Community Newspapers: Inventor of Social Media? - Last review - 20-07-2010
General discussion - Jeff Beardsworth
Who knew, back when the first community newspaper rolled off the presses, that knowing exactly what your ‘friends,’ ‘followers,’ and ‘classmates’ did on their summer holidays would form the basis for an entirely new medium 100+ years later? In reality, this evolving ‘new’ platform that has advertisers and media alike scrambling to monetize, is actually the foundation on which community newspapers have existed since, well, the Halifax Gazette published their first edition on Monday, March 23, 1752. While there is no denying that the platform for delivery of ‘social media’ looks very different today than it did 10, 20, or 100 years ago, the formula that makes it successful looks very familiar… doesn’t it?&nb...
Newspapers - The Oxytocin of Media? - Posted on - 24-06-2010
General discussion - Crystal MacLaren
Recently Adam Penenberg, journalism professor and assistant director of the Business and Economic Program at New York University spoke at the AdClub of Toronto's Internet Day. He talked to over 600 professionals in attendance to learn how to create a ‘viral loop' to grow an Internet audience and grow web presence. Adam talked of various ways to create a viral coefficient from a tag on an email signature to feeding off an existing social network as YouTube did to MySpace. He also discussed common practices that, in his opinion, are less effective such as banner advertising. Needless to say this created quite an uproar among the mostly digital crowd. I found the reaction of the crowd rather curious - curious being a nice way of saying ‘absurd'. Did they really expect a speaker to...
The Future of Publishing (Or Is It?) - Last review - 06-04-2010
General discussion - Crystal MacLaren
The following video created by Penguin Group USA was inspired by a video created by Savaglio/TBWA (an Argentinian agency) titled ‘The Truth'. The original video won the 2006 Silver Lion Award at Cannes Film Festival. Watch how the following link discusses the general perception of youth today and then flips it around to provide a very different picture. What I like about this video is that it debunks some of the notions about young people today while affirms other aspects of their media habits and interests. True, the younger demographic are agents and promoters of brands through social media applications like Facebook and via mobility. But perhaps more important is that they feel their concerns about the environment and other larger social issues are often ignored. ...
Community Newspaper Readership as Strong as Ever But Why the Crickets? - Posted on - 23-02-2010
General discussion - Jeff Beardsworth
The long-anticipated release of the 2008/2009 ComBase readership study occurred in early January <read release here: http://www.combase.ca/news/149/combase-launches-2008-2009-study-results> and from what I've seen so far, community newspapers are clearly the cockroach of the print industry. While it's been predicted for some time now that the internet and electronic media in general would be the nuclear bomb that wiped traditional print media off the face of the planet; community newspapers appear to be a resilient little bugger. As the soft underbelly of our daily counterparts has been exposed by electronic media's ability to deliver news-on-demand, the community newspaper is brandishing a much harder shell. While we are still awaiting ‘damage' reports from individual marke...
Join our mailing list... Win an iPod. - Last review - 25-08-2009
Announcements - Catherine Lee
Contest Rules and Regulations August 25, 2009 1. Agreement: These rules govern the “AdWest.ca Launch” contest by Adwest Marketing Inc. No purchase is necessary to enter any contest. The act of entering a contest constitutes acceptance of the contest rules and the decisions of the contest judge. 2. Eligibility: The Contest is open only to clients of Adwest Marketing Inc. who are residents of Canada over the age of eighteen (18), except for employees, immediate families and anyone living with any employee of AdWest Marketing Inc., its corporate affiliates or, if applicable, any co-sponsor, their advertising or promotional agencies or affiliates. You must enter online as indicated. Limit of one entry per person. 3. Contest: The contest begins September 7, 2009, 1...
