interesting to read Brian Fuller's take on the latest reorg here at UBM - http://greeleysghost.brian-fuller.com/2009/10/18/techinsights-latest-reorganization/ - which finds me back in a focused media role after 3 years of diversifying revenues via acquisitions. Candidly, I have to say that it was with some trepidation that I took the wheel of EETimes again after a 36 month break. In the past few years, BtoB media has attempted to navigate the perfect storm of falling revenues, a power shift to the audience and a monumental recession. Many of the "veteran sailors" are experiencing swells that they have never seen before and it is downright scary.
Earlier this week, I participated in a panel discussion at the National Electronics Distributors Association conference (NEDA) - http://www.nedassoc.org/aboutUs.php5 - centered on the role of media in today's environment. The answers to the probing questions surprised me somewhat as it seemed as though the panelists were claiming that nothing has really changed over the past 5 years and trade publications are better at contextual advertising than Google. I felt somewhat the "odd person out" as I stated that I think everything has changed and it will continue to change at an increased pace...I guess we'll see...many thanks to those of you who sent through positive feedback to me after the panel - it was reassuring!
The trip to the NEDA conference followed a Texas roadshow the previous week and attendance at Web 2.0 (where I got to see Jeff Immelt of GE deliver a great set of answers to a live interview).
All of these experiences have informed a strategy to completely restructure the EETimes Group from the ground up with the website(s) being the center piece. We are working to an early Q2, 2010 launch that will constitute the most radical and fundamental developments at EETimes since our 1994 web launch. The feedback from readers, advertisers and internal stakeholders has been the most overwhelmingly positive in my 23 year career.
The storm is not over but the EETimes ship has withstood the battering and is moving on through uncharted waters and, you know, I'm having more fun than ever!
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Confused
These are interesting times in the good old "Trade Press" space in the electronics industry. In the past 2 weeks, I have attended a virtual event focused on SoCs and a real live event - our Embedded Systems Conference in Boston.
I also stumbled upon this piece of opinion from Kevin Morris of FPGA Journal - http://www.fpgajournal.com/articles_2009/20090922_tradepress.htm - on which I will comment later!
A quick analysis of the SoC event, the third one that EETimes has delivered in 2009, show that over 3,400 hundred engineers registered from all over the globe and that almost 40% attended live (the event was in the middle of the night in India). We had engineers from RIM attend the event - one SoC design win from RIM can change the fortunes of a semiconductor company. (we had engineers from Apple at the Power virtual event) On average, the attendees were "at the event" for over 2 hours. These numbers are similar (slightly better) to the other events we have staged virtually and, early registration for our upcoming LED event are very, very strong indeed. Imagine my surprise to learn that some people, despite being aggressively lead focused, commented that they "don't like Virtual Events" or that the technology isn't perfect. I am totally agnostic on the technology issues but I cannot understand how this many engaged visitors can be ignored or downplayed - this is better ROI than almost any other product that I can think of right now if leads are key - so, I'm confused!
The ESC Boston Event this week was also a very strong event. Early (to be audited) numbers suggest that the event had more show floor traffic than last year -- really -- increased numbers of real engineers interacting with real customers in real time. The networking and "off piste" conversations were a delight to witness and offer real value not possible outside the face-to-face medium. So, imagine my disappointment or, more importantly, the disappointment of an engineer who takes time out of his/her day to meet with the embedded community only to find that some companies are not there...some of these companies are spending money on print ads...in publications that are not read...I'm confused!
So, onto the blog post by Kevin Morris. I actually agree that most print is dead, dying or "zombified" (it's dead but appears to be alive)...the old media model is broken. What surprises me is that this is even worthy of commentary anymore. EETimes has created a set of web solutions and community solutions (Facebook or thousands of engineers networking live at ESC Boston anyone??) that are 15 years old. They are very profitable, highly trafficked and regularly lead the list for readers and advertisers as "must go to" products. I actually think that discussing the "Trade Press" as a homogeneous whole is misleading...EETimes is not EDN, EETimes isn't even trade press...watch this space, we have some really interesting solutions in the lab right now.
Fact is, the engineers that created the technology that enabled us to do the things we have done and are doing are repaying the extra work on our side with loyalty to the brand that is very much appreciated. EETimes is healthy and vibrant with an array of solutions far beyond the advertising revenue stream (although we like that as well!) - much print is dead or dying - I have been saying this for over 10 years...still confused
I also stumbled upon this piece of opinion from Kevin Morris of FPGA Journal - http://www.fpgajournal.com/articles_2009/20090922_tradepress.htm - on which I will comment later!
