by Jacqueline Koch | Feb 26, 2016 |
By Jacqueline Koch
What is shifting the calculus in journalism today? Judging by a recent Pew Research Center report, it’s Kickstarter and a few other startups in the crowdfunding space. Anyone who believes that numbers tell the most compelling story will find this one very convincing.
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In the first nine months of 2015, supporters shelled out US$1.74m to support 173 journalism projects, on Kickstarter alone. This is a significant increase from the $49,256 raised for 17 projects in 2009, just six years prior. All told, from April 2009 to Sept. 2015, journalism projects launched on Kickstarter have received funding amounting to $6.3m.
Lined up against the $20bn in revenue generated by newspaper ads, Kickstarter’s sums may seem anaemic. Yet the funds and influence that Kickstarter —alongside a growing number of publicly funded journalism projects—represent is no small change, literally and figuratively.
New, niche and nontraditional
Kickstarter is just one of a growing number of crowdfunding platforms, and one among several that are specifically focused on journalism. The Pew report notes: ‘In today’s evolving digital era, [crowdfunding] represents a new, niche segment of nontraditional journalism driven in large part by public interest and motivation.’
In short, it’s a new chapter for journalism that offers a win-win-win. Win 1: Hungry, enterprising journalists, who are seeking the means to report on important and untold stories and push the envelope, are tapping into the financial resources to do so. Win 2: The public gets a seat in the editor’s chair to support the journalism, stories and topics they find meaningful. Win 3: Media organisations are dialing into quality and diverse content without the burden on their budget.
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by Jacqueline Koch | Feb 15, 2016 |
By Jaqueline Koch
The end of 2015 offered many a prediction for the New Year and in the ever-evolving world of digital media, there is angst and excitement. But for some, there is unbridled exhilaration. Take celebrity digital strategist Rex Sorgatz, who was nothing short of exuberant in his forecast for podcasting which was published in the Harvard-based Neiman Journalism Lab.
“Media companies will continue adapting their franchises to podcasts,” he announced with a note of triumph, “podcasting networks will devise new aural experiments, and even more independents will pop up from unexpected places.” The result: “The podcasting scene will explode,” which is the unapologetic title of his article.
These are heady predictions. Is the hype justified?
As a starting point, consider the breakaway hit Serial: One million downloads in its first four weeks, 90 million as of October 2015, less than a year since its debut. More recently, The Message, an eight-part sci-fi podcast series, hit number one on the iTunes charts last November. More broadly, trend watchers have noted distinct reverberations in dinner party and happy hour conversations. The question is no longer, “What are you watching?” Instead, it’s “What are you listening to?” And behind this question lies a tantalising demographic: podcast listeners are young—67 per cent are between 18-34 years old—socially engaged, educated and tech savvy. Moreover, they tend to be a loyal bunch.
Matching content supply with demand has become an increasingly lucrative prospect for marketing outfits, networks and advertisers. Research conducted by podcast marketing company Midroll revealed that 63 per cent of listeners stated they bought a product or service after hearing it advertised on a podcast. Meanwhile, on average, a podcast can now command a US$20-$45 CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) for a 60-second spot, whereas on average radio claims less than $2-$10 CPM. The take away for advertisers is becoming clear: Used in tandem with other media formats, podcasts offer an additional—and cost-effective—platform to reach more customers.
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by Jacqueline Koch | Feb 9, 2016 |
By Steven Wise
The damage done to the music industry by illegal file sharing is incontrovertible. The release of Napster in 1999, followed by other file sharing platforms, had a crippling effect on the ability of music labels to profit from the sale of recorded music.
The implications of illegal file sharing on movie content are not as cut-and-dry, considering the film industry seems to be thriving. 2015 was a record year for North American box office revenue, which exceeded US$11bn, a nine per cent increase year over year.
Notwithstanding the healthy ticket sales at the box office, it’s likely that video piracy has had some impact the industry. However, the influence is not as measurable or predictable as content producers would hope. It’s also possible the industry is being affected in ways more complex than just lost ticket sale opportunities.
