My first book blurb

I’ve been fairly silent here in recent weeks, with just a simple update to my photo gallery and a travel bit posted Sunday. Between vegging on vacation, majorly swamped at work, traveling out of town and otherwise consumed at home, I’ve been tapped out (as if I’m “tapped in” most other times).

So, I was kinda stunned to see my site traffic had jumped overnight. Like in a big way. I know photo galleries are traffic drivers and sometimes the search bots can go nuts, but this was way out of the ordinary.

OK, let’s see what’s going on. ... Hmmm, that’s weird. What’s all this traffic from the Guardian newspaper in England? ... Wait, a second, they’ve linked to me? #@$% &!@#

Yep, Guardian blogger Steve Busfield, writing a post collecting reaction to the paper’s innovative “The Wire Re-Up” book, had quoted from and linked to my own review from back in November:

“The interaction of the blog and book was what attracted Logan Molen, the chief operating officer of The Bakersfield Californian. He says: "The Wire is so nuanced and full of layers that you want – and need – a crowd to help source the storylines. Kudos to the Guardian for recognising that." (Interesting that they substituted my American spelling of “recognizing” for the British variation. Note to my pitchfork-wielding U.S. readers: I remain thee patriotic American).

Boo-yah! Points too to Busfield for commenting on this site shortly after my original post went up.

I’m not so jaded to say it's fun to get some notice from one of the world’s most respected newspapers and websites, even if it's just cribbing my words to promote one of their own products. My little corner of the Interweb is an odd mish-mash of personal and work-related stuff, so it’s nice to have an outsider with some juice find some value in the junk drawer.

"The Future of 'Print'?"

"Is SI’s Dazzling Tablet Mag The Future of ‘Print’?" So asks MinOnline in describing the concept for the next-generation Sports Illustrated magazine.

The video above is vaporware at this point, but represents real possibilities around the corner as multiple companies prepare to launch so-called digital tablets next year. Apple is among them, but others such as Wonderfactory and Plastic Logic CrunchPad are also thick in the game.

As a consumer and content creator, I love the concept: Rich, detailed and interactive content -- whether news or advertising -- that can be updated on the fly and on the go. They're not repurposing the magazine, they're reinventing it. And unlike a lot of the shiny objects we see online today, products like these are true game changers, no matter if they're niches initially because the tablets are expensive, the content scarce or whatever.

But as a business person and someone who has a good idea what it takes to create a slick product like this, I cringe that there was only one reference to advertising in the S.I. prototype. Creating such rich content week in, week out -- or daily, if you ditch the print-driven weekly production cycle -- will cost tons of money, which means the advertising has to be there from the get-go and not an afterthought. Subscription costs alone likely will not pay for the content production.

And I also wonder whether we're starting to see long-term segmentation in platforms, with print, desktops, gaming consoles and mobile devices all cornering their portion of the media landscape. Print is a killer app, and will be for years to come for a sizable audience that likes the predictability, the simplicity. Desktops and gaming consoles are wonderful social vehicles. But for many people, a digital tablet might be too much, too complex, too intense. There's a reason the Kindle is popular: It does a few things very well without the whiz and bang; it's an escape from the chaos in our lives, not an amplifier.

These are exciting times we live in, but for those people in the traditional news business, these are the challenges -- and opportunities -- that really make one pause. My head is spinning, both in a good and bad way. Anymore, that seems to be how life is.

Update on Friday, December 4, 2009 at 9:18 AM by Logan Molen

Got an email from a smart guy at Gannett's Detroit newspapers -- which is doing some great work now, and planning into the future -- who asked about my Plastic Logic reference. The reference to Plastic Logic -- which is in the e-reader business -- was total brain fade on my part (cranked the post out too quickly). I meant CrunchPad, and have made the fix in the original post. 

Update on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 11:03 AM by Logan Molen

Fast Company reviews two new tablet PCs due to be unveiled at the Consumer Electronic Show next month (sadly, I can't attend this year -- there's a room set aside for e-readers, tablet PCs and the like). 

Thumbs up on one, thumbs down on another, as well as an update on the weird Crunchpad debacle. Worth a quick read. 

Quick hits from #ONA09

In the spirit of the rampant Tweeting during the terrific Online News Association conference Thursday through Saturday, here are some brief thoughts on a variety of topics: 

