More on the State of B2B: Are Advertisers Our Competitors?

At a recent ASBPE Cleveland panel, B2B media industry veteran Joe Pulizzi suggested attendees should think of their customers as competitors. He said that customers are already creating content that competes with trade magazines, and more of them will do so in the future. From a recap of the discussion:
“Fifty percent of the advertising dollars they’re pulling back on are going into creating their own content,” Pulizzi said. “Right now 30 percent of customers’ marketing budgets are going to their own content and 70 percent is spent on paid placement. Over the next decade, that will flip.”
The full recap of the panel discussion is on the ASBPE National Blog.

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Posted by ASBPE on Thursday, April 30, 2009 @ 8:03 AM
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Other Views on the State of B2B

Last month we recapped some opinions about where our industry is going. This month, three B2B executives gave their views at an ASBPE Kansas City chapter panel. Two were pessimistic about the dearth of print advertising; the third saw opportunity in the present and “lots of fun ahead!”

Read more about the execs’ outlook for B2B media.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 @ 3:45 PM
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B2B Panelists on the Economy: “Cautiously –Very Cautiously – Optimistic”

Even after the ups and downs of the last few months, at least one of the industry and B2B media figures who spoke at ASBPE Boston’s State of the Industry panel in January still holds out hope for an economic turnaround this year.

“Now that the new government has taken control, there seems to be a sense of new beginning,” said panelist and Managing Automation reader Dr. Steven Vidakovic in a recent email. Vidakovic is associate research fellow in technology and knowledge integration at Pfizer Inc. Back in January, he described himself as “… cautiously – very cautiously – optimistic that in the next six to12 months we’ll start coming out of this.” Now, he says, “I am still cautiously optimistic that we are soon to be on the mend. The trick will be to keep the businesses afloat for the next 12 months. If you survive that, you will probably prosper in 2011 [and] onwards.”

Financial Crisis = Opportunity for B2B Media

Tim Reason, editorial director of CFO.com, believes this is a period of opportunity for B2B journalists. In January, he said: “The mainstream media has done an abysmal job of reporting on this crisis. There's a tremendous opportunity for us to do really, really good work.”

Recently, he reiterated this sentiment via email. “‘The worst financial crisis of our time’ remains, for us, the greatest journalism opportunity of our time,” he wrote, “particularly for service journalism, as we seek to help companies understand how their peers are coping.” During January’s panel, Reason observed that page views on career-related stories had soared. “ [That] reinforces to my mind that in difficult times people seek information. … There is no room for fluff or topics that are driven by an advertising need.”

Operating Priorities: Employees and Customers

During the January panel, Gary Beach, publisher emeritis of CIO magazine, said there were two main operating priorities for B2B publications. “Number 1: Have happy employees,” he said. They'll be more productive and creative. “Number 2: Listen to your customers.”

He said CIO expected to make most of its profit from online and events. Profit margins are greater for online banner ad campaigns, even though print ads might gross more, he explained. He said page yields were down 10 to 15 percent.

Encouraging Signs

Representing the advertiser perspective at the January discussion, Mark A. Davidson, VP of global marketing at software vendor Wonderware, said, “We’re cautious, but not pessimistic – and not totally optimistic.” He pointed out that there is continued investment in necessities like food and beverage. And, he said, “There’s a little bit of resurgence of sourcing goods closer to home because of oil price volatility –and high transportation costs.” That resurgence could bring more business back inside U.S. borders.

How Advertisers Are Reacting to the Downturn

Isabelle Kane, media director of PJA Advertising & Marketing, provided the ad-agency view at the panel discussion. “Even though budgets have been cut in some cases of 25 to 35 percent, there's a feeling that the advertising won't look like it's cut because it's cheaper, and there's less noise in the market,” she said. “Clients are concerned about the number of magazines going out of business, but kind of glad because then they can focus their marketing in one publication.”

She said PJA was advising clients to stick to the fundamentals. “I can have the most killer, amazing thing going on in YouTube, but that doesn't matter if I don't also have something in the Wall Street Journal or Time.” Kane advised asking clients what you can give them as a value add so they will come back with their whole budget next year.

