If the Internet were a boxer, it would be the heavyweight champion of the world; taking its rightful place alongside boxing legends like Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis. In this same context, newspapers would represent an aging, near-retirement opponent, lying dazed on the mat with a cut over its left eye, hoping for a second wind.
So, what happened to newspapers, a once-formidable contender? Well, it’s complicated. But for starters, while newspapers were training 10 hours a day and mixing together pulpy, old-school protein powders, promoters for the Internet were out scouting for new talent and taking notice of a shift in journalism. The Internet honed in on this weak spot and came out swinging. And newspapers are still reeling…
The Numbers Tell the Story
Newspapers just aren’t packing them in like they used to. A survey by Scarborough Research for Journalism.com shows that in 2005, 38 percent of 18-24 year olds were reading newspapers in an average week. By 2007, that figure dropped to 33 percent.
In contrast, the Internet is attracting fans. Princeton Survey Research Associates International conducted a survey for The Pew Internet & American Life Project that illustrates this point. Survey participants age 18 and older were asked “Did you happen to use the Internet yesterday?” In January 2005, 58 percent said yes. By October-December 2007, 72 were in the affirmative. That’s a big jump.
The Blog Jab
Citizen journalism has gained in popularity and is challenging the way we define “news.” Search engine Technorati currently tracks around 112 million blogs and estimates another 175,000 are created every day. From notable blogs like the Daily Yonder to voyeuristic TMZ and Perez Hilton, bloggers deliver timely content, often beating traditional news outlets to the punch.
The Ad Hook
In March 2008, the New York Times reported that newspaper advertising fell 7.9 percent last year. Advertising used to be a mainstay of the industry, but ad dollars follow eyeballs and these days, millions of those eyeballs are glued to the Internet – therefore making Yahoo!, Google and Craig's List the new go-to companies for advertisers.
The Broadband Uppercut
The speed and agility of broadband has changed expectations about information delivery, and given people power to shape their news experience by quickly gleaning stories from multiple sources. Broadband also makes it easier to collaborate online, building on the concept of creating communities through shared experiences, which is one of the Internet’s greatest strengths.
The Final Punch
The Internet seems poised to deliver the deciding blow, but newspapers aren’t going to disappear tomorrow. Having survived radio and television, they can withstand the Internet. Many papers already boast a respectable online presence, and some of the best writers still call the newsroom home. The medium’s success rests with its ability to use what it has. And in this competitive Web 2.0 climate, it also must become a stronger advocate for universal broadband and net neutrality. Beyond that, time is on the industry’s side, so there’s still a chance to mend whatever may be broken.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Thinking differently (externally) about innovation
The N.C. Rural Economic Development Center’s annual Rural Partners Forum is coming up in early October and the topic this year is INNOVATION. And we’re sure that they’ll present a slew of different ways in which innovation touches our state’s rural economies, but is there a vehicle for innovation more radical than the Internet?
While most companies still cling to the invention model that centers on internally-generated ideas and intellectual property, other companies are beginning to adopt a fundamentally different way of thinking about how to develop new products and processes. They understand that the Internet is fueling the transition to an open model of innovation that is driven by greater access to talent, risk-taking entrepreneurship and capital – wherever in the world it is found.
In 2000, Proctor and Gamble (P&G) realized that their return on increasingly expensive research and development (R&D) investments was inadequate. Studying their process for innovation, they estimated that each of their internally-employed researchers had at least 200 talented peers worldwide with skill sets that that P&G could potentially use. So P&G decided to fundamentally change their view of R&D to now include not only the 7,500 people inside the firm, but also 1.5 million scientists and engineers outside the company. The Internet made this possible by providing those new connections. The results more than support the wisdom of that decision – to adopt an open innovation policy. The company reported in 2006 that R&D productivity is up almost 60 percent, and 45 percent of products in development having key elements from external sources. Their innovation success rate has doubled, the cost of innovation has decreased, and perhaps the most telling of all – the price of a share of P&G stock has doubled.
Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical giant headquartered in Indiana, has also used the Internet to dramatically change their innovation model. Eli Lilly created and spun-off Innocentive, a Web-based service firm that posts client’s scientific problems and offers cash for accepted solutions, maintaining the anonymity of all involved. This approach allows firms of all sizes to efficiently use the Internet to leverage their access to a critical and scarce R&D resource – talented human capital. It was found that for the 166 problems solved through Innocentive, the further the problem was from the solver’s expertise, the more likely he or she was to solve it. Non-experts in one field solved problems in another field by thinking differently. The results reinforce the value of the Internet as a boundary-eliminating connection that can serve to enrich blockbuster innovations.
The application of the Internet to spurring innovation is not limited to R&D enterprises. Netflix, a mail-order and Web-based entertainment service recently offered a $1 million award for an algorithm that would improve efficiency of one of its existing internal systems by at least 10 percent. They drew over 15,000 entrants from 126 countries, and the leading solution came from Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
While most companies still cling to the invention model that centers on internally-generated ideas and intellectual property, other companies are beginning to adopt a fundamentally different way of thinking about how to develop new products and processes. They understand that the Internet is fueling the transition to an open model of innovation that is driven by greater access to talent, risk-taking entrepreneurship and capital – wherever in the world it is found.
In 2000, Proctor and Gamble (P&G) realized that their return on increasingly expensive research and development (R&D) investments was inadequate. Studying their process for innovation, they estimated that each of their internally-employed researchers had at least 200 talented peers worldwide with skill sets that that P&G could potentially use. So P&G decided to fundamentally change their view of R&D to now include not only the 7,500 people inside the firm, but also 1.5 million scientists and engineers outside the company. The Internet made this possible by providing those new connections. The results more than support the wisdom of that decision – to adopt an open innovation policy. The company reported in 2006 that R&D productivity is up almost 60 percent, and 45 percent of products in development having key elements from external sources. Their innovation success rate has doubled, the cost of innovation has decreased, and perhaps the most telling of all – the price of a share of P&G stock has doubled.
Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical giant headquartered in Indiana, has also used the Internet to dramatically change their innovation model. Eli Lilly created and spun-off Innocentive, a Web-based service firm that posts client’s scientific problems and offers cash for accepted solutions, maintaining the anonymity of all involved. This approach allows firms of all sizes to efficiently use the Internet to leverage their access to a critical and scarce R&D resource – talented human capital. It was found that for the 166 problems solved through Innocentive, the further the problem was from the solver’s expertise, the more likely he or she was to solve it. Non-experts in one field solved problems in another field by thinking differently. The results reinforce the value of the Internet as a boundary-eliminating connection that can serve to enrich blockbuster innovations.
The application of the Internet to spurring innovation is not limited to R&D enterprises. Netflix, a mail-order and Web-based entertainment service recently offered a $1 million award for an algorithm that would improve efficiency of one of its existing internal systems by at least 10 percent. They drew over 15,000 entrants from 126 countries, and the leading solution came from Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Hurricane season is here - do you have a communications plan?
Tropical Storm Fay is the first storm of the season to even flirt with the idea of dumping some weather on North Carolina. With everything that Florida and the Gulf have suffered through for the last few years, you have to wonder if in the give-and-take of Atlantic Hurricane Seasons, it is the Carolinas' "turn" to get it.
So - since we've had a relatively long stretch of hurricane-free years - the forthcoming (potential) arrival of Fay makes us think about emergency communication plans. Stocking up. Boarding up. Heading out of dodge, if need be.
The Home Safety Council recently reported that only 30 percent of households have discussed and created an emergency communications plan - specifically outlining how families would stay connected in the case of a major weather or disaster event. And this topic is so intimately tied to technology these days because of our collective dependence on linkage with each other though mediums like Internet access and cell/mobile coverage. It may sound like a stretch, but this is a truly great example of how Internet connectivity has infiltrated every portion of modern society.
So - since we've had a relatively long stretch of hurricane-free years - the forthcoming (potential) arrival of Fay makes us think about emergency communication plans. Stocking up. Boarding up. Heading out of dodge, if need be.
