Niche sites remain a core part of The Californian's future

If there ever was proof that a rumor can spread like wildfire these days, it came this afternoon when I read reports -- which were retweeted often -- that we were considering shutting down Bakotopia and BakersfieldVoice.

For those who don’t know, both sites are part of The Bakersfield Californian’s growing internet presence. Bakersfield.com is our flagship site, but we have about a dozen “minibrand” niche sites – with more to come – that complement our local presence. And unless something changes dramatically, we’re committed to maintaining and expanding that online presence in the coming months and years. We see digital products as a key element of our future.

The rumor in question got started from a Classified Intelligence report on our recent tabloid redesign and its focus on classifieds. (I'd link to the story at AIMGroup.com but C.I. is subscription-only PDF; here's my take on our recent classified changes) And here's PaidContent's interpretation of the Classified Intelligence story. 

The stories suggested the two sites were in danger of closure when in fact it’s the print versions of those two brands that are under review. Best I can tell, the reporters in both cases didn’t understand that the two sites have companion print editions. Both are “web-first, print-second” publications. Bakotopia is a free biweekly available in newsracks around town; Bakersfield Voice is delivered weekly to people in west Bakersfield who do not subscribe to The Californian.

What is true is that we’re evaluating the ROI of the print editions. In deep recessions, any smart business would evaluate whether it makes sense to continue funding money-losing products, no matter the reputation. That’s why the print versions of fabled publications like Portfolio, Sporting News, TV Guide, Newsweek and others have either been shuttered or scaled back this past year.

I'm a senior vice president and chief operating officer at The Californian, where among other things I oversee digital products. And, in overseeing our Interactive Media division over the past four years and where I had key involvement in our social-media strategy, I remain a firm believer in the value of social networking and user-generated content. BakersfieldVoice (launched as NorthwestVoice but renamed after being merged with SouthwestVoice this year) and Bakotopia were trendsetters in that area, and paved the way for the quality reader-submitted content you now see in the daily Californian. It's content that provides fresh voices and perspectives that supplement the professional journalism we're committed to delivering. 

Both Bakotopia.com and BakersfieldVoice.com remain at the core of a strategy we’re set to launch in the coming weeks and months that will truly – and finally -- leverage the collective power of our local network of community sites and social connections.

For the first time, we’ll be able to:

• Surface our content in fun and flexible ways through a new homegrown tool that allows us to create incredibly granular feeds on the fly, and drag and drop the feed widget onto a flexible site design. Voila, new page feature -- heck, a new page design -- in 5 minutes.
• Mash up related conversations or topics from throughout our network, which include niche focuses on hyperlocal, entertainment, self-publishing, lifestyle, parenting and coupons.
• Give advertisers a one-stop experience to reach customers across more than a dozen local sites, or target their advertising based on behavior, regardless of which site a reader is on.
• Expose all of our customers to the depth and variety of the content being created amidst us.

Yeah, I sound corny. So what. It's taken us a few years to get to this point, but we're close.

And that’s just the stuff right around the corner. The fall also will bring dramatic changes to bakersfield.com, the launch of several new sites and what I think are some exciting opportunities for advertisers to make big splashes in online advertising.

Stay tuned, and please continue to use and support Bakotopia and Bakersfield Voice. They remain lively destinations, and a core of the community mission we've shared with you for more than 100 years. 

Classifieds as content

The new print redesign of The Bakersfield Californian introduces many new features, including one I call “Classifieds as Content.”

The Californian’s tabloid-sized edition debuted Monday, Aug. 17, and I think brings a new vitality to the local journalism and advertising we’ve provided for more than 100 years. More space is devoted to community-generated content that’s more inclusive of the conversations, interests and concerns in our community. Some will come from our blogs, our affiliated publications and websites, and local conversations occurring on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Flickr and the like.

But we’ve taken a step back to some degree in tapping one of the oldest sources of community-generated content: classified advertising. Beneath the many tightly written ads on any number of topics are hundreds of stories waiting to be told. As my friend and former co-worker Mary Lou Fulton has said, “Every sofa has a story.”

Pets get prominent play. The ad in the lower right is a companion to a display ad that is on the facing page immediately inside the Classified sectionWith that in mind, the back cover of our new tabloid-sized weekday paper -- we're retaining the broadsheet format on Saturday and Sunday -- is dedicated to classifieds. We’re highlighting fantastic deals, the wonderful stories behind some of the ads and tap the great reader submissions to our new Bargain Betty blog, which focuses on our classifieds and otherwise saving money by tapping great deals throughout our community.

The concept of “Classifieds as Content” is not new.

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Cart before the horse or horse before the cart?

My team at bakersfield.com launched a new site this week called BakoDeals that features coupons from local businesses. As a website, it's not breaking any new ground in the world of local coupons. But what's different is the site is an offshoot of an @BakoDeals Twitter feed I launched months ago as an experiment in local advertising.

The @BakoDeals Twitter feedI launched the feed initially to experiment with a potential new form of ad delivery and soon began promoting local deals of all kinds, whether they were paid ads in The Californian or Bakersfield.com, or from competitors or elsewhere in the community.

Feeble attempts at advertising -- embedded "house ad" sponsorships, a bungled effort to sell a paid Twitter ad -- went nowhere. What did gain traction was our promotion of local deals, regardless of source. Our only guidelines were that the deals be genuinely valuable and of interest to more than a few people.

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