Instead of autorefreshing, innovate
In this guest post, Mediacom’s Nic Hodges argues that Australia’s online publishers need to start putting their readers first
I feel like I’m stuck in an auto-refreshed argument on autoplay this year. If the energy that has gone into these topics alone could have gone into actually providing innovation for advertisers and users, who knows where we could have been?
And I can’t help but feel that the argument is a reflection of the larger issue facing major publishers and broadcasters. These institutions suffer from a crushing organisational inability to innovate.
All that needs to happen is for publishers to say “OK, we made a mistake, let’s move on.”
‘Likes’ this.
News Ltd’s latest play with the iPad app. is another example of what is going wrong with innovation in this country. Innovation is increasingly prioritised based on the immediacy of the ability to monetise. If you can make money out of it tomorrow then they’ll throw a ‘crack team’ at it. If the monetisation opportunity is longer term and the immediate opportunity is more about building consumer value then it can probably wait…
Excellent, well said Nic.
This seems like three separate arguments – good ones – awkwardly rolled into one.
HELLO NIC.
GOOD ARTICLE M8
CHEERS,
DUNCS
Couldn’t agree more, well said Nic.
However I am disappointed that I had to press play on the two videos in this article, how about making them autoplay?
You’re wrong, Nic. In new media management failure most certainly IS an option. It’s just that TAKING THE BLAME for failure is not an option.
Maybe. The top publishers will probably be less profitable but saying they wont be the top publishers is a stretch.
When you explore innovation what you quote is international. The local publishers are terrible at innovating. As are the local agencies and advertisers.
This is a conservative business community we have in Australia.
Publishers do not own innovation. Anybody can do that.
NICS
M8!!!!!!
AN EVEN BETTER READ THE SECOND TIME.
GR8 STUFF!!!!!
Hear hear.
Nice one Nick. Great article.
How refreshing….i had the very same conversation with a programmer of 20 years in the biz yesterday: we we’re talking primarily about how fast ”the horse” needs to be and why its needs to slow down (quality content), i mentioned i got bookmarks up the warzoo, but can i remember what i saw 24 hours ago.? NO, i can’t act on what i can’t remember; So whats the point of speed and convenience when what i see fades as fast as it flashes by me.? (dodgy content) eg; when was the last time i mentioned to anybody how great any website or magazine was.? I want information be-it print or online i can get truly excited by I’m totally over the game out there.! content content content, where is that hiding.? i want to engage I’m desperate to do so, lately thats been an epic fail.
Not everyone grew up with the intenet, so assuming that a user of a News site knows they need to refresh a for the content to update doesn’t smack of someone looking at all audiences, just the audience of which he’s a peer.
That said, on content that doesn’t need to be updated (News, Sports Scores etc.) it’s unacceptable.
I look forward to teh day an Agency trusts publishers with the fact that we know how to engage an audience, rather than trying to “Own the Idea” themselves.
anonymous – explain why AU is probably the only market in the world where auto refresh is considered acceptable.
the best mastheads in the world don’t do it – and they have the same ‘real time’ pressures.
just makes the industry look amateur. No wonder agencies are clamping down on it – trying to drag publishers kicking and screaming into a more equitable situation for advertisers.