• This year’s conference was the best I’ve attended. Fantastic diversity of topics, fresh speakers and a nice mix of formats.
• Thursday’s “Fund Your Media”  session cost an extra $50 but was well worth it. Great ideas for content and for funding streams for upstarts, entrepreneurs and traditional media.
• I came away from the Thursday session recognizing there is no silver bullet when it comes to business models, but that each site I launch likely will have a different revenue stream. One size does not fit all.
• The boxed lunches served Thursday and Saturday were a nice surprise: gourmet sandwich, salad, apple, chips, cookie, chocolate and drink. It was like a never ending lunch box.
• The Twitter hashtags for each seminar were great for those in attendance, although I know there was confusion outside the conference among readers who wondered why there were so few posts to the #ONA hashtag (#ONA09 was the preferred overarching tag).
• Lisa Williams of placeblogger makes $15-$25,000 a pop selling access to her aggregate user data! Talk about an alternate revenue stream
• I appreciated the lack of whining about the sad state of the industry at this year’s conference. There was a strong sense of “let’s get on with it.” Refreshing.
• I was not surprised at how many people paid their own way to the conference. Seems like a sign of the times. 
• I loved that Jessie James Garrett spoke of the need to “emotionally engage” with your audience. That emotional connection is absolutely critical to success, yet far foo many sites are polish over passion.
• I talked to some people at the conference who don’t Tweet or blog and instead are quietly doing some amazing work. That’s why in-person conferences like ONA are so powerful in connecting bright minds offline.
• There’s some great work occurring at sites big and small, but there’s still far too little focus on revenue or realistic business plans. Too many people are banking on either grant/foundation money or “build an audience and the revenue will follow.
• At the other end of the spectrum, one highly lauded hyperlocal site with three staffers seemed comfortable with its current 11,000 page views per week. At some point, though, your inaugural sponsors are going to question their ROI. MinnPost's Real-Time Ads" are posted through a Twitter tool that allows the advertiser to update their ads whever they want.
• I loved how MinnPost.com is using Twitter as the platform for its real-time ads. Great concept that I hope takes off. 
• Great observation from MinnPost’s Joel Kramer suggesting that $35,000 you might want to spend on a reporter might be much better spent on a full-time staffer focused on bringing  in long-term revenue (sponsors, grants, subscribers, etc.).
• The hotel Starbucks priced nearly everything $1 more than that Starbucks one block down O’Farrell.
• Leo Laporte was a great Friday luncheon speaker. His “sad sack” humbleness overshadowed a great story in perserverance, reinventing oneself and truly understanding marketing. BTW: His "This Week in Google" podcast is worth listening to at least once. Co-star Jeff Jarvis' offers good insights on Google stuff that affects journalism.
• EE News (Greenwire, ClimateWire and more) is flying under the radar. I had no idea their staff included Pulitzer winners lured from high-brow newspapers. It’s now an $8 million a year business with 30% margins – with 25% annual growth projections moving forward.
• “Social Media Mania” panelist Steve Fox used Twitter to request questions from the audience. The audience instead asked that Fox steer the panel back on topic, which he then did. Bravo! Props also for his concise advice for staffers using social media: “Don’t be a dumbass!”
• The SacPress story viewer allows you to easily find previous stories on ongoing topics. The tool surfaced on story pagesThe “6 in 60” panel was fun and invigorating (great give and take between the VC and pretty much everyone else). Given the intent of the event, I didn’t think Sacramento Press should have won – too established – but it is a terrific site with some excellent navigation and usability features (I love the archive viewer that displays a timeline of stories on a particular topic).
• I didn’t see a single ONA attendee reading a print newspaper the three days I was at the conference. Hasn’t always been the case.
• Saw tons of iPhones but also a few low-tech models – but I came away from two different seminars (Amy Webb’s and one of the mobile panels) thinking that Android is the way to go.
• I’m still laughing at the thought of people IN the main conference hall firing up Livestream to watch the speaker right in front of them.
• Thousands of Tweets were sent using the #ONA09 hastagThe ONA Twittersphere added an amazing layer of insight and analysis to the conference. It was surreal at times.
• I did find it funny that one prolific Tweeter also told people attending his panel that reporters covering meetings needed to focus on listening to speakers instead of tweeting the proceedings.
• I took more of an analog approach, Tweeting only a few times during the conference. I was simply too busy with other things. But thanks and props to those who did Tweet. There’s a ton of great information behind all those ONA hashtags. However, I do hope someone at ONA collects all the presentations in one place. Until then, there are hundreds of links in the many Twitter posts.
• It’s so inspiring to hear of people launching really cool sites with budgets of just a few thousand dollars. 
• Amy Webb’s presentation was amazing, and worth revisiting online. Some of her insights don’t directly translate to day-to-day journalism but they’re critical to understanding where consumer attention will be focused in the years ahead. Keeping and monetizing that consumer time is where our future lies.
• Webb’s presentation included more than a few products that were very invasive in terms of today’s expectations of privacy. I wonder where the tipping point is in terms of individual privacy. Are normal people – not journalists or marketers or tech geeks – really going to expose themselves that much?
• Paul Saffo predicted “we are going to be tearing down architecture for the next 18 months. Get used to it.” I think the rest of our lives are going to be chaotic, with architecture a fleeting concept.
• Not sure of the screengrab Saffo showed of Apple’s new iTablet was real or not but it looked pretty cool and different that some earlier visuals I’d seen.
• We all know mobile is going to be huge but, cripes, successful revenue models will be twice/thrice the challenge of the desktop world.
• I had a meeting conflict so couldn’t attend the unconferences but I’m glad the organizers made the concept an option. Great way to crowdsource a conference and keep things fresh. (I was struck by the request for a “brief summary” of how to develop software. For those of us in that business, um, let’s define “brief”).
• Several people I talked to agree LinkedIn is underrated.
• Was stunned to learn BlogHer is still not profitable.
• Josh Hatch showed shared some cool new reporting tools: Swivel for super-easy data visualization and Audioboo for posting podcasts online from your iPhone. Even I could figure out both. 
• Cory Haik shared two fantastic and easy tools for using your phone to shoot and post  images into live maps and inline stories. Fun for personal use but effective in reporting from the field.  
• Two weeks left to submit your Knight News Challenge proposals. It’s super easy, with major upside.
• Had a great dinnertime debate over the value of Twitter, Facebook, etc. My contention is that the people I follow on Twitter have become my editors and I feel like they’ll alert me to anything important going on in the world. A bright software development manager at our dinner table who detests Twitter rightly contended there’s a huge and profitable audience that still wants people to edit content for them. I agree – the key is monetizing that new “mass” because it’s not mass like the old mass.
• I drove up from Bakersfield, 5 hours to the south, so I left the conference at about 5 p.m. Saturday. Unfortunately, I hit the streets just as the city's "celebration of love" parade was ending. It took me an hour to get from the hotel to the Bay Bridge, typically a 5-minute drive. If there was any consolation, it was no shortage of eye candy along the way.