A quick analysis of the SoC event, the third one that EETimes has delivered in 2009, show that over 3,400 hundred engineers registered from all over the globe and that almost 40% attended live (the event was in the middle of the night in India). We had engineers from RIM attend the event - one SoC design win from RIM can change the fortunes of a semiconductor company. (we had engineers from Apple at the Power virtual event) On average, the attendees were "at the event" for over 2 hours. These numbers are similar (slightly better) to the other events we have staged virtually and, early registration for our upcoming LED event are very, very strong indeed. Imagine my surprise to learn that some people, despite being aggressively lead focused, commented that they "don't like Virtual Events" or that the technology isn't perfect. I am totally agnostic on the technology issues but I cannot understand how this many engaged visitors can be ignored or downplayed - this is better ROI than almost any other product that I can think of right now if leads are key - so, I'm confused!
The ESC Boston Event this week was also a very strong event. Early (to be audited) numbers suggest that the event had more show floor traffic than last year -- really -- increased numbers of real engineers interacting with real customers in real time. The networking and "off piste" conversations were a delight to witness and offer real value not possible outside the face-to-face medium. So, imagine my disappointment or, more importantly, the disappointment of an engineer who takes time out of his/her day to meet with the embedded community only to find that some companies are not there...some of these companies are spending money on print ads...in publications that are not read...I'm confused!
So, onto the blog post by Kevin Morris. I actually agree that most print is dead, dying or "zombified" (it's dead but appears to be alive)...the old media model is broken. What surprises me is that this is even worthy of commentary anymore. EETimes has created a set of web solutions and community solutions (Facebook or thousands of engineers networking live at ESC Boston anyone??) that are 15 years old. They are very profitable, highly trafficked and regularly lead the list for readers and advertisers as "must go to" products. I actually think that discussing the "Trade Press" as a homogeneous whole is misleading...EETimes is not EDN, EETimes isn't even trade press...watch this space, we have some really interesting solutions in the lab right now.
Fact is, the engineers that created the technology that enabled us to do the things we have done and are doing are repaying the extra work on our side with loyalty to the brand that is very much appreciated. EETimes is healthy and vibrant with an array of solutions far beyond the advertising revenue stream (although we like that as well!) - much print is dead or dying - I have been saying this for over 10 years...still confused
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Cacophony
Lot's of noise and dissonance in the media world right now. The most entertaining debate surrounds the launch of Chris Anderson's new book - Free: The Future of a Radical Price. - http://www.amazon.com/Free-Future-Radical-Chris-Anderson/dp/1401322905
I was fortunate to see Chris present the early concept back in 2008 at an Analog Devices sponsored event in Silicon Valley where he stunned the engineering based audience by compelling to accept the "fact" that transistors are practically "free" and semiconductor companies need to make their money by providing services around those transistors. This theory went down like a lead balloon and there was a great deal of gnashing of teeth and mumblings of Fabs costing billions of dollars etc.
The launch of Free was somewhat sullied by a furor over sources and the use of Wikipedia - http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2009/06/corrections-in-the-digital-editions-of-free.html but this has been forgotten as Malcolm Gladwell (author of Blink etc) stridently disagreed with the basis of Anderson's new theory in his article in the New Yorker - http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/06/090706crbo_books_gladwell?currentPage=all.
Since then, Seth Godin has come out supporting Anderson - http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/06/malcolm-is-wrong.html and Anderson himself has responded to Gladwell on his Long Tail Blog - http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2009/06/dear-malcolm-why-so-threatened.html and the Guardian in the UK has also weighed in - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/01/comment-free-media-revenue-models.
The attention that this is getting in the media obsessed media world is mainly because Anderson has touched a nerve about the future of the media industry and how the web is killing newspapers and journalism and, by default, the entire 4th estate! If I remember the presentation that Chris gave at the Analog Devices event, he actually said that business models would be changed to free, "freemium" and paid....book writers would give away the book and charge for book tours, speaking assignments etc. Creators of music are making money from live tours nowadays and not as much from record sales.
It is clear that the media business model is broken, advertising is not supporting quality reporting and that a paid content model is key. The boundaries are blurry and the new rules are elusive but I firmly believe that this is a reset, a revolution and not incremental change.
I'll be buying the book....$17.81 on Amazon.....or you can read some of it here http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/17-07/mf_freer and I'm told a Free version will be available in digital form.
I was fortunate to see Chris present the early concept back in 2008 at an Analog Devices sponsored event in Silicon Valley where he stunned the engineering based audience by compelling to accept the "fact" that transistors are practically "free" and semiconductor companies need to make their money by providing services around those transistors. This theory went down like a lead balloon and there was a great deal of gnashing of teeth and mumblings of Fabs costing billions of dollars etc.
The launch of Free was somewhat sullied by a furor over sources and the use of Wikipedia - http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2009/06/corrections-in-the-digital-editions-of-free.html but this has been forgotten as Malcolm Gladwell (author of Blink etc) stridently disagreed with the basis of Anderson's new theory in his article in the New Yorker - http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/06/090706crbo_books_gladwell?currentPage=all.