Changing the Online Product Mix

During the panel, Reason noted that CFO was paring down product offerings. “We killed video. We were spending 40K a year on it, but it wasn't getting sold,” he said. “Also, readers are coming [to CFO.com] for the quick-hit story,” not to watch video. CFO.com does have the capability to start offering video again very quickly if needed, he said.

Panel moderator Dave Brousell asked the marketers on the panel whether they were seeking to be in control of online initiatives.

Davidson’s reply: “It's a partnership. We’re interested in those media that work with us and really understand the different marketing techniques and how they will serve us.” He said he’s also looking for publishers who know how to measure results – whether it's lead generation or demand generation.

The Holy Grail for Advertisers: Qualified Leads

But mere measurement isn’t enough. Both Tim Reason and Gary Beach pointed out that online, advertisers are now looking more for the quality of the lead than for a high click-through number. “We’re moving off focus on lead- and demand-generation. [Advertiser’s] sales people are getting frustrated chasing down supposedly qualified leads that aren't qualified,” said Beach.

The Outlook for Events

When it comes to events, both readers and marketers are likely to be more selective. Kane said during the panel that her clients would look for “ Totally integrated, customized events” with measurable goals in which “everyone knows what's coming out of it before the contract is signed.” Vidakovic said he’d be more selective about the events he attends, leaning more toward webcasts. He commented that a typical reader probably can only justify attending one conference per year.

Other topics discussed by the panel included:
  • why being a good feature writer alone might not be enough to help your publication to survive;

  • what the implications of the downturn are for web site design;

  • how to engender advertiser loyalty; why magazines might have more success with advertisers if they decrease the frequency of publication; and

  • CIO’s approach to getting advertisers to loosen the purse strings.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Monday, March 02, 2009 @ 4:29 PM
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Countdown to State of the Industry Panel

While you're waiting for our Jan. 6 State of the Industry panel, get your prognostication fix from this summary of ASBPE New York's recent event, Taking the Pulse of B2B Media in 2009. One prediction from that panel discussion: Tony Silber of Red 7 Media (which publishes Folio:) said debt will make it difficult for large publishers with roots in print to invest in the web. He predicted bankruptcies among such companies will begin in the next month or so.

And here are some 2009 predictions from various media-industry compiled by Folio: magazine.

This interview with NewspaperDeathWatch's Paul Gillin from Michelle Rafter's WordCount blog is also pretty interesting. Gillin mentions that many community newspapers owned by large companies are being shut down -- but are being replaced by web sites started by individuals.

Also see the latest WordCount weekly digital media biz recap for info on the current status of the print-v.-web struggle in the magazine world (believe it or not, print is winning this round), how to be a good marketer, and how Twitter can grow a freelance business. You can also see a video of "The Morbid Major Magazine Song," a musical recitation of publications that have recently gone bust.

1/6/09 update: Watch for Paul Conley's predictions for B2B media in the January/February edition of the ASBPE newsletter.

2/19/09: Members can download a PDF of the January/February 2009 newsletter (276KB). (Nonmembers: View the newsletter archives.)

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Tuesday, December 23, 2008 @ 8:00 AM
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Speakers for Jan. 6 State of the Industry Panel Announced

Panelists for our Jan. 6 meeting at the Wellesley Public Library will include:
They'll discuss their outlook on what the coming months hold for B2B publications at a FREE event at the Wellesley Public Library on Jan. 6, 2009. Chapter officer David Brousell, editor-in-chief for Managing Automation, will moderate the panel. Complimentary refreshments will be served.

Date: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009

Time: Social hour, 6:00-7:00 p.m.; program begins at 7:00 p.m.

Location:
Wellesley Free Public Library – Wakelin Conference Room
530 Washington Street
Wellesley, Massachusetts 02482
phone 781-235-1610
Transportation:
The Wellesley Library is a few minutes from the Turnpike/I-95 interchange and easily accessible from the Wellesley Square stop on the MBTA Framingham-Worcester commuter rail line. The stop is approximately two blocks to the west of the library.
Driving directions.

