User Comments

1. 

   5/17/09

   KiefersCorner

   I personally try to read something in print each day. I have found this easier on my eyes and I can read it anywhere or when I choose.
   
   But I only buy the newspaper on Sundays since there is very little content in them any more. If it wasn’t for the sale papers and coupons it really isn’t worth buying.
   
   I do like reading magazines since I buy ones that fit the content that im looking for, but unfortunately they are also starting to become nothing but advertisements.
   
   Will the newspaper disappear? That all depends on what happens in the economy future electricity cost might just give it life again.
   
   As for bloggers it simply would have to do with content and the economy.
   
   I personally don’t like to read anything that has offers no educational or learning value to me.

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2. 

   5/17/09

   timethief

   @kieferscorner
   Thanks for replying to me. I am surprised that the interest level in this topic is so low. Perhaps that's because I didn't do a good job of my introduction in the OP and the discussion questions. Or maybe it's because members aren't into any deeper today. [SHRUG]
   
   Let me say from the outset that I still read books and will continue to do so, however, I'm now enjoying ebooks too and I don't have to buy them!
   
   I believe many bloggers are not actually seeing "the big picture". Everyday more and more of us are doing more and more of our business, research, new updating and finding our entertainment online.
   
   It's my opinion that the blogosphere has been changing and will be changing very rapidly in the near future. Fewer of us are relying on print media and and watching television. Instead we are online where we are getting our news before it's even shown on TV and before it's available in print media and we are reading ezine before that content is available in hardcopy. This is not to mention the fact that we are reading ebooks, watching movies online, streaming music and listening to podcasts.
   
   IMO it's not only print media that's fading into the past but magazines, radio and television are likewise being affected by the huge shift demonstrating preference for getting it all online. of listening to
   
   This has had a huge impact on advertising as there is no point in paying to advertise in publications where we can see a down turn in readership. Consequently, business of all kinds and sizes, marketers and advertising agencies are focusing on get their content in front of those who are online, and that means that non-monetized blogs are fast becoming "oddities", as opposed to being status quo as they were just a decade ago.
   
   I can see that although I have been lagging far behind bringing the big picture into focus, BC Admin is on top of what's happening. Moreover, the initiatives and opportunities they have recently provided us members with demonstrate that they are front runners.
   
   So now I have to figure out how to catch up and get on the bandwagon for projects like this one www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/blogcatalog-what-goes-up-movie-contest#co... and like polybore's videos and for podacsting as well.
   
   Hmmm ... where to begin ... help!

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3. 

   5/17/09

   gtally

   TT -- I don't think it is so much the discussion topic as the time of day and day of the week. It's another slow Sunday on the BC boards.
   
   I think there will always be a home for traditional print media, but it will become an increasingly niche format. There is some hope that a new form of embedded electronic paper might revive traditional newspaper media -- it would be a downloadable, constantly updating format that you could fold and put in your pocket. If this tool lives up to its hype, then there could be a convergence of many different types of media. But this convergence is already occurring across many different formats. In the final analysis, I think newspapers and network T.V. will have to either adapt or die as the content revolution progresses.

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   1. 

      5/18/09

      timethief

      Thanks so much for commenting. This "it would be a downloadable, constantly updating format that you could fold and put in your pocket" sounds fascinating. And I do agree with you about newspapers and TV - adapt or die.
4. 

   5/17/09

   NYCGirl

   I have begun to get my news online (from nytimes.com as well as Yahoo and MSNBC), but I still watch TV ON TV, and I will never, ever switch from actual books to Kindle.

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   1. 

      5/19/09

      timethief

      @nycgirl
      I won't be giving up books either but I do now read all news online.
5. 

   5/19/09

   dsriharsha

   (1) What about you? Is print media losing it's significance to?
   
   A. nope.. I cant take my laptop to the bathroom.. that's where I read my daily paper/magazine.
   
   reading books and pdf's so boring and not very ergonomic... I like reading while lying down
   
   (2) What do you think the future holds for print media?
   
   don't think anything is gonna change.. hope it doesn't change.. unless Kindle goes really massively popular

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6. 

   5/19/09

   Rich

   Print and television will never go away.
   
   They are simply in a state of transition. That doesn't mean all of them will survive. On the contrary, most will fail. However, their failure will be opportunity for someone else.
   
   As a whole, I liken it to standing on a gorge. Publishers can see the other side, but they don't understand how to get there. We're helping a few get there, but not enough to save the industry.
   
   (1) What about you? Is print media losing it's significance to?
   
   Personally, given the tendency for content creators to cater to their audiences at the expense of objective journalism, I find that to be the biggest concern. It's hard to trust new publishers because most are less than objective.
   
   Now, if we actually lost print outright (which I don't think we will), then it would be a sad day because print is a much quieter pace. Kindles and iPhones are cool for some purposes, but they don't feel very relaxed.
   
   (2) What do you think the future holds for print media?
   
   I think some traditional publishers will continue to fail outright and will be eventually be replaced by new publishers with a better business model.
   
   It might include print, which is likely to resurface once the failing publishers are sorted out. Those publishers that find a suitable symbiotic (not just duplicated content) mix will be the future for what we think of as print. However, even print publishers are starting to trend mixed media. So, we'll see.
   
   (3) In the online context, what opportunities do you think the future holds for bloggers and for advertisers?
   
   I think there are different kinds of bloggers. For the majority of bloggers, it really doesn't matter what print and television do. For bloggers looking for an audience beyond their niche (e.g. if numbers are important), then they will be competing with professional publishers. In some ways, they do already.
   
   For advertisers, it's hard to say if we are considering the framework to built from exiting models. In that case, the first step is mastering online advertising that plays to the Web. Banner ads don't really cut it beyond creating a baseline familiarity.
   
   More than likely, companies will continue to build social media sites (blogs, networks, etc.) for consumers and then run ads online, print, television, and mobile advertising to attract their customers. Many already are. In short, the new model is a tiered advertising structure, whereas marketers have to advertise their advertising. Weird, but less intrusive.

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   1. 

      5/19/09

      timethief

      @Rich
      Thanks so much for your insightful response. It contains a lot of food for thought and I appreciate it.
7. 

   5/19/09

   timethief

   wp

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