Measuring Up

Has this media empire out Foxed the rest?

Yesterday, Rupert Murdoch announced his next big media move. News Corporation introduced 'The Daily,' a digital-only daily newspaper.

Delivered as a news application designed for the iPad, Murdoch is taking a bold step forward by charging a monthly subscription rate of $39. According to his comments, he believes that this new venture will position News Corporation as the digital newsstand of the future.

The concept is quite interesting and controversial because it runs counter to how people consume their online news today. Instead of the ever popular push model where free RSS feeds and subscriptions allow any and all relevant news to be pushed on a 24/7 basis, this model literally creates a digital version of the USA Today model.

Murdoch believes that a more general interest, high- resolution color digital newspaper that offers readers news and gossip on dozens of topics will greatly entice them. He also claims that 'The Daily' will be the first to seamlessly bring photos, video and interactive features together, in this new “all in one place" format.

Murdoch's initial costs for this venture are purposely low. He hopes to build sales through subscriptions over time. No doubt the partnership with Apple will help. And if he's able to build circulation numbers, then advertisers should naturally flock to his outlet as well.

Yet, I wonder if 'The Daily' is still a few years ahead of its time. I do believe that many (including this blogger) would happily subscribe to this app if it was free. But, with so much other free content available at my finger tips, what motivating factor will compel me to want to offer up my credit card for this content? Thirty nine dollars isn't a lot. It's just the difference between having to go that extra step with a payment for content, versus continue to use my favorite model– free.

In the end, I believe that 'The Daily 'will need to provide some incredible value to generate mass subscriptions in this day and age.

I applaud Murdoch's moxy and continued innovative mind set. He failed big time acquiring soon to be 'has-been' My Space a few years back. This time, he's done a complete 180 degree change by establishing a first mover status. I just believe that unless 'The Daily' is offered as part of a larger package (i.e. buy an iPad and receive a six month subscription for free), with Apple consuming the cost, it will be a long and difficult climb to grow sales for News Corp.

Should we call it 'digital driving'?

OnStar announced today a new application where drivers can soon communicate on their Facebook page with just a push of a button.

From what the company's president discussed on MSNBC this morning, this new capability is almost entirely hands free. Drivers simply need to push a new button on their OnStar devices and then talk into the microphone. That voice monologue will then be automatically turned into text that will appear on his/her Facebook page.

Pretty wild, huh? If you're stuck in a frustrating traffic jam, all your Facebook fans can read about it as it's happening. Or, maybe you've just past something of interest on the road. Once again, everyone you care about will soon read about it.

What I found most illuminating about this announcement though is what the OnStar president said about other possible coming features/applications. He mentioned technologies that could allow for live video conferencing and even the ability to do much more social networking on the Internet. Of course, he also reinforced numerous times that his company focuses on safety first. That's why all of these applications are (or will be) virtually hands free.

When I first watched this story, I thought this is pretty cool because these new breakthrough technologies have come so far. But, then something in my mind didn't add up when I combined the objective of driving safely with the reality that by leveraging new gadgets such as these, drivers will have to focus on so many other variables that don't include the road (or the car in front of them). That spells potential disaster.

We all know that texting, emailing and, generally, having conversations on PDAs while driving causes many more accidents these days. OnStar's new apps might be quasi hands free, but that won't help many drivers who fumble about figuring out how to make their connection to Facebook work (while they drive).

I also wonder about when enough is enough. In this case, do new boundaries need to be mandated? For example, do we (as a society) really need to be completely connected to our friends/fans every single minute of the day?  And, although video conferencing could certainly provide another twist to making business more accessible and personal, what's so appealing about watching someone stare at the road ahead versus just listening to him/her on a phone call. Some technology innovations like that simply add very little appeal.

No, it seems to me that the automobile should be one place where safety and common sense need to take precedence over accessibility and efficiencies. That means the concept of digital driving should really be limited to playing a Wii video game at home. Not an OnStar application that probably will have more of a negative impact than positive benefits.

Still relevant or digital relic?

When's the last time you discussed the social networking site MySpace with friends? And, when it came up, was it discussed in a positive light or as a passé online destination that lost its mojo many moons ago? For me, the answers are: probably six months ago and it's kind of a joke representing any company that lost its relevance.