Parking information:
There is a parking lot in back of the library. There is also an underground parking garage exclusively for library users. If you park in the garage, you may access the library by elevator or a staircase that brings you into a lobby area.
Questions? Want to attend? This event is open to both members and nonmembers. However, please RSVP if you plan to attend the social hour from 6:00-7:00 by emailing Alan Earls at alan.earls@comcast.net. You may reach him by phone at (508) 528-6930.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 @ 12:37 PM
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Join Us for FREE State of the Industry Panel Jan. 6

Are you ready for 2009?

The year ahead presents unprecedented challenges – and opportunities – for B2B publishing.

Join the ASBPE Boston Chapter for our annual State of the Industry panel discussion with representatives from B2B sales and editorial as well as a media buyer and a reader.

Because budgets are tight, we decided to change the format of this annual event so that you can attend for free. Instead of preceding the panel discussion with a formal banquet, we'll start off with a social hour. Complimentary refreshments and sandwiches will be served.

David Brousell, editor-in-chief for Managing Automation magazine, will moderate the panel.

Speakers will be announced shortly, so check back at this site.

Update, Dec. 16, 2008: Panelists for our Jan. 6 meeting at the Wellesley Public Library will include:
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009

Time: Social hour, 6:00-7:00 p.m.; program begins at 7:00 p.m.

Location:
Wellesley Free Public Library – Wakelin Conference Room
530 Washington Street
Wellesley, Massachusetts 02482
phone 781-235-1610

Transportation:
The Wellesley Library is a few minutes from the Turnpike/I-95 interchange and easily accessible from the Wellesley Square stop on the MBTA Framingham-Worcester commuter rail line. The stop is approximately two blocks to the west of the library.
Driving directions.

Parking information:
There is a parking lot in back of the library. There is also an underground parking garage exclusively for library users. If you park in the garage, you may access the library by elevator or a staircase that brings you into a lobby area.
Questions? Want to attend? This event is open to both members and nonmembers. However, please RSVP if you plan to attend the social hour from 6:00-7:00 by emailing Alan Earls at alan.earls@comcast.net. You may reach him by phone at (508) 528-6930.

Postscript: For some ideas on what B2B publications can do now to weather the recession, don't miss Tonie Auer's recent blog post on the ASBPE National Blog.

For help on a personal level, take a look at this slide show from BusinessWeek.com, 20 Tips for Career Survival: Preventive and Preemptive.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 8:00 AM
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State of the Industry Banquet: How Will the Wall Street Meltdown Affect B2B Media?

Update, Oct. 28, 2008: We've decided to hold the banquet in January 2009. A new date will be announced once it has been confirmed.
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The time for our annual State of the Industry banquet is approaching. As usual, it will be an dinner event held in December. A panel will talk about on the impact of the Wall Street meltdown on b2b print, web, and conference products. Planned speakers will include top managers from area b2b publishing companies, a media buyer or two and a reader.

Because December is a busy time of year, we'd like to get your input on the date to hold the banquet. (Keep in mind that it will be an after-work event.) Please give us your input by taking the poll below. (Poll closes Oct. 18 at midnight Eastern time.)



If there's a particular day of the week that works best for you, please let us know that:

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Posted by ASBPE on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 @ 3:20 PM
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Web Expertise Doesn't Trump Subject Knowledge, Says Lifetime Acheivement Awardee

From editorial consultant and past ASBPE Lifetime Achievement Award winner Howard Rauch, a counterpoint to the article mentioned in yesterday's post.

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Posted by ASBPE on Tuesday, May 06, 2008 @ 12:02 PM
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Article on IDG and Web-Only Publishing

IDG is dropping the print versions of more and more of its publications. Those print pubs that remain are adopting an "online-first" publishing model. In case you didn't see it yet, this article on the topic from The New York Times is worth a read. It talks about IDG's strategy and plans and the pitfalls of chasing page-view stats.

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Posted by ASBPE on Monday, May 05, 2008 @ 1:11 PM
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'Integrated Media' Reservation Deadline Extended

The deadline to register for our Dec. 12 State of the Industry banquet has been extended to Dec. 4. The dinner will feature a panel discussion on Integrated Media--a mixed product portfolio that embraces print, the web and conferences. Discussion topics will include:
  • how to align and balance different media to serve a target audience and achieve financial goals.
  • how to assemble, sell, and manage portfolios of print/web/conference products for their audiences,
  • how media buyers see these portfolios, and
  • how readers actually want to consume information.
The event will be held at the Crowne Plaza Boston in Natick, which is located just off Exit 13 on the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90), across the street from the new Natick Collection mall.

