run a media enterprise; learn more about marketing, corporate communications or public relations; build their own personal brand as entrepreneurs; or continue working as journalists or media professionals but with expanded skills and a comprehensive view of the field,” reads the course description on the JournalismNext website.

It’s a nine-month full-time course, so those journalists would have to take time out from work – but the skills on offer could be a powerful combination for professionals with such a bank of experience already.

Tags: Medill, us

#aop3c: Reuters’ Project Insider: ‘narrowcasting’ in beta

October 7th, 2009 | 3 Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Events, Social media and blogging

Chris Cramer, global editor for multimedia at Reuters, dropped a new project into a speech at the AOP Publishing Summit 2009 that welcomed social media as the ‘first resort’ in newsgathering.

The development in question is Project Insider, he outlined in the next session, and will see clients provided with specifically targeted content via PDAs.

It’s narrowcasting, not broadcasting, Cramer said.

Currently in beta for selected clients, it delivers live financial markets coverage, analysis and breaking news through a web-based TV service.

Users are able to tag specific points in videos to share with others, and can engage with producers to invite them ask questions of an interviewee, he said.

“It doesn’t attempt to replicate what’s already in the marketplace,” Cramer said, adding that ‘at this moment in time, it’s unique’.

And – he was speaking in a social media session – it is ‘driven on the basis of social media. There is a sub-strata in there which is social media’.

“It’s about the financial professional who wants to know smart data now before their competitors,” he said.

More to follow from the summit throughout the day: in the meantime, follow this tweet stream featuring choice 140ch updates by digital journalists and publishers at the event.

Tags: aop 2009, aop2009, aop3c, Chris Cramer, reuters insider, social media

#aop3c: eHow.com users earning entire living from ‘How-To’ site

October 7th, 2009 | 1 Comment | Posted by Judith Townend in Events, Online Journalism, Social media and blogging

Demand Media’s eHow.com is allowing ‘power users’ to make their entire living by writing for the site, Shawn Colo, co-founder and head of M&A, Demand Media told delegates at the AOP Publishing Summit 2009.

With 50 million unique users a month, and ‘just shy’ of one million articles published, some of the site’s contributors are earning ‘tens of thousands of dollars’ per year, via its ‘writer compensation programme’.

The site, which provides instructional solutions for users – anything from how to remove a red wine stain to dealing with computer software problems – was bought by Demand Media in 2006, but really expanded in 2008: “We knew it was critical to have a killer application,” said Colo.

Richard Rosenblatt started up Demand Media in 2006 with US $320 million in investor funding. Its family now also includes LIVESTRONG.COM, Trails.com, GolfLink.com, Cracked.com, Mania.com, Pluck Enterprise, Pluck on Demand, and eNom.

More to follow from the summit throughout the day: in the meantime, follow this tweet stream featuring choice 140ch updates by digital journalists and publishers at the event.

Tags: AOP, aop 2009, aop2009, aop3c, demand media, ehow.com, shawn colo

Media Release: BBC opens up editorial guidelines to public

October 7th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Laura Oliver in Broadcasting, Media releases

The BBC is giving its licence fee payers a say on a new draft version of its editorial guidelines – the first review of the guidelines since the Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand scandal.

The BBC’s Editorial Guidelines will be open to a public consultation, which will run until December 24.

Full release at this link…

Tags: BBC, jonathan ross, russell brand