The Home Safety Council recently reported that only 30 percent of households have discussed and created an emergency communications plan - specifically outlining how families would stay connected in the case of a major weather or disaster event. And this topic is so intimately tied to technology these days because of our collective dependence on linkage with each other though mediums like Internet access and cell/mobile coverage. It may sound like a stretch, but this is a truly great example of how Internet connectivity has infiltrated every portion of modern society.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Who Understands All This Technical Stuff Anyway?
Well, the quick answer may be – not many people. It seems somewhat scary for local, state and national leaders to be making policy decisions on technologies that they may not fully understand. If we want to deploy more broadband (and deploy it in areas that may not have the normal market-driven forces at work), it seems that it would be helpful to have more technical resources available to decision-makers who are trying to understand broadband issues.
Last month, Geoff Daly of App-Rising.com spoke at the annual conference for the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners on wireless broadband. In his speech, he points out some of the pros and cons of wireless broadband – in a way that is easy to understand. What areas will it be most useful in (ex. mobility-driven applications)? What are the drawbacks (lack of standardized technologies)?
Daly’s goal was to educate the regulatory commissioners gathered together there from all around the country. We won’t try to spell out his entire speech here, but we recommend reading it. He even points out what he sees as a technical problem in a wireless plan around libraries, suggested one of the FCC commissioners. And that makes us wonder – where do these national leaders go for technical advice? Of course, the FCC commissioners have dedicated staff but what about all the utilities commissioners and state-level leaders? There are a multitude of technical issues surrounding broadband deployment, and you don’t have to look far to also see the volume of complex regulatory and legislative requirements around varying technologies.
At the e-NC Authority, we get lots of calls from local leaders and state leaders who are trying to sort out these questions. They most often ask about deploying wireless service and/or developing fiber networks. We do provide technical advice to local and state leaders in North Carolina, but only as much as is possible with our small staff and limited financial resources. And there are some other groups which do this as well, such as the Center for Public Technology at UNC-Chapel Hill, which offers training for government IT professionals.
But there still seems to be a lack of technical assistance available to those who need it most – those who may be trying to decide where to invest millions of dollars allocated for a community network, or those state legislators who are trying to decide how to write a particular piece of legislation. There are always industry professionals and vendors to provide consulting but can you get objective advice from a vendor?
In any case, until we have enough public entities willing to invest in technical staff members that really understand broadband technologies, or in policy staffers that really understand the policy side, we just have to hope that leaders and interested citizens are taking the time to read Daly’s columns and the thousands of other blogs, presentations and in-depth papers that examine these issues.
Last month, Geoff Daly of App-Rising.com spoke at the annual conference for the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners on wireless broadband. In his speech, he points out some of the pros and cons of wireless broadband – in a way that is easy to understand. What areas will it be most useful in (ex. mobility-driven applications)? What are the drawbacks (lack of standardized technologies)?
Daly’s goal was to educate the regulatory commissioners gathered together there from all around the country. We won’t try to spell out his entire speech here, but we recommend reading it. He even points out what he sees as a technical problem in a wireless plan around libraries, suggested one of the FCC commissioners. And that makes us wonder – where do these national leaders go for technical advice? Of course, the FCC commissioners have dedicated staff but what about all the utilities commissioners and state-level leaders? There are a multitude of technical issues surrounding broadband deployment, and you don’t have to look far to also see the volume of complex regulatory and legislative requirements around varying technologies.
At the e-NC Authority, we get lots of calls from local leaders and state leaders who are trying to sort out these questions. They most often ask about deploying wireless service and/or developing fiber networks. We do provide technical advice to local and state leaders in North Carolina, but only as much as is possible with our small staff and limited financial resources. And there are some other groups which do this as well, such as the Center for Public Technology at UNC-Chapel Hill, which offers training for government IT professionals.
But there still seems to be a lack of technical assistance available to those who need it most – those who may be trying to decide where to invest millions of dollars allocated for a community network, or those state legislators who are trying to decide how to write a particular piece of legislation. There are always industry professionals and vendors to provide consulting but can you get objective advice from a vendor?