Get details on the banquet.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 @ 3:37 PM
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Don't Miss the State of the Industry Banquet:
Integrated Media: A Work in Progress

RSVP deadline extended to Dec. 4.

With traditional publishing models under assault, a growing number of organizations are pinning their hopes on a mixed-product portfolio that embraces print, the web and conferences – also known as Integrated Media.

Our panel of experts, drawn from both the publishing industry and the “buy” side, will discuss ideas on:
  • how to align and balance different media to serve a target audience and achieve financial goals.
  • how to assemble, sell, and manage portfolios of print/web/conference products for their audiences,
  • how media buyers see these portfolios, and
  • how readers actually want to consume information.
The panel will be led by David Brousell, editor-in-chief of Managing Automation, and currently includes:
  • Julia King, executive editor, events/national correspondent, Computerworld.

  • Gary Beach, publisher, CIO magazine.

  • David Rudzinsky, vice president and chief information officer, Hologic Inc.

  • Paul Hoy, global manufacturing industry leader, Cognos Inc.
Don't miss this important event.

Meeting Details

Where:
Crowne Plaza Hotel
1360 Worcester Street (Route 9)
Natick, MA 01760
Directions
When: Wednesday Dec. 12, 2007
Networking: 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Dinner: 7:00-7:30
Panel Discussion: 7:30-8:45
Q&A: 8:45-9:15
Tickets include dinner and dessert. A cash bar will be available.

Menu: Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast with Dijon Mustard, Field Green Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette. Dessert: Fresh Fruit and Berries with Vanilla Cream

Cost:
Nonmembers: $75
Members: $65
Tables of 8: $500
Half-Tables of 4: $250
Reservations must be received by Dec. 4. Please mail your check, payable to "ASBPE-New England Chapter," to:
Alan Earls
222 Pond St.
Franklin, MA 02038
For further information or to pay by credit card, contact Alan at 508 528 6930 or email alan.earls@comcast.net.

Update, Nov. 27, 2007: The above has been updated to reflect that Paul Hoy of Cognos Inc. will replace Sharon Ward of Microsoft as a panelist.

Nov. 28: The reservation has been extended by three days, to Dec. 4.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Tuesday, November 06, 2007 @ 12:44 PM
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Who Is Tomorrow's Reader?

Last Wednesday night, the Boston/New England chapter held a banquet for the Northeastern region Azbee award winners.

Because there will be a second banquet for the Northeastern region in New York City on Thursday to honor those winners, full details on regional award winners won't be on the ASBPE web site until Friday. What we can tell you that there were 2,600 entries to the competition this year, and the Northeastern region is the most competitive of the four. And we can tell you which magazines are in the running for regional awards.

We also can share the comments of our guest speaker at the banquet, journalist and Boston University professor of communication John Carroll. Carroll started off by pointing out that three of the four segments in bustines-to-business publishing -- events, custom media, and e-media -- have been thriving. Only print revenues have remained flat. We all know that, but what do we do about it?

"What you don't know is who today's students--your future audience--are," Carroll said. And as a teacher, he has come to know those future media consumers--and their media habits--intimately. He shared with the banquet audience what he saw as the four most salient characteristics of the next generation.

Characteristic #1: "They are their own producers. They have nothing against traditional media, they just have no use for you. They have 'The Daily Me' " -- news that meets their interest criteria, aggregated on personalized pages on sites like Yahoo and MSN. "Instead of radio, they have iPods. Instead of TV, they have You Tube. Instead of reading columnists or listening to commentators, they write their own blogs."

Characteristic #2: "They are fearless navigagtors of the Internet. This is coming from someone who's never used an ATM—I'm hoping to be the Cal Ripken of Luddism," he noted. They have no problem giving out personal information, such as date of birth, in order to register for a web site.

Characteristic #3: "They're virtually unconcerned about privacy issues, and they don't understand why anyone would be worried about it," said Carroll. "Their attitude is, 'They're going to get that information and you're not going to stop it.' All this leads to a particular frame of mind when you are trying to deal with these younger people They are not like you and me."

