Reinvention

[Diabeetus]

A pretty good read from the Nieman Journalism Lab of Harvard on how the industry needs to completely retool itself rather than slash resources and hope things will eventually work out. It compares where newspapers are now with a startup tech group that was doing podcasting and the challenge it faced when iTunes came around.

“Reinvent ourselves.” Not: “Cut back on our staff a bit more every few months and hope the current business model can survive.” Not: “Maintain a belief that we had a good product, damn it, a valuable product, and there will always be someone who wants it.” “Reinvent ourselves.”

http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/02/why-newspapers-should-manage-more-like-twitter-and-less-like-gm/

 

[jlee]

Thanks for the read, Diabeetus. Some interesting points in there, but it overlooks a crucial fact: Odeo stopped selling one thing and started selling another. If we stopped writing and started renting out our buildings for parties and weddings, we might be more successfull financially. Are we supposed to abandon the product -- good, written journalism -- in order to succeed?

We've known the industry's been in trouble for a long time. We know things have to change. But how do we do it? How CAN we do it? That's what I'm interested in.

EDIT: Spelling.

 

[RickStain]

A web site application programming company deciding to produce a different kind of web application isn't quite the REINVENTION the article is implying.

 

[Stitch]

A web site application programming company deciding to produce a different kind of web application isn't quite the REINVENTION the article is implying.

And is Odeo making any money? It's doesn't take a genius to think no. Plus, Odeo's first business wasn't making money either, so it's not as if they had several decades of entrenchment in a once-successful business model.