Toluu

Lucas Grindley's blog

Exploring the new way for journalism

Moved to TwitterDecember 17 2008

I'll be posting here only occasionally. Otherwise, check me on Twitter.

The big idea for newspaper classifieds: Lead generationSeptember 5 2008

Pretend you are a newspaper that has no classifieds section, facing a crowded playing field. The best way to strategize a classifieds program that will work for modern newspapers is to imagine what you’d do as a newbie to the market.

Well, I don’t have to imagine. That’s exactly where I found myself after taking over the Web site for BostonNOW, a free daily newspaper distributed largely on subways. And the idea that follows is what I developed after being asked to create a program.

Because I’ve pitched this idea to a few large newspapers already, I know the twist – the big innovation – must be saved for the end. Read through the premise and then you’ll have the “ah-ha moment” when it arrives.

FIRST, A NEW MINDSET

The outdated assumption built into most classified strategies is that your site should become the No. 1 Web source in a geographical area. I don’t care about that. Neither do users.

Consider the employment vertical.

As an employer with a limited budget for advertising my job opening, I’m looking for the best three or four places to post an ad. All that matters is whether your site is on the employer’s list, not whether you’re at the top of the list. The same is true for job seekers.

As someone who recently had no job, I can assure you the unemployed will check any site that seems worth our time. My livelihood is at stake, after all! You think I’m going to be lazy and check

eBay moves from bargains to 'buy now'August 20 2008

Although I don't claim to be an expert on eBay, I know an instance of the Innovator's Dilemma when I see one. The company announced it will emphasize its "buy now" program over the auction model that provided its start, the Times reports.

"Acknowledging that most online shoppers cannot be bothered with auctions, eBay plans Wednesday to announce changes to its fee structure that emphasize fixed prices over bidding. The move is intended to help eBay compete more effectively with Amazon.com and other big online retailers."

I'm crossing my fingers that eBay recognizes it entered the retailing market in the bargain basement, with an online-only discounter model that should never be scrapped entirely. All successful companies must protect themselves on the low-end of the market from upstarts.

Let this be a lesson to media companies, who so infrequently learn from anyone outside their industry. eBay began as a disruptive business model versus newspaper classifieds, although lower-end competitors such as Craigslist got all our attention.

If media companies weren't so worried about losing their classifieds cash cows, they would have protected their lower-end flank from attacks by Craigslist and eBay. If that had happened, what would moving to a new high-end promised land look like?

Don't expect Craigslist to find out. They won't even sell banner a

CBS says I was right about CNETAugust 15 2008

Check out this glowing story about the apparent success of CBS's purchase of CNET, which I recommended as part of my list of top Web companies that media should buy.

Idea for classifieds almost ready for releaseAugust 15 2008

I've been sitting on a great, fantastic, awesome, super-duper idea for how newspaper's can take back the classifieds market. And boy do we need it. Tribune Co. reports that revenue declined at its interactive division, of all places. Here's what PaidContent said:

"Publishing revenue was particularly hard hit, falling 11 percent to $701 million. All the usual ad categories were hit hard, as were interactive revenues, which fell 4 percent, or $2 million (meaning a total of $48 million). Weakness in online classifieds contributed to the decline."

Classifieds had historically been about 60 percent of Web revenues, built on the back of newspaper upsells that are disappearing as quickly as the printed versions disappear.

So over the last few days, I've promised the following:

- An awesome idea for saving your classifieds, and,
- An explanation for why the Yahoo newspaper consortium might not be such a good idea.

Keep watch.