Characteristic #4: "They don't understand the value of a free press," Carroll said. "They don't get the role of a watchdog. They don't trust the press, they don't like the press, and they don't believe the press. ... They don't understand why the First Amendment is important. They don't understand why anyone would go to jail to protect a source."

The idea that young people are really media savvy isn't quite accurate, Carroll concludes. What they really are is media saturated. "They don't understand that MTV is a series of commercials interrupted by ads. They don't understand that their cell phones are running them, and not vice versa. When you ask them who's going to report on the conditions at Walter Reed Hospital, it doesn't occur to them [to think about that], because they don't know about the Walter Reed story."

How do you reach these people? "I don't have a real boffo finish," Carroll admitted. "But you have to convince them of the value of what you do ... that you're a real business, that you're important. ... They don't understand what they're going to lose if traditional media go by the boards. It doesn't strike them that it would be any big deal. You try to convince them that [professional media outlets are] essential to their well-being, to the well-being of a functioning democracy.

"It's not that they don't care, it's that they've never thought about it before," Carroll points out. But when you explain it to them, they do start to understand. "[R]e-establish a sense of importance of the news business, because I think it's disappearing. It's too easy to look at the negative and dismiss the news business overall," he said.

He added: "If it doesn't work out, there's always teaching. Give me a call."

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Monday, July 23, 2007 @ 10:49 AM
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Recent Folio: Articles Focus on Online Success for B2B Media


Good stuff in Folio: this month, mostly centering on strategies for the web, and much of it with a B2B focus.

Tony Silber's lead article, "Ziff's Last Stand," starts off with a tale that's any magazine editor's nightmare. PR executive Steve Rubell posted a comment on Twitter, a networking web site, saying that he threw his free copy of Ziff Davis Media's PC Magazine in the trash whenever it arrived in the mail.

PC Magazine editor Jim Louderback's initial reaction was anger, of course, and he posted a response on the online PR journal Strumpette. But then he began to think about what it meant that one of the company’s top executives "had stated, in a public forum, that my magazine … was useless to him. He wasn’t even interested in seeing whether we’d covered one of his clients. Did the rest of Edelman think like Steve? Were we no better than fishwrap to the entire company?"

Rubell issued an apology on his blog, in which he clarified by saying that he does read PC Magazine online.

As the article points out,
Two things about this episode are remarkable: A senior executive of a giant PR firm says he doesn’t even read what is arguably the largest and best-known tech-oriented print magazine in the country. And second, the whole thing—from initial insult to response to apology—occurred on a Web site and two blogs—entirely online, even though it was about a big, well-established print magazine. Combined, these elements say an awful lot about the current condition of Ziff Davis Media, and indeed, all of the three major tech-publishing companies — if not the magazine-industry overall.
The story takes off from there with an in-depth look at the current and future state of Ziff. A sidebar gives a glimpse of Ziff Davis' editorial strategy for succeeding online. An example, from senior vice president Mike Vizard: "We need stories that are original. We get 90 percent of our traffic on stories that can't be replicated."

The article "Creating an Internet Hub for Successful Multiplatform Publishing" includes Computerworld as one of its three case studies. It elaborates on some of the topics -- like lead generation -- mentioned in the Media Business article I wrote about in an earlier post. It also outlines Computerworld's game plan for succeeding online:
… the general rule is to frequently provide specific information in as many formats as possible, including articles, blogs, columns, newsletters, reports, white papers, RSS feeds, video and audio. The amount of information is staggering and most of it is free, sponsored by advertisers.
In what seems like a contrast to PC Magazine's experience, Computerworld is finding that its web site is a major generator of print subscriptions (and, therefore of data about potential print subscribers). Other products that have been successful for Computerworld include white papers; online buyers guides; e-mail newsletter (the web site offers more than 50, "some on relatively arcane topics," the article notes -- a lesson in the potential of narrowcasting?); job ads; and of course, mailing lists. "All Computerworld sites are in the business of collecting data," the articles says, and consequently "Their database of e-mail names is huge and relatively well qualified."