Since then, Seth Godin has come out supporting Anderson - http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/06/malcolm-is-wrong.html and Anderson himself has responded to Gladwell on his Long Tail Blog - http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2009/06/dear-malcolm-why-so-threatened.html and the Guardian in the UK has also weighed in - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/01/comment-free-media-revenue-models.
The attention that this is getting in the media obsessed media world is mainly because Anderson has touched a nerve about the future of the media industry and how the web is killing newspapers and journalism and, by default, the entire 4th estate! If I remember the presentation that Chris gave at the Analog Devices event, he actually said that business models would be changed to free, "freemium" and paid....book writers would give away the book and charge for book tours, speaking assignments etc. Creators of music are making money from live tours nowadays and not as much from record sales.
It is clear that the media business model is broken, advertising is not supporting quality reporting and that a paid content model is key. The boundaries are blurry and the new rules are elusive but I firmly believe that this is a reset, a revolution and not incremental change.
I'll be buying the book....$17.81 on Amazon.....or you can read some of it here http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/17-07/mf_freer and I'm told a Free version will be available in digital form.
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Economist and success
Some good pick up today on the stellar financial results from The Economist. Check out - http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/06/22/oh-to-be-the-economist/ and http://paidcontent.org/article/419-earnings-economist-powers-ahead-in-print-ft-cutting-more-costs/.
In short, The Economist increased revenues by 17% and profits by 26% in their past financial year.
The Economist is the only "newspaper" that I read regularly anymore and certainly the only one I subscribe to. It has a unique, high quality voice and provides a global view with a huge dose of opinion and attitude.
It's website is strong - www.economist.com - although I don't spend as much time there as with the print product. As Jeff Jarvis points out on his buzz machine blog post linked above, there is room for one high quality leader in all markets - he mentions Apple and The Economist - in the BtoB world, the maniacal focus on cost cutting has compromised quality - who is brave enough to stake out the position?
In short, The Economist increased revenues by 17% and profits by 26% in their past financial year.
The Economist is the only "newspaper" that I read regularly anymore and certainly the only one I subscribe to. It has a unique, high quality voice and provides a global view with a huge dose of opinion and attitude.
It's website is strong - www.economist.com - although I don't spend as much time there as with the print product. As Jeff Jarvis points out on his buzz machine blog post linked above, there is room for one high quality leader in all markets - he mentions Apple and The Economist - in the BtoB world, the maniacal focus on cost cutting has compromised quality - who is brave enough to stake out the position?
Friday, June 12, 2009
Advertising equals failure?
Well, for those of us in media, Jeff Jarvis adds another layer of chaos - http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/06/06/decencyad/ - It's an interesting theory and one that I don't entirely disagree with.
For all the talk and chatter surrounding Twitter and Facebook and MySpace (ouch!) and LinkedIn, it does all come back to the basics of having a great product.
How people find out about that product is changing. Clearly, the best way is for a whole bunch of influential people to recommend your product and company but that is not easy.
What I will say is that the media companies that are still waiting for this chaos to end and a return to the "good old days" are toast. Those that are dealing in incremental improvements are gambling with their future - it really is revolution not evolution...
For all the talk and chatter surrounding Twitter and Facebook and MySpace (ouch!) and LinkedIn, it does all come back to the basics of having a great product.
How people find out about that product is changing. Clearly, the best way is for a whole bunch of influential people to recommend your product and company but that is not easy.
What I will say is that the media companies that are still waiting for this chaos to end and a return to the "good old days" are toast. Those that are dealing in incremental improvements are gambling with their future - it really is revolution not evolution...
Monday, June 08, 2009
Running a marathon through mud
Arrgghhhh...almost 3 months since my last Blog post and my old colleague and friend at Electronics Weekly, David Manners, is posting twice a day on his Mannerisms Blog - http://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/david-manners-semiconductor-blog/
In another attempt to start my blogging engines, check out this excellent You Tube video sent to me by John Reardon of RTC Group - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CqRcCHk_Pc
I am still trying to understand when we begin to pull out of this recession and note that the electronics analysts are seemingly calling -21% "...OK..." (my interpretation) - http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217702118
In my world -21% is, well, minus TWENTY ONE PERCENT....
Back to following the Tweets
In another attempt to start my blogging engines, check out this excellent You Tube video sent to me by John Reardon of RTC Group - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CqRcCHk_Pc
I am still trying to understand when we begin to pull out of this recession and note that the electronics analysts are seemingly calling -21% "...OK..." (my interpretation) - http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217702118
In my world -21% is, well, minus TWENTY ONE PERCENT....
Back to following the Tweets
Friday, March 20, 2009
A new digital dawn...?
