If there's a slow day in B2B journalism, it's usually a Friday. Lots of weekly publications head to the printer on Thursday nights so that readers will have the product on their desks come Monday.
If today is a slow day for you, here's something to do.
Take a look at this article on the remarkable growth of the Firefox browser. (FULL DISCLOSURE: Back when I was a technology editor at Bloomberg News, I worked with the reporter on this story, Dina Bass.) Then check to make sure that your B2B website works well in Firefox.
MTV launched a new video service yesterday that doesn't support Firefox, and tech-savvy folks aren't pleased.
Friday, April 08, 2005
OhmyNews goes international
OhmyNews, the citizen journalism project based in South Korea, is going international. There's been an English-language version of OhmyNews for quite some time now. And I've been urging journalism students and others to get involved. Now that process is much easier.
Take a look.
It seems to me that the opportunites here are limitless. OhmyNews is growing at a remarkable rate. Yet prestigious beats in business, sports, etc. are wide open.
Back when I was starting out as a journalist, I'd have killed for a chance like that.
Take a look.
It seems to me that the opportunites here are limitless. OhmyNews is growing at a remarkable rate. Yet prestigious beats in business, sports, etc. are wide open.
Back when I was starting out as a journalist, I'd have killed for a chance like that.
More on Variety
Alex Romanelli, editor of Variety.com, wrote to say that my post yesterday reporting that Variety had "laid off about a half-dozen employees who worked on video and sound production for the B2B magazine's website" was incorrect. Only one person lost his job, according to Romanelli.
Here's some of the email:
"Reed Business Information, Variety's parent company, laid off one person as a result of shuttering regular production of its broadband initiative.
We'd appreciate the correction.
Sorry that you found "some pleasure" in someone losing their job. To provide some info, we will continue to produce video content on an editorially specific basis, ie no more weekly production but we continue to cover certain events and/or special reports. Any freelance work required to
produce that content will first be offered to those affected by the recent layoffs."
Here's some of the email:
"Reed Business Information, Variety's parent company, laid off one person as a result of shuttering regular production of its broadband initiative.
We'd appreciate the correction.
Sorry that you found "some pleasure" in someone losing their job. To provide some info, we will continue to produce video content on an editorially specific basis, ie no more weekly production but we continue to cover certain events and/or special reports. Any freelance work required to
produce that content will first be offered to those affected by the recent layoffs."
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Layoffs at Variety
A source tells me that Variety has laid off about a half-dozen employees who worked on video and sound production for the B2B magazine's website.
Regular readers of this blog know that Variety is my least favorite B2B site because of its cluttered design, strange taxonomy, etc. And the video section, called Variety Vision, tends to crash my browser as often as it actually plays video.
I'm always sad to see someone lose their job, and I hope that Reed Business has been as kind as is possible during this process. But I'll admit to finding some pleasure in this news. Maybe now someone will do some serious thinking about that site.
Regular readers of this blog know that Variety is my least favorite B2B site because of its cluttered design, strange taxonomy, etc. And the video section, called Variety Vision, tends to crash my browser as often as it actually plays video.
I'm always sad to see someone lose their job, and I hope that Reed Business has been as kind as is possible during this process. But I'll admit to finding some pleasure in this news. Maybe now someone will do some serious thinking about that site.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Podcasts for B2B
I'm not convinced that podcasting has much of a business future. I certainly don't see it as a major threat to radio (satellite radio, however, may someday deliver the death blow.) I tend to think podcasting's future is more likely to be as a form of personal communication, which puts me in about the same camp as Rex of Rexblog. At the same time, I've been adamant when speaking with journalism students, insisting that they master this new medium as soon as possible. (Students -- especially broadcast communications students -- who can't do podcasts are one of my new pet peeves. I have the same blood-boiling reaction to people who don't write but say they have "always wanted to be a writer." Or to students who say they want to be journalists, but don't blog, work for ohmynews or participate in other citizen journalism ventures.)
I'm a little less adamant about podcasting when speaking with B2B publishers...but perhaps restraint is not appropriate.
I've noted an ever-growing number of business-related podcasts. Someone seems to think there is a market here. And even if podcasts cannot be a revenue driver for a B2B publication, podcasts may be another way to expand the brand, serve customers and add to news-gathering capabilities.
I'm a little less adamant about podcasting when speaking with B2B publishers...but perhaps restraint is not appropriate.
I've noted an ever-growing number of business-related podcasts. Someone seems to think there is a market here. And even if podcasts cannot be a revenue driver for a B2B publication, podcasts may be another way to expand the brand, serve customers and add to news-gathering capabilities.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
More on custom publishing
I posted some of my concerns about custom publishing a little more than a week ago. And so far I haven't received any complaints from journalists who say they are pressured to write for such products.