"Digital Magazines Take the Next Step" takes a look at how digital versions are evolving from static facsimiles of the print magazine to interactive products that can help drive print subscriptions and increase a publication's visibility on search engines. There's also mention of how digital magazine ads are changing and may even become desirable to advertisers on their own rather than just a value-add.

Other recent B2B stories in Folio:

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 @ 12:42 PM
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B2B Media Watchers on ASBPE Conference Panel

In case you haven't been keeping up with the news on ASBPE’s National Editorial Conference, which takes place in New York, Aug. 2-3: Three B2B editors who cover business, trade, and association publishing will make up a panel at a session on Friday, Aug. 3.

Tony Silber, editor and publisher of Folio:, will join Ellis Booker, editor of Crain Communications’ BtoB and Media Business, and Jeremy Greenfield, editor of min’s b2b, for a look at how our publications are doing .






Reporting on the reporters. From left: Ellis Booker, editor, Crain Communications’ BtoB and Media Business; Jeremy Greenfield, editor, min’s b2b; and Tony Silber, editor/publisher, Folio:.

Topics covered will include:
  • How to maintain the balance between editorial and advertising in an environment of small staffs and extra advertising pressure.

  • The need for editors to be brand managers. What is the job description? Must editors oversee the marketing message of all their products?

  • How to streamline editorial and production workflows given increased workloads. Is software the answer?

  • The job description for an editor today and tomorrow. What kind of extra training must the editor now have and how will they get it?
More about the panel and other conference sessions.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 @ 11:23 AM
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State of the Industry Banquet a Success

I plan to do a short writeup about our Dec. 7 State of the Industry Banquet and Panel Discussion on the web and B2B publishing later this week. A few highlights:
  • Tech Target's Maryfran Johnson said that at a recent Web 2.0 conference she attended, it was comforting for the audience to find out that even the big guys like Time Warner and Yahoo haven't figured out everything about the web.

  • CFO's Tim Reason noted that publishers tend to look at the home page of the web site and think that that's their product. In reality, it's likely that a majority of visitors -- at CFO, 86% -- arrive at the site directly on the article or page they're interested in via an e-mail newsletter or other link and never even see the home page.

  • CIO's Gary Beach questioned who was driving delivery of online content. "If we put anything video out there, any advertisers will buy it," he said. But whether his audience really wants to watch video online is another matter.

  • Reed Business Information's Steve Moylan noted that there was a lot less overlap between print and online than they had originally assumed.
More later.

Correction, 12/12/06: Maryfran Johnson is no longer with Tech Target. She now has her own business, Maryfran Johnson & Associates, which provides services related to events.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Monday, December 11, 2006 @ 12:01 PM
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TechTarget's Mark Schlack:
Web Nearing End of Awkward Adolescence



Mark Schlack, vice president of editorial content for TechTarget, spoke at the chapter's Northeastern Region Azbee awards banquet (a second banquet for the region will be held in New York City on June 28). Schlack shared some thoughts on the current state of web publishing. "I can't claim that I'll give the definitive talk on the Internet -- I don't think anyone can -- at least, no one who actually works in the Internet," Schlack said. He did, nevertheless, have a few ideas about how to approach web publishing.

Conventional Wisdom, Circa 1995

For starters, Schlack noted that the people with money to invest in web sites used to think you had to be the first on the web with a new idea or you weren't worthwhile. "But does anyone here use AltaVista as a search engine? Or think that AOL is the best way to connect to the web? And there was iVillage. But now many of us are networking on a site called MySpace."

Another myth busted: "The punditry from the mid-'90s held that the web was a mass media phenomenon, and if you were going to do something, it had better be big. That turned out to be true, up to a point," Schlack said. Yet TechTarget has succeeded by focusing on its market.

TechTarget's web sites tend to have large audiences, but its strategy in print has been to concentrate on small-circ magazines. "We take the elite of [the web] audience and build a print mag around their needs," explained Schlack. And TechTarget magazines deliberately leave out some staples of print publications: there are no new products or news. "Those things are done better online," Schlack insisted.

