The Digital Consultant: New York Times

Showing posts with label New York Times. Show all posts

Tuesday, 17 June 2014

Not Another Brick In The Wall - A Lesson For All Brand Managers In A Digital World

The leaked internal report from the New York Times details the digital health of the publication and has a number of pointers that any brand manager should be taking note of.

Cultural change seems to be one of the main challenges; a not unfamiliar scenario for many traditional media companies. Unless this change takes place the NYT faces a dire future.

The newsroom is challenged to expand and engage its audience through discover, promotion and connection. Their task is not made any easier by "a cadre of editors who remain unfamiliar with the web.”

Overall it is an alarming indictment of a traditional company that has thus far failed to adapt to the expectations and opportunities of the digital age.

This chart sums up at a glance how new media publications such as the Huffington Post and Buzzfeed have captured the market at the expense of the NYT and other traditional companies.

Source: The New York Times Innovation Report

To quote the report: “The very first step … should be a deliberate push to abandon our current metaphors of choice — ‘The Wall’ and ‘Church and State’ — which project an enduring need for division. Increased collaboration, done right, does not present any threat to our values of journalistic independence.”

Get the full New York Times Innovation Report here.

It is not possible to do justice to the full content of the NYT document in this blog post, but it is worth reading in its entirety. Their action strategy clearly details what needs to be done to turn the NYT around and will be applicable for many businesses struggling to adapt to a rapidly changing digital world.

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Would Sir Like Malware With His Meal?

Just when you thought it was safe to get back into the (digital) water, after ditching Window XP and upgrading your home or office PC, comes the news that hackers managed to get into an oil company's' systems through a Chinese takeaway menu!

Yes... you read correctly, this ingenious restaurant menu hack was the key to grabbing crucial company data.

How did they do it? According to the report in the New York Times, "hackers infected with malware the online menu of a Chinese restaurant that was popular with employees. When the workers browsed the menu, they inadvertently downloaded code that gave the attackers a foothold in the business’s vast computer network".

This form of infiltration is referred to as watering hole attack. Just as predatory crocodile lurks by a watering hole in the Masai Mara ready to pounce on a thirsty gazelle, so does this malware await its opportunity.

And no, before you ask, I doubt if Edward Snowden every set foot in this restaurant but it does go to prove just how clever and pervasive cybercrime has become.

Any system or device that uses software is now prone to these types of attack whether it be climate control systems, printers or even vending machines. Once you can break into one device you have a pathway to break into an enterprises' entire system. I doubt if many people truly appreciate the sophistication and cunning of today's cyber criminals and spooks.

The NYT article also details that 23-70% of attacks dealt with by network security agencies emanate from third party devices. It is also worth mentioning that many of the devices mentioned above such as vending machines (and surprisingly ATMs) still run of Windows XP and as of this month, Microsoft has ceased its support for this software leaving it even more vulnerable.

30% of the world's personal computers still run on Windows XP which represents a massive challenge to stopping the proliferation of malware. If you have a spare £5.5m you can always do what the UK government has just done and buy yourself some extra breathing space. But for most mere mortals such as yours truly, this was not an option.

The Year of the Mega Breach

Symantec's most recent Internet Security Report 2014 labelled 2013 as the Year of the Mega Breach as the number of attacks were 62 percent greater than in 2012, with 253 total breaches. Eight of the breaches last year exposed more than 10 million identities each!

Source: Symantec Corporation - Internet Security Threat Report 2014.

Ransomware attacks, which as the same suggest hijack and lock a system until a ransom is paid, grew by 500% in 2013. Cryptolocker is the best known of this type of malware.

I have made a mental note to be more careful when selecting from a menu in a restaurant in the future. The 'Chef's Special' may not turn out to be quite what it seems at first glance.

Friday, 1 February 2013

Stop The Spread Of Vacationitis

The Hilton and The Onion; hardly a marriage made in heaven one would think, but based on this innovative campaign one would be wrong.

Onion's creative arm, Onion Labs have partnered with the hotel company to produce a web site that encourages a worker to diagnose their ills and recommends vacations as a 'prescription'.

The Urgent Vacation Centre also features the 14 symptoms of Vacationitis and a plea to stop the spread of this malignant disease.

I can particularly emphasise with the malady 'Acute Retinal Monitoritis' ! The viewer has the ability to download a large or small version of each symptom for their office cubicle or share same through social media.

