The “fail” meme is one of the digerati’s least pleasant contributions to pop culture. Wouldn’t be accurate, anyway. Instead, let’s just say that the Internet was…challenged yesterday by the crush of people who flocked to it when Michael Jackson died. And that it seemed to do a pretty good job in the end. That’s a more interesting story, right?
I’m still on record predicting the demise of seattlepi.com–the online-only zombie version of the erstwhile Seattle Post-Intelligencer. My gut is that even though the Hearst-owned site has an edit staff 80 percent smaller than its predecessor paper, it still won’t be able to generate enough traffic and advertising to cover its costs. But while Hearst isn’t ready to declare victory, it does say that the first two months of seattlepi.com’s life have been “encouraging.” Via a press release, Hearst offers up a bevy of traffic stats that show the site has grown even as its staff has shrunk. Hearst doesn’t offer up any info about revenue, but does say that its “sales and marketing team is highly energized.” Good start.
Time Inc. is happy to boast about its online audience, but it’s also acknowledging that Web advertising alone may not be enough these days. So it’s going to start charging readers — or at least start thinking about the notion.
Do the names Joanne Bradford, Mike Walrath, Wenda Millard and Greg Coleman mean anything to you? Do you know what pork bellies have to do with online advertising? Then you may get a chuckle out of this video, prepared by Yahoo for an ad industry gathering last week. For the rest of you, how about a clip from Jimmy Fallon, whose new show starts tomorrow night?
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
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