Fast Forward: 2006

Schlack debunked some current ideas about the web, too. "You hear a lot about the democratizing influence of the web -- citizen journalists, people being their own experts. It's interesting and exciting, and there's lot of truth to it, but it's pretty much overblown. The idea that as editors we build a stage and the real actors are our audience -- that we don't have much to bring to the party -- is pretty much ridiculous," he said, echoing some of Jim Lehrer's recent comments.

Schlack conceded that there are cases where "a programmer who can't spell puts up a text-only web site that gets five times the traffic of anything you ever did." Nevertheless, he said, "there's more to providing information and being useful and compelling than those types can provide." Our readers have very specific needs, he said, and as B2B journalists we know something about what those needs are. "That's our profession," he said. "There are no wizards out there that can wave a wand and make it happen."

Taking Ourselves Seriously

"The audience takes the web more seriously than it did 10 years ago," Schlack observed. "I see it in news. There used to be an attitude that said 'Just get something up right away. Who cares if there's a mistake? We'll just correct it.' The news that we wrote online was disposable. That was the audience's expectation, too." But today the audience gives the web more credibility, so we have to take ourselves more seriously, too.

Schlack thinks news is an area of major opportunity for B2B web sites. "We all work in markets that are terrifically underserved in news. … It's about time that the communities that we serve had [someone] focus on their issues."

Print vs. Web

In Schlack's view, B2B web sites don't have to have the same unified look and feel print publications do. "A magazine usually has a personality, a voice… It has to hang together. On the web that doesn't hold true. It's about having a collection of tools that the readers find useful. On one part of the site, there can be a discussion with people flaming each other, and on another part, there might be some expert you can have a Q&A with. And another part has crackerjack reporters doing some great reporting. The reader will accept that." And the best part, he noted, is that in web publishing there is no paper to buy. "You can try lots of different things."

Schlack overturned another piece of conventional wisdom: "The web has been seen as a short-attention-span theater, where you don't want to write articles over 200 words. But I've worked for sites that wrote 4,000 word articles that got great readership. There is a place for deep stuff online. We don't know if people will read news online in 5-10 years, or if they'll read them on smart phones or RSS feeds. Maybe then the longer and more complex stuff will be on the web."

As for the connection between print and web staff, Schlack had this to say: "We don't get too hung up on online/print coordination -- either not having online and print working together, or having them work together all the time." But, he added, "If you're using same people for both, you're not using both media to full advantage."

The Web's Future: No More Fright Wigs

"Print is in a position that radio was in in 1950," said Schlack. "[Radio] was the biggest medium. Then when TV came in it was the second-biggest. I think online will pass print pretty soon."

But despite its increasing maturity, the web hasn't hardened into old age quite yet. "Because the web is so new, we as editors get to do some different things online. It all comes under the banner of inventing the medium. We're still inventing the medium. This is not a done deal. We're out of the Milton Berle fright-wig era, but we still have a long way to go. … Some crazy things still happen."

Schlack concluded: "It's not so much how good you are at HTML coding or what fad you sign on to support. It's much more about building solid relationships with audiences and constantly refining what you do."

For more about the banquet, including the list of regional winners, see this post.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Monday, June 19, 2006 @ 10:15 PM
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Read summaries of previous ASBPE-Boston events

B2B Panelists on the Economy: “Cautiously –Very Cautiously – Optimistic”
March 2009 State of the Industry banquet

State of the Industry Banquet a Success
Highlights from our panel on web publishing.
December 2006

TechTarget's Mark Schlack: Web Nearing End of Awkward Adolescence
At the chapter's Northeastern Region Azbee awards banquet, TechTarget's Mark Schlack shared some thoughts on the current state of web publishing.
June 2006

State of the Industry Panel and Holiday Social
At our Dec. 14 celebration, editors learned what the future holds for B2B media.
December 2005

Promote thyself!
At this event, editors learned how to get published and get noticed by the media.
May 2005

Advertorials: Boon or bane?
That was the question at chapter panel discussion.
April 2002

Dealing with problem sources
Is it ever okay to let a source review a story?
September 2000

How you can create a "franchise" survey
Advice from Folio magazine editor Tony Silber on conducting a high-quality reader survey. (Joint meeting with New York chapter.)

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Tuesday, June 07, 2005 @ 5:19 PM
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