November 04, 2008

Re-Imagining My Morning Newspaper

I just read a blog at NYTImes.com and it struck me that I must be the last Luddite who blindly clings to the print version because I can read it on the subway or in the can. 

This belated revelation is ironic not only because I know a bunch of guys at the Times but because I[ve always fantasized about having a personal newsroom that could monitor and report on the stuff that I either desperately care about or casually stumble upon 24/7. And yet its been happening for a while with a richness that approaches my fantasy and I've ignored it even though I get several e-mail alerts each day from the Times and have signed up for mobile election night alerts..

It finally dawned on me that the stories in the paper are the tip of the iceberg and that audio, video, still images, impressions, reactions and corrections to almost everything I read is a click away. Plus there are options for sharing, interacting, reacting and enriching the experience. If only I had the time to invest in paying attention to all this stuff!

Maybe I've missed this because I hate staring into that cathode ray tube. Maybe I'm too old or too blind to read the paper online. Or maybe I missed it because I'm trapped in a 19th century print paradigm fed by myopia and the nostalgia of having been a paperboy. Or maybe I missed it because the Times hasn't really opened my eyes to this digital world because its marketers are trapped in a print cirrculation paradigm and haven't reached me with either direct or digital marketing.

Now that I'm learning to use social networks and helping clients get their arms around the digital world, I guess I have to re-imagine the daily newspaper and see it as a hub of information and interaction rather than just the great gray lady that arrives on my doorstep every morning.

Nov 4, 2008 10:45:21 AM | Media

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Danny Flamberg

I am a veteran marketing consultant working with leading and emerging brands

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