Here's an interesting article in AdWeek (MySpace: Still Here) that surprisingly portrays this once dominant entity as still strangely relevant. In fact, MySpace actually attracts 61 million unique users per month, second only to Facebook (which still dwarfs any other networking site with 146 million users).

According to this article, MySpace has assumed a much more focused role as a sharing site versus its larger nemesis which really has become the ultimate communications platform. To capitalize on its positioning, MySpace has developed numerous programs around music and has built a following of over 5 million bands on the network. It has leveraged sponsorships with the likes of Wendy’s to build brand awareness for MySpace "Music's Get Close Program," a competition that gives fans the chance to see the net's featured musicians perform live.

It's interesting to see how this once proud leader is making a valid push to revive its relevance among young people. Still, I wonder if these efforts fall under the heading: Too Little, Too Late.

While clearly the site has many fans, MySpace lost its cool factor (and more importantly) its buzz three years ago. I spent 15 minutes conducting my own informal, non-scientific research (I asked half a dozen teens and 20-somethings their perceptions of MySpace). The answers were uniformly consistent – “not interested and my friends aren't either.” That told me a lot.

As superficial as it sounds, buzz is critical for digital survival as well. It brings advertisers in and it creates the perception of success, which ultimately breeds more (real success), if managed correctly.

These days, Twitter and Facebook are the clear kings on the mountain. New entrants such as FourSquare are also creating real buzz and excitement. Of course, there will always be one or two other new players who challenge their buzz supremacy by offering the newest and latest cool networking or communications tool, as well. Understanding all of this, my belief is that it's next to impossible for forgotten brands (such as MySpace) to stage any type of real comeback, regardless of what unique offering they develop or how they reposition their value proposition.

A great example of this is Yahoo. Yahoo was the pioneer and dominant force in internet search for a good long time. Then, it was googled by Google and life was never the same. While it has found some relevance in the online advertising arena, it lost any real search relevance forever because Google consistently out maneuvered it.

Regardless of what AdWeek writes, MySpace has fallen into the digital relic category. It may still attract a unique audience, but there's a big difference between being a compelling Internet player that so many are buzzing about versus just being there, while no one really cares.

Calling all employers- stay away from Germany!

Ever since I've been in the business world, Germany has been one of the worst countries for companies to do business in.

The labor laws are so egregiously one sided (supporting employee interests) that one has to wonder how companies there actually survive. I remember a few years ago when we actually looked at the possibility of opening up an office there. After a week of being educated, the decision to stay out became the easiest call in Peppercom's 15 year history.

Some reasons include the fact that there seems to be more holidays for employees throughout the year then actual days they are supposed to go to work. Paternity leave laws are also absurd in this land of high performance cars and great beer. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for giving new mothers as much time off as they need. But, if memory serves, fathers are also guaranteed upwards of a year off at half pay as well. And, their job has to be held open upon returning to the workforce as well. Come on... give me a break. That is a real unnecessary hardship for businesses (especially small ones).

And now, this latest news that employers cannot leverage some social media tools like Facebook to learn more about potential employees throughout the hiring process, just takes the cake.

Yes, we all understand why German society is so focused on pro-employee (or consumer) rights. When a culture goes through an event as monumental as the Holocaust, one can understand how it needs to stay committed to being at the other end of the human rights/privacy spectrum. Germany has done just that by demonstrating to the world that its people will be treated with the utmost care concerning any and all privacy and human rights issues. But, it's now 65 years later. I wonder if some of these laws/regulations actually make sense any more.

The Facebook law also makes me think that the arm of the German government which made this decision simply isn't in-tune with the transparently digital world we live in today. This ruling greatly handicaps businesses that need to compete with the best international companies in fast moving and ultra challenging marketplace environments. As an employer, we try to leverage every tool available to understand (as best as possible) whether a candidate's skill set and personality would match well with our culture and the services we provide. If a candidate uses Facebook and/or other social networking sites to showcase an irresponsible (or worse) behavior, then that person has tipped a key hand about himself.

Understanding all of this, it doesn't really matter though. The other reality is that Facebook has obvious privacy controls which don't let just anyone see a person's profile or page unless permission is granted.  So, even with these tools, it just isn't all that easy to leverage them by HR folks in the hiring process.

The plain reality (though) is that we don't need democratic governments imposing new, stringent laws that reign in transparency. Protecting employees/consumers' rights is a good thing. The German government should think about how to do this the right way in a modern 21st century open information architecture world.