If you want to be successful, either as a journalist or a digital manager, you better understand how web analytics works. Avinash Kaushik, Google evangelist and author of two best-selling books on the subject, says that in order to get conversant in the field you should include experimenting with free or cheap tools to master the concepts in a practical setting.
Free or Cheap Tools for Learning Web Analytics Read More »
Harvard Business Review contributing writer Amy Gallo quizzed Paul Axtell, author of “Meetings Matter” and Francesca Gino, a Harvard Business School professor, on how to run better meetings: There are many different kinds of meetings–the brainstorming session, the announcement, the decision-making meeting– but here are some good general rules for running an efficient meeting: 1.
The 5 Rules for Running Meetings Read More »
This is a persistent challenge. You want to offer a snapshot of all the variables and all the factors that were taken into consideration. But your audience wants to know only three things up front: 1. What is your point? 2. What do you want me to do? 3. If I do it, what do
Offering Effective Analysis — Insight, Recommendation, Impact Read More »
A while ago I published “Adaptive vs. Responsive Design: What They Are, Why They Matter,” and immediately received some follow-up questions about HTML5. Here’s a very quick explanation: For the last fifteen years (since 1997, actually), we’ve been stuffing all sorts of new content onto the web using HTML, a markup language based on typesetter’s
HTML 5: What It Is And Why It Matters Read More »
Another topic trending on my personal buzzword watch is “adaptive design vs. responsive design.” The difference is a bit confusing, but at the highest level, responsive design means building one design that works on all devices, “responding” to the device with design and layout changes. Adaptive design means “adapting” a single design to the conventions
Adaptive vs. Responsive Design: What They Are, Why They Matter Read More »
Generally, when I’m looking for blog post art I search Flickr first (check the Creative Commons “commercial use” box) and Google next (select “usage rights:free to use or share, even commercially”). If they don’t have what I need, here are some other sites I check. I also like to skim them occasionally just for fun.
Sources for Free and Cheap Images Read More »
Karen McGrane, author of “Content Strategy for Mobile,” recently wrote an interesting A List Apart post about the difference between work that is good and work that is great. Both groups focus on getting the details, large and small, absolutely right. But the great also express their personal values in the work, and try to
Separating the Excellent from the Great Read More »
Recently the Associated Press faced a firestorm of criticism for launching advertising in its Twitter feed. Martin Belam, formerly UX lead for the Guardian, weighed in on the difficulties of developing a business model for media. Try and charge for content and everybody will tell you that a universal paywall can never work. Erect a
Martin Belam on Media Business Models: Try to Make Money And Your Audience Turns on You Read More »
Back in the stone age I worked for Ed Zander, who once said, “It shouldn’t take extraordinary people to do ordinary things.” Ed (who went on to become CEO of Motorola) meant that a department’s regular operations shouldn’t require herculean efforts. Everyday activities like bringing on a new employee, going to a conference, or pushing
“It shouldn’t take extraordinary people to do ordinary things.” Read More »
This week, Rick Edmonds at Poynter, Ryan Chittum at CJR, and Mathew Ingram at Gigaom debated the state of the paywall at news sites. Not surprisingly, there is little consensus whether or not subscription paywalls are a deadend or the wave of the future. However, there is one kind of paywall that I haven’t seen
Paywall Media — Why Not Bundle? Read More »