Yellow Post-It Fever doesn't look too pleasant either.

According to the New York Times, more than a third of the business of Hilton Hotels and Resorts is generated by leisure travelers. The new campaign is directed at them, said Andrew Flack, vice president for global brand marketing.

“We are particularly targeting working professionals. It’s becoming harder and harder to switch off work, harder for people to think about and plan vacations. This time of year is popular for people to plan vacation travel. When they come through Christmas, they think ahead for the year, think about where they might go.”

It all goes to prove that when it comes to advertising a little humour goes a long way; in this case hopefully a long way away from a cluttered desk and a frenetic office.

Wednesday, 22 December 2010

We Consume, We Collaborate

The Harvard Business School describes the Collaborative Consumption movement as:

“A socioeconomic groundswell that will transform the way companies think about their value propositions.”

Ted describes the presenter, Rachel Botsman, as:

"... a social innovator who writes, consults, and speaks on the power of collaboration and sharing through network technologies, and on how it will transform business, consumerism and the way we live."

P2P file sharing and online technologies are transforming the way we share and trade, and on a scale that was never before dreamed of.

WHAT'S MINE IS YOURS from rachel botsman on Vimeo.

When all is said and done, the Collaborative Consumption model is a logical extension of the social media revolution.

This infographic shows the rise of collaborative consumption, including figures from LendingClub, a US p2p lender.

There are four fundamental forces that are reshaping global consumption behavior: the global recession, the re-emphasis on community, broader environmental awareness, and online networking technologies.

Online sharing can contribute to profit making. Businesses such as EBay and new Zealand's premier site, TradeMe, have already harnessed the power of collaborative consumption or to put it in simple terms "sharing".

Tuesday, 14 December 2010

There Is No Second

It is a truism that those companies who are first out of the blocks with an innovative idea are often the most successful. While 'first user advantage' doesn't last for long, it does set the pace for others to try and follow.

This is equally true in the wonderful world of social media. Those who come to the table late are left with the crumbs.

Witness AOL's purchase of Bebo for $US850 million . They dropped it from their company portfiolio this past summer for under $10 million.

Rick Aristotle Munarriz of the Motley Fool says that:

"MySpace is trying to do what Friendster, Tribe.net, Bebo, and any social network that squandered its 15 minutes has failed to do."

"I guess MySpace missed the memo. You only get one shot to matter in Web 2.0, and its time came and went. News Corp. should have either cashed out of MySpace when it was hot -- or at the very least, peaking. We're living in Facebook's world now, until that site somehow stumbles."

or one could take the Microsoft route and try to buy the most world's successful social media platform.

David Kirkpatrick stated in his book “The Facebook Effect” that Microsoft made an offer of $15 billion for Facebook:

"Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had flown to Palo Alto to visit his young counterpart twice. As Zuckerberg is wont to do, he took Ballmer on a long walk. Zuckerberg told Ballmer that Facebook was raising money at a $15 billion valuation. But Ballmer had come with something more sweeping in mind. “Why don’t we just buy you for $15 billion?” he replied, according to a very knowledgeable source. Zuckerberg was unmoved even by this offer. “I don’t want to sell the company unless I can keep control,” said Zuckerberg, as he always did in such situations.

Ballmer took this reply as a sort of challenge. He went back to Microsoft’s headquarters and concocted a plan intended to acquire Facebook in stages over a period of years to enable Zuckerberg to keep calling the shots. But Zuckerberg rejected all the overtures. What Ballmer finally agreed to instead was an advertising deal that included a provision for Microsoft to pay a huge amount, $240 million, for a sliver of Facebook, 1.6%. Microsoft’s investment gave Facebook an implied value of $15 billion.”

Microsoft's Senior Director of Corporate Strategy and Acquisitions Fritz Lanman has since confirmed that this offer took place

Quite apart from acquisitions, companies are beginning to realise that social medai responsibility needs to be embedded within an organisation and not reside soley in the hands of a few specialist staff.

The New York Times for example have just eliminated it post of social media editor in an acknowledgement that such activity is a shared responsibility.

“Social media can’t belong to one person; it needs to be part of everyone’s job. It has to be integrated into the existing editorial process and production process. I’m convinced that’s the only way we’re going to crack the engagement nut.” says New York Times Social Media Editor Jennifer Preston.

