In a changing world, it is good to know that some certainties remain, such as when companies log their affairs and give…
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Research
What’s a Store For?
The first e-commerce transaction—a music CD, pizza, or weed, depending on who you ask—took place around thirty years ago. That means that…
Read MoreAd Blocking and Tackling: What 2015’s Ad Blocking Means for 2016’s Marketing
2015 was the year when an unprecedented number of users took action against the ads that slowed web pages and turned the…
Read MoreThe Gift Card Sector Comes of Age. Part 2 of 5: The Business, Social and Technology Trends Driving E-Gift Card Adoption, Innovation and Investment
In Part One of our look at the gift card sector, we provided an overview of the accelerated activity characterizing the sector…
Read MoreThis Digital Transformation is Not the One You’re Looking For
I was sorting through some browser tabs that had been open for a couple of weeks on my laptop and rediscovered a…
Read MoreResearch Agenda of Larry Hawes, Lead Analyst
Greetings! As my colleague Stowe Boyd announced yesterday, I am part of a fabulous group of smart, well-respected people that have joined…
Read MoreAt long last, the New York Times is thinking about digital first
The New York Times is taking a small but important step towards its digital-first future by getting rid of the traditional "Page One" print meetings and emphasizing the web and other platforms instead…
Read MoreThe New York Times needs to rethink its strategy — untargeted mini paywalls aren’t the answer
The NYT is laying off more staff and shutting down one of its new mobile apps, saying it failed to gain enough of an audience -- but the paper needs to think differently about how it connects with its audience, not just launch more micro-paywalls…
Read MoreHearst is headed to Silicon Valley with new BranchOut acquisition
Here's the low-down on why Hearst is launching a San Francisco digital team.…
Read MoreThe good news is more people are reading the news, the hard part is figuring out how to pay for it
A new report from the World Association of Newspapers shows that more people than ever are reading the news, both in print and online -- but paying for it is getting harder, as ad revenue continues to fall and digital fails to make up the difference…
Read MoreEverything you need to know about the future of newspapers is in these two charts
It's no surprise that print-based media like newspapers are seeing their market share decline and their advertising revenues fall along with it -- but these two charts show the fall is not slowing, and if anything it is likely to pick up speed…
Read MoreThe New York Times has shuffled the executive deck chairs, but it’s still on a collision course
The departure of executive editor Jill Abramson has drawn a lot of attention, but the New York Times has a much larger challenge ahead of it, as the paper's own internal report details -- its culture is out of sync with reality…
Read MoreWatch out, business publishers — Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith says he is coming for you
In a manifesto for where he wants to take Bloomberg Media, new CEO Justin Smith talked about expanding the financial news giant's reach on the web -- including a rethinking of its Businessweek strategy -- as well as moving aggressively into mobile and video…
Read MoreIn its first major venture of the Bezos era, the Washington Post launches national subscription partnership
In one of the first tangible signs of new owner Jeff Bezos' influence on its strategic thinking, the Washington Post has launched an ambitious national partnership aimed at expanding its digital subscriber base at relatively low cost…
Read MoreThe term “digital magazines” may sound kind of dumb, but First Look Media’s approach is not
First Look Media, the new venture from eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, has launched The Intercept from Glenn Greenwald -- the first of what it calls a family of "digital magazines." But the company's strategy is much smarter than that term makes it sound…
Read MoreIt’s a lot easier to say you want to move from print-first to digital-first than it is to actually do it
Digital First Media CEO John Paton has just launched a company-wide effort called Project Unbolt that is aimed at detaching digital from the newspaper chain's dying legacy print operations -- but there is a long road between that and becoming truly digital…
Read MoreWhen trying to find innovation, look for the intersection of the physical and digital worlds
Virtual supermarkets? Consumer-designed products? The distinction between physical and digital is becoming a thing of the past, as digital-physical innovation becomes the key to enterprise success.…
Read MoreOf digital riptides and original sin — was the decline of newspapers inevitable?
Several media industry executives argue that the disruption of the newspaper industry was inevitable, and that there was nothing much those in charge of the business could have done to prevent it or adapt to it. But is that true?…
Read MoreIt’s not about how long-form your content is, it’s about engagement with the reader
As more sites focus on longform content, Fast Company disclosed some statistics on how its longer pieces have been doing -- but the data shows that the real secret isn't length but ongoing engagement with readers.…
Read MoreVariety doubles down on digital — drops paywall in what it calls “end of an error”
New owner Jay Penske is shutting down Variety magazine's daily print edition and removing the paywall around the century-old tabloid's online content. But will these radical moves help the paper survive against more nimble rivals?…
Read MoreNewspapers that aren’t dying: Four success stories and four lessons
Research by the Pew Center has turned up several examples of newspapers that seem to have reversed the declining revenue most of the industry is suffering from, although the methods they have chosen to do this are very different.…
Read MoreWatch out, Atlantic — the New Yorker is gunning for you
Until now, the Atlantic has been the poster child for traditional media entities that have succeeded online, but the New Yorker looks to be planning some major moves of its own to boost its online presence.…
Read MoreTime waits for no man: Are deep cuts at the media giant just the beginning?
Hammered by declining print advertising revenue in much the same way newspapers have been, Time Inc. announced that it is laying off about 500 of its staff. But are the cuts the end, or just the beginning?…
Read MoreNYT editor: Journalism pre-dates newspapers and will outlast newspapers
In a recent "Ask Me Anything" interview with Reddit users, the Washington bureau chief for the New York Times had some refreshingly reasonable things to say about how the web has helped improve journalism, and how the practice of journalism will survive even if newspapers don't.…
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