I'm relieved.
Given that there may, in fact, be little for me to worry about, I read this piece about B2B custom pubs with little hand-wringing, hair-pulling or other forms of fretful behavior.
I'm relieved.
Given that there may, in fact, be little for me to worry about, I read this piece about B2B custom pubs with little hand-wringing, hair-pulling or other forms of fretful behavior.
VNU discrimination lawsuit
Can this really be true? Can management at VNU's Billboard magazine be this paranoid? this silly? this out-of-touch? this racist?
Take a look at the story in today's New York Daily News that alleges Billboard executives were so worried about lawsuits that they got nervous when employees who were members of minority groups formed friendships.
There are more details here, courtesy of CourtTV.
Take a look at the story in today's New York Daily News that alleges Billboard executives were so worried about lawsuits that they got nervous when employees who were members of minority groups formed friendships.
There are more details here, courtesy of CourtTV.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Another reorganization for Primedia Business
Things are changing once again at one of my former employers, Primedia Business.
The B2B publisher will fold two existing magazines into one in a move that "Folio"magazine warns "runs the risk of opening up opportunities for niche competitors."
Primedia plans to combine "Catalog Age" and "Operations and Fulfillment" into something called "Multichannel Merchant."
Off the top of my head, this doesn't seem like the best idea.
First, I just hate the new name. It's too similar to Reed Business' Multichannel News. More importantly, the name is supposed to evoke the broad business of online and print catalogs, direct mail and telemarketing. But to me it seems sort of bland and unfocused.
Second, I'm always a little wary when a niche publication -- where success comes from having expertise in a small area -- decides to go broader.
I assume the rebranding is part of Primedia Business' larger effort to refocus its marketing publications as part of the Chief Marketer initiative. And I'm generally supportive of that move.
But I have to say I agree with "Folio" on this one. There's considerable risk here.
The B2B publisher will fold two existing magazines into one in a move that "Folio"magazine warns "runs the risk of opening up opportunities for niche competitors."
Primedia plans to combine "Catalog Age" and "Operations and Fulfillment" into something called "Multichannel Merchant."
Off the top of my head, this doesn't seem like the best idea.
First, I just hate the new name. It's too similar to Reed Business' Multichannel News. More importantly, the name is supposed to evoke the broad business of online and print catalogs, direct mail and telemarketing. But to me it seems sort of bland and unfocused.
Second, I'm always a little wary when a niche publication -- where success comes from having expertise in a small area -- decides to go broader.
I assume the rebranding is part of Primedia Business' larger effort to refocus its marketing publications as part of the Chief Marketer initiative. And I'm generally supportive of that move.
But I have to say I agree with "Folio" on this one. There's considerable risk here.
Friday, April 01, 2005
New boss at Vance Publishing
Vance Publishing -- home of such B2B publications as the Packer newspaper (where I was once senior writer) -- has named Peggy Walker president and chief operating officer.
The move may mark a turning point for Vance.
The family-run company has a tradition of home-growing its top executives. But Walker is an outsider. Most recently she was president and group publisher of the National Underwriter Co. Before that, she was an executive at Putnam Media.
Walker replaces Mike Ross -- a longtime Vance man who moved up through the magazine ranks. Ross replaced Jim Staudt, who started in the circulation department of the Packer. Most interestingly, Walker assumes the title that most insiders assumed would go to Bill O'Neil, who had been with the company since 1976. But O'Neil stepped down a few weeks ago. And people inside Vance tell me he left because he'd been taken out of the running for Ross' job.
As a general rule, one of my favorite things about small B2B publishers is the collegial, supportive environment in which workers can learn and grow. But there's a downside to any closed system: no new blood often means no new ideas.
Given the increasingly competitive nature of publishing in the Internet era, Vance's decision to look outside for inspiration may prove to be an inspired idea.
The move may mark a turning point for Vance.
The family-run company has a tradition of home-growing its top executives. But Walker is an outsider. Most recently she was president and group publisher of the National Underwriter Co. Before that, she was an executive at Putnam Media.
Walker replaces Mike Ross -- a longtime Vance man who moved up through the magazine ranks. Ross replaced Jim Staudt, who started in the circulation department of the Packer. Most interestingly, Walker assumes the title that most insiders assumed would go to Bill O'Neil, who had been with the company since 1976. But O'Neil stepped down a few weeks ago. And people inside Vance tell me he left because he'd been taken out of the running for Ross' job.
As a general rule, one of my favorite things about small B2B publishers is the collegial, supportive environment in which workers can learn and grow. But there's a downside to any closed system: no new blood often means no new ideas.
Given the increasingly competitive nature of publishing in the Internet era, Vance's decision to look outside for inspiration may prove to be an inspired idea.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Hold on to that magazine!