Saturday, 4 December 2010

Mega Trend Technologies And Cocktails

The New York Times technology writer David Pogue in an interview with WebProNews highlights the technology trends as he sees them.

One of the most revealing statements relates to the pace of change and how businesses will always struggle to keep pace and capitalise upon new technologies.

Stripped down technologies are replacing developments with multiple features; the notion that simpler is better is finally getting through.

Danny Groner writing in the Huffington Post attended the event and wrote:

"I was amazed by some of the products that Pogue showed off or talked about. A top-of-the-line camera that fits in your pocket. An app that turns your iPhone into a musical instrument. Ways to ensure that you never lose an internet signal.

These products will encourage creativity and connectivity, and Pogue is helping to escort in a new era. His hour-long presentation carried with it the ability to get even technology novices excited and inspired about what's to come.

With so much new technology already in place, that's the biggest obstacle standing in the way."

One who has had great success with picking a trend and capitalising on it is Zynga's Mark Pincus. He has made a large fortune from online gaming and allying it to the Net's social revolution.

Farmville, the addictive game on Facebook is one of his better known successes and he was an early investor in both Facebook and Napster, the P2P music sharing site.

Talking to The Telegraph Pincus said:

"Since the likes of Napster, MySpace and Facebook were created, the web is a social place, with lots and lots of smaller cocktail parties happening everywhere.

Beforehand, the web was a huge place that wasn't connected in any way – and then Napster launched [and] the web suddenly lit up.

The internet became this place where people could come together around their interests. And now I am hosting one of the biggest cocktail parties online."

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

You Are What You Tweet

Jeffrey Rosen, a law professor at George Washington University has written a thought provoking article in the New York Times.

The focus is "how best to live our lives in a world where the Internet records everything and forgets nothing - where every online photo, status update, Twitter post and blog entry by and about us can be stored forever"

And the primary lesson to be learnt is that everything you ever put online can come back to haunt you!

There are sobering examples of job applicants never getting out of the starting gates after the content of their tweets and Facebook rants have re emerged to haunt them.

As the recent press coverage of Wikileaks demonstrates, the web is also the platform of choice for the disaffected. On the positive side whistle blowers have a global medium through which they provide balance to an orchestrated PR positioning. And people are genuinely interested in the recent information posted on the site with Google Trends recording Wkiileaks as the #1 ranked "hot topic", even out pacing the Clinton wedding.

But there are few reliable ways to comprehensively verify information and even searching through reputable sources can have its problems.

Take the Chocomize story as an example. Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land in his article about the Google Sewerage Factory says "The pollution within Google News is ridiculous. This is Google, where we’re supposed to have the gold standard of search quality. Instead, we get “news” sites that have been admitted - after meeting specific editorial criteria - just jumping on the Google Trends bandwagon, outranking the actual article causing the term “chocomize” to be popular, polluting the news results and along the way, earning Google some cash."

So if, as Jeffrey Rosen has written, the web means the end of forgetting are we finding and remembering the right stuff in the first place? The search results may be garbled but the data is there forever.

If you really want to mask your identity from any future employer you may wish to take the advice of Michael Fertik, founder of ReputationDefender, and Paul Ohm, a law professor at the University of Colorado. The New York Times article covers questions of Internet privacy with practical advice on how to make online commentary untraceable.

Meanwhile Google maps is making it even harder for a company to run from a bad reputation, They are now using sentiment analysis and pulling content from non traditional sources like newspaper articles and single blog entries that appear across the internet.

Writing in his blog, Mike Blumenthal sees a marketing research opportunity in this new development - the ability to discover review sites in your market:

"Go to maps.google.com and simply type the domain that you identified into the Maps search box ie, blogto.com You might want to include a local modifier. Maps will display an array of Places listed in which the site you identified has been mentioned. You can verify that they are a review source by then examining the review section of the Places Page"

He adds "This new capability will dramatically increase the reach of hyperlocal blogs, change how businesses manage the review process and could, over the long haul, change how and where reviews are generated and aggregated.".

Clearly this is a reputation management challenge that businesses need to be aware of. Not forgetting that what happens on the web, stays on the web.

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Tuesday, 17 June 2014

Not Another Brick In The Wall - A Lesson For All Brand Managers In A Digital World