Piracy takes various forms
Research corroborates there are far more watchers of pirated content than there are distributors. According to the study Copy Culture, published by The American Assembly at Columbia University, about one out of five adults in the US engage in some informal copying of DVDs or downloading of movies or TV files for free. However, the same report found that only eight per cent of Americans adults watch movies and TV from illegal streaming sites and a scant one per cent of are heavy copiers of movie and TV content.
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by Jacqueline Koch | Feb 4, 2016 |
By Steven Wise
Wearable technology is a trend that will be included in many of the ‘what’s hot for 2016’ lists being assembled by tech writers this season.
While wearables feels like a recent addition to our collective vocabulary, in reality the concept has been a long time coming. As long ago as the mid-1970s, digital quartz watches were widely available, and in 1979, the Sony Walkman introduced much of the world to wearable entertainment. While those devices delivered information and media, the latest wave of wearables take a quantum step forward in how they interact with—or collect information about— the wearer.
The evolution of wearable technology has been fueled by the convergence of a variety of enabling technologies. Miniaturization and portability of processors, sensors, and displays make components small and light enough to carry. Wireless networking advances allow devices to receive and share data. And efficient computing and batteries enable devices to be sufficiently powerful while also being affordable.
Sizing the opportunity
For those who are familiar with Geoffrey Moore’s technology adoption life cycle model, you could say wearables are just now ‘crossing the chasm’. In other words, the category is moving from the Visionaries phase, where only early adopters purchase, to the Pragmatists phase where an early majority of mainstream consumers are willing to buy. Google Glass, which sold perhaps 100,000 units in beta release during 2013 and 2014, serves as an example of an over-hyped wearable technology that never made it out of the experimental stage. Meanwhile, Fitbit sold 13.2m devices in the first nine months of 2015, proving a mainstream consumer market for wearable devices does exist.
Figure 1. Google Glass
Analysts at PwC estimate roughly 20 per cent of American adults already own some type of wearable computing device. That’s similar to the penetration rate of tablet computers in 2012, which has since doubled. The opportunity is staggering in terms of dollars. Grand View Research forecasts the wearable technology market will grow at a global CAGR of 34.2 per cent from $18.9bn in 2014 to over $196.5bn by 2022.
According to comScore research, more than 80 per cent of mobile subscribers in the U.S. now have smartphones. In some cases, wearable devices could be perceived as an alternative to smartphones. However, for the foreseeable future, wearables are more often going to function as a companion device, like the Apple Watch which depends on the iPhone to be a connective hub. When PwC surveyed consumers to ask if they’d need a wearable to replace an existing device (such as a smartphone) to justify its purchase, 76per cent replied ‘no’.
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by Jacqueline Koch | Feb 1, 2016 |
By David Darby
Native advertising is suddenly ubiquitous – at least for those who haven’t been closely watching as more and more brands, media companies and marketers have jumped on this digital bandwagon in recent years.
Often referred to as sponsored content, native advertising is paid media promoting a brand that is situated to emulate editorial or ‘natural’ content on a media site.
Native is hot. The largest social platforms in the world have long monetised with native ads, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. Over the last five years, the publishing industry has increasingly followed suit, as companies like Time Inc., Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have integrated native ads into their desktop and mobile environments.
Native ads are lighting up both performance metrics and ad budgets. According to eMarketer research, consumers are 25 per cent more likely to look at them than standard banners, and they register 18 per cent higher lift in purchase intent. It’s no wonder eMarketer is predicting that spending on native ads will reach $5.7 billion in the US alone this year.
‘Traditional digital advertising has become wallpaper. It doesn’t improve anyone’s experience on a site, and readers, myself included, pretty much look past it. … Brands that have a strong point of view and great partners to help them express it can enjoy massive engagement [with native],’ GE’s head of media strategy, Jason Hill, told eMarketer.
And consumers have quickly gotten used to finding native ads throughout their favorite publisher sites – after all, 70 per cent of people say they’d rather learn about products through content rather than through traditional advertising.
The past year has brought both calming and jarring changes to the native ads space. Here’s a view to some of the expected developments of 2016.
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