Yesterday I gave some of my arguments for why trade magazines will survive and thrive amid changes in the media. The Magazine Publishers of America association -- no surprise -- thinks that all print mags will endure.
But their argument seems to be that in the future we'll need something "real" to hang on to in our floating bathtubs.
But their argument seems to be that in the future we'll need something "real" to hang on to in our floating bathtubs.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Bad news at Penton
There's bad news at Penton, and it's the sort of thing that can leave folks worried about layoffs. The Cleveland-based publisher of such B2B titles as "Air Transport World" and "Baking Management," said it will restate earnings for all of 2002, 2003 and 2004. The problem involves deferred tax assets. Correcting the errors will cost some $72 million.
On death and dying in the media
One of the more common topics discussed on media blogs is the death of print media. And there's always an argument to be had in predicting that one form of the medium will perish, while another will thrive.
I have my opinions on the subject too. I worry that the newspapers of my youth may not be around by the time my grandchildren are old enough to read. But like my friend Douglas Fisher, I'm not convinced that all is lost. And I tend to feel quite positive about the outlook for community newspapers.
I don't see blogging as a competitive threat to traditional forms of journalism; I see blogging as a long-overdue response by the consumers of traditional journalism. Bloggers are journalism's audience, journalism's partners, journalism's opportunity to understand itself.
I'm fascinated by the spread of citizen journalism into audio, but I don't expect that podcasting will destroy radio.
And I'm least worried about the print versions of B2B media -- which puts me in a different camp from Rafat Ali of Paidcontent, who says his "pessimism is mainly about trade mags."
Here's why I'm optimistic:
First, much of the B2B press has the advantage of controlled circulation. When it's time to cut the media clutter, the free stuff in my mailbox is not where I'll look first. Second, the B2B press publishes (or at least tries to publish) information that is needed. People are less likely to stop reading things that can bring them money than they are to stop reading things that cost them money. Third, trade publishing is about information distribution. Smart publishers will find multiple ways to get information to users and make money from it. B2C publishing is about the "package"-- selling indistinct, commodity-like pieces of information in a single magazine. It's going to be difficult for Vogue or Seventeen to find a way to sell a single piece of content about lipstick directly to readers. But price information, market-share data, competitive analysis -- the cores of B2B information -- can sell with or without the rest of a trade mag.
I have my opinions on the subject too. I worry that the newspapers of my youth may not be around by the time my grandchildren are old enough to read. But like my friend Douglas Fisher, I'm not convinced that all is lost. And I tend to feel quite positive about the outlook for community newspapers.
I don't see blogging as a competitive threat to traditional forms of journalism; I see blogging as a long-overdue response by the consumers of traditional journalism. Bloggers are journalism's audience, journalism's partners, journalism's opportunity to understand itself.
I'm fascinated by the spread of citizen journalism into audio, but I don't expect that podcasting will destroy radio.
And I'm least worried about the print versions of B2B media -- which puts me in a different camp from Rafat Ali of Paidcontent, who says his "pessimism is mainly about trade mags."
Here's why I'm optimistic:
First, much of the B2B press has the advantage of controlled circulation. When it's time to cut the media clutter, the free stuff in my mailbox is not where I'll look first. Second, the B2B press publishes (or at least tries to publish) information that is needed. People are less likely to stop reading things that can bring them money than they are to stop reading things that cost them money. Third, trade publishing is about information distribution. Smart publishers will find multiple ways to get information to users and make money from it. B2C publishing is about the "package"-- selling indistinct, commodity-like pieces of information in a single magazine. It's going to be difficult for Vogue or Seventeen to find a way to sell a single piece of content about lipstick directly to readers. But price information, market-share data, competitive analysis -- the cores of B2B information -- can sell with or without the rest of a trade mag.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Publishers' policies on blogs
I've been impressed with how some mainstream newspapers are embracing the participatory journalism movement. The Greensboro News & Record, for example, is generating considerable attention from other mainstream media outlets for its use of blogs and its embrace of transparency. But I have yet to come across a B2B publisher with a similar level of interest in how online journalism is evolving.
Much of the foot-dragging is based in fear, it seems. When I mention blogs to many B2B journalists, I tend to run into a lot of paranoid pontificating about amateurs pontificating in pajamas. I've said it before ... and I suspect I'll say it again ... trade publishers have to look again at the community journalism movement. Those people in pajamas are not your competition, they are your audience. They are not your enemy. They are the key to all your opportunities.
The pajama people are also often your coworkers.
And one specialty publisher has created a set of rules on employee blogging that may prove a workable template for any B2B publisher. The rules are evolving, according to Rexblog, because the company is listening to feedback from bloggers! Check out the most recent version of the rules here.
