Folks, I’ve moved on, beyond the land of local social media and futile attemps to convert the local newspaper into a revenue ‘money-machine.’ When first getting involved in this market I did my diligence. I couldn’t have been more excited. The market potential is enormous, and the newspapers positioning is ideal for the local social marketplace. Unfortunately the adage holds true… “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” I now see why the so many before me have thrown in the towel. The newspapers are now running on borrowed time– fumes. Their window has closed and they are the deer in the headlights. We’ve seen complacency in species and industries before, which attributed to their eventual extinction. You see, the unfortunate reality is that the local newspaper is the reason the local newspaper is quickly fading into oblivion. It has nothing to do with technology or market. It’s just Darwin kicking in. Their only hope… yes… what we’ve heard only too often… “government bailout.” YIKES!
I found a ‘few’ (very few) in the newspaper industry who actually ‘get it.’ But the overwhelming majority couldn’t begin to comprehend. And like hungry vultures after a wounded animal, every vendor and their brother continue to line up to sell snake oil solutions to the newspaper. By the time we got to them, the newspapers were already lying in a fetal position and quivering… beaten bloody from shallow broken promises of solutions that were never to be. And for the trailblazers, the ones who got it? My hat is off to you for taking the leap and trusting your gut. The true believers of the real solution we crafted will reap the rewards and can hopefully be the guiding light for what remains of the industry.
And now I move forward, into the land of big data in the cloud… off to trail blaze in yet another transformative industry.