In any case, until we have enough public entities willing to invest in technical staff members that really understand broadband technologies, or in policy staffers that really understand the policy side, we just have to hope that leaders and interested citizens are taking the time to read Daly’s columns and the thousands of other blogs, presentations and in-depth papers that examine these issues.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Coastal N.C. - are you gettin' the signal?
Wakey, wakey! The switch to digital television for several coastal communities in North Carolina is less than 40 days away! I know we’ve written about it before but every little reminder helps.
Beginning at noon on Sept. 8, 2008, Wilmington-area stations WWAY (ABC), WSFX-TV (FOX), WECT (NBC),WILM-LP (CBS) and W51CW (Trinity Broadcasting) will broadcast only digital signals to their viewers in New Hanover, Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus and Pender counties. The rest of the nation will make the switch on Feb. 17, 2009. The transition will affect those who watch free television from an over-the-air signal (through a rooftop antenna or “rabbit ears”). If you watch television from an over-the-air, or analog, signal, you must buy an analog-to-digital converter box, buy a digital television OR subscribe to a paid television service.
Analog-to-digital converter boxes are in stores and have a one-time cost of $40-70. To help you pay for the boxes, the U.S. government is offering two $40 coupons per household. For more information on the coupons, visit www.dtv2009.gov, or call 1-888-388-2009 (voice) or 1-877-530-2634 (TTY). Plus, you should not need a new antenna if you get good quality reception on analog channels 2-51 with your existing antenna.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has staff available to educate people about the switch. In Brunswick County, you may contact Jessica Przybyla at (202) 418-2721. Additionally, FCC staff will be at the following local events and locations to answer questions about the digital television transition and sign-up area residents for the converter box coupon.
Saturday, Aug. 2 – 5 -10 p.m.
Leland Under the Lights Classic Car Show, Wal-Mart parking lot, Leland
Monday, Aug. 4 – 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Leland WIC Center, 1492 Village Road N.E., Leland
Monday, Aug. 4 – 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Brunswick Community College, Main Campus, Bolivia
Tuesday, Aug. 5 – 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Brunswick County Health Department, 25 Courthouse Drive, Bolivia
Wednesday, Aug. 6 – 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Shallotte WIC Center, Sunward Office Building, 117 Holden Beach Road, Shallotte
Beginning at noon on Sept. 8, 2008, Wilmington-area stations WWAY (ABC), WSFX-TV (FOX), WECT (NBC),WILM-LP (CBS) and W51CW (Trinity Broadcasting) will broadcast only digital signals to their viewers in New Hanover, Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus and Pender counties. The rest of the nation will make the switch on Feb. 17, 2009. The transition will affect those who watch free television from an over-the-air signal (through a rooftop antenna or “rabbit ears”). If you watch television from an over-the-air, or analog, signal, you must buy an analog-to-digital converter box, buy a digital television OR subscribe to a paid television service.
Analog-to-digital converter boxes are in stores and have a one-time cost of $40-70. To help you pay for the boxes, the U.S. government is offering two $40 coupons per household. For more information on the coupons, visit www.dtv2009.gov, or call 1-888-388-2009 (voice) or 1-877-530-2634 (TTY). Plus, you should not need a new antenna if you get good quality reception on analog channels 2-51 with your existing antenna.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has staff available to educate people about the switch. In Brunswick County, you may contact Jessica Przybyla at (202) 418-2721. Additionally, FCC staff will be at the following local events and locations to answer questions about the digital television transition and sign-up area residents for the converter box coupon.
Saturday, Aug. 2 – 5 -10 p.m.
Leland Under the Lights Classic Car Show, Wal-Mart parking lot, Leland
Monday, Aug. 4 – 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Leland WIC Center, 1492 Village Road N.E., Leland
Monday, Aug. 4 – 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Brunswick Community College, Main Campus, Bolivia
Tuesday, Aug. 5 – 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Brunswick County Health Department, 25 Courthouse Drive, Bolivia
Wednesday, Aug. 6 – 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Shallotte WIC Center, Sunward Office Building, 117 Holden Beach Road, Shallotte
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