In my travels over the past three weeks I have been a keen observer of the reading habits of my fellow travelers. There are a fair share of newspapers and magazines and, the book still seems popular with an even split between fiction, non-fiction and business volumes. I have also noticed the first appearance of the new Amazon Kindle, and a very nice looking device it is too! http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Device/dp/B000FI73MA
Yesterday, I actually got to play with one of these new devices and, as an avid book reader, I was ready to write it off as the latest ‘intellectually lazy’ attempt of the technology industry to replace the ‘experience’ of reading a book with a literal translation of the experience in the digital form. After 5 minutes, I was hooked – the thin form factor and ease of use coupled with the easy to read screen quickly ensured that I was reading pages, searching for books and magazines and newspapers via the embedded wireless connection. At $350 in today’s economic environment, I’m not sure what the adoption will be like but I think I will take the plunge as an early birthday present!
The Kindle experience followed a brief stopover to present at the Folio Growth Conference - http://www.foliosummit.com/ in Chicago where I bumped into our EETimes Edge – http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cmp/eetimes030909/index.php#/0 - digital print supplier, NXtBooks – http://www.nxtbooks.com/ – and they demoed their 3.0 release.
EETimes was one of the first BtoB publications to experiment with digital delivery as early as 2001 and we have taken some ‘arrows in the back’ as the advertising community decided to write off the digital reach due to the low open rates. Of course, the media companies didn’t help by refusing to disclose the open rates as they were scarily low and the fear was that advertisers would assume similar low open rates for the actual printed copies resulting in lower rates etc.
Despite this, when given the choice, many readers chose the digital version of EETimes over the print version for a variety of reasons ranging from the search functions through to the environmental advantages of a PDF over paper. Today, over 50% of EETimes is delivered to readers in digital format as requested by our readers.
The CEO of NxtBooks, Michael Biggerstaff has confirmed that EETimes Edge is one of the top 10 performers in the extensive Nxtbooks stable. With average click through rates of 6.48% per reader and 67% increase of time spent reading the digital edition to an average of 13 minutes and 22 seconds in 2008. Add in the astounding figure of almost 8 million page views (a 17.4% increase) in 2008 and it is clear that there is reader engagement.
So, where is the advertiser engagement? I saw another piece of data this week (more to come in another Blog) that was based on research showing that a print marketing campaign can lift lead generation results by 115% - the fact is that the brand of the advertiser plays all the way through to the sales leads they can create and the search result performance they can achieve.
With platforms such as the Kindle 2 and software such as NxtBooks 3.0, it is time for advertisers to engage with digital magazines and not write it off – your next customer is already there.
Yesterday, I actually got to play with one of these new devices and, as an avid book reader, I was ready to write it off as the latest ‘intellectually lazy’ attempt of the technology industry to replace the ‘experience’ of reading a book with a literal translation of the experience in the digital form. After 5 minutes, I was hooked – the thin form factor and ease of use coupled with the easy to read screen quickly ensured that I was reading pages, searching for books and magazines and newspapers via the embedded wireless connection. At $350 in today’s economic environment, I’m not sure what the adoption will be like but I think I will take the plunge as an early birthday present!
The Kindle experience followed a brief stopover to present at the Folio Growth Conference - http://www.foliosummit.com/ in Chicago where I bumped into our EETimes Edge – http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cmp/eetimes030909/index.php#/0 - digital print supplier, NXtBooks – http://www.nxtbooks.com/ – and they demoed their 3.0 release.
EETimes was one of the first BtoB publications to experiment with digital delivery as early as 2001 and we have taken some ‘arrows in the back’ as the advertising community decided to write off the digital reach due to the low open rates. Of course, the media companies didn’t help by refusing to disclose the open rates as they were scarily low and the fear was that advertisers would assume similar low open rates for the actual printed copies resulting in lower rates etc.
Despite this, when given the choice, many readers chose the digital version of EETimes over the print version for a variety of reasons ranging from the search functions through to the environmental advantages of a PDF over paper. Today, over 50% of EETimes is delivered to readers in digital format as requested by our readers.
The CEO of NxtBooks, Michael Biggerstaff has confirmed that EETimes Edge is one of the top 10 performers in the extensive Nxtbooks stable. With average click through rates of 6.48% per reader and 67% increase of time spent reading the digital edition to an average of 13 minutes and 22 seconds in 2008. Add in the astounding figure of almost 8 million page views (a 17.4% increase) in 2008 and it is clear that there is reader engagement.
So, where is the advertiser engagement? I saw another piece of data this week (more to come in another Blog) that was based on research showing that a print marketing campaign can lift lead generation results by 115% - the fact is that the brand of the advertiser plays all the way through to the sales leads they can create and the search result performance they can achieve.
With platforms such as the Kindle 2 and software such as NxtBooks 3.0, it is time for advertisers to engage with digital magazines and not write it off – your next customer is already there.
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