Much of the foot-dragging is based in fear, it seems. When I mention blogs to many B2B journalists, I tend to run into a lot of paranoid pontificating about amateurs pontificating in pajamas. I've said it before ... and I suspect I'll say it again ... trade publishers have to look again at the community journalism movement. Those people in pajamas are not your competition, they are your audience. They are not your enemy. They are the key to all your opportunities.
The pajama people are also often your coworkers.
And one specialty publisher has created a set of rules on employee blogging that may prove a workable template for any B2B publisher. The rules are evolving, according to Rexblog, because the company is listening to feedback from bloggers! Check out the most recent version of the rules here.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Custom publishing: growth and ethics
Few things have gotten the business side of trade publishing companies as excited in recent years as the revenue potential from custom publishing. Companies such a Cygnus and Penton have even started separate units to create and market vanity publications for clients.
Now comes word that corporate spending on custom publishing rose 19% last year to $35.5 billion. Certainly that's good news for the bottom line of many a B2B publisher. But it does leave me wondering about the nature of custom publishing, and some of the ethical risks.
I remember there was considerable debate about a decade ago when it was still fairly routine for publishers to ask journalists to write for custom publications. I don't think you'd find a serious journalist anywhere who doesn't have a problem with that. And today I'd be surprised to find anyone other than the most amateur of operations failing to use a separate staff or freelancers to produce custom pubs.
American Business Media's "Editorial Code of Ethics," the latest version of which I blogged about earlier this week, specifically condemns the use of editorial staff "in the preparation of custom publishing."
What I'd like to know is if this is still the issue it was a few years ago. I'd love to hear from any editorial staffers who have been pressured to write for a custom publication, corporate Web site or similar product.
Now comes word that corporate spending on custom publishing rose 19% last year to $35.5 billion. Certainly that's good news for the bottom line of many a B2B publisher. But it does leave me wondering about the nature of custom publishing, and some of the ethical risks.
I remember there was considerable debate about a decade ago when it was still fairly routine for publishers to ask journalists to write for custom publications. I don't think you'd find a serious journalist anywhere who doesn't have a problem with that. And today I'd be surprised to find anyone other than the most amateur of operations failing to use a separate staff or freelancers to produce custom pubs.
American Business Media's "Editorial Code of Ethics," the latest version of which I blogged about earlier this week, specifically condemns the use of editorial staff "in the preparation of custom publishing."
What I'd like to know is if this is still the issue it was a few years ago. I'd love to hear from any editorial staffers who have been pressured to write for a custom publication, corporate Web site or similar product.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
More on transparency in journalism
Shortly after I finished my earlier post about journalism ethics and transparency, I came across an interesting piece about transparency and branding. There's a link at the end of this post, and I'd urge everyone to take a look.
My experience has been that journalists remain too elitist, too enamored of their insider information and connections to appreciate the need for openness. The hidden histories of the mainstream press are widely known among journalists, but not among news consumers. How many Americans know Andrea Mitchell is married to Alan Greenspan? How many folks know NPR congressional reporter Cokie Roberts is the daughter of two members of Congress (a fact that is omitted on her NPR bio.)
I'd argue that the lack of transparency is an even larger problem in trade journalism, particularly in the use of anonymous sources. Few B2B publishers have rigid rules on sourcing. And ABM's ethics guidelines don't discuss the issue. As a result, the B2B world is full of the weakest of all journalism phrases: "according to sources." When I question B2B reporters about that phrase I often find they are being misleading -- using the plural "sources" when they've only talked to one, favored source. And sometimes they aren't talking about sources at all, but instead use the phrase as a sort of catch-all attribution for things that "everyone" knows.
Here's my prediction: the push for transparency in journalism is about to gain strength, but not from journalists, bloggers, academics or Dan Gillmor. This change will be driven by folks on the business side who are eager to protect their brands.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising, newsletters, business media, journalism ethics
My experience has been that journalists remain too elitist, too enamored of their insider information and connections to appreciate the need for openness. The hidden histories of the mainstream press are widely known among journalists, but not among news consumers. How many Americans know Andrea Mitchell is married to Alan Greenspan? How many folks know NPR congressional reporter Cokie Roberts is the daughter of two members of Congress (a fact that is omitted on her NPR bio.)
I'd argue that the lack of transparency is an even larger problem in trade journalism, particularly in the use of anonymous sources. Few B2B publishers have rigid rules on sourcing. And ABM's ethics guidelines don't discuss the issue. As a result, the B2B world is full of the weakest of all journalism phrases: "according to sources." When I question B2B reporters about that phrase I often find they are being misleading -- using the plural "sources" when they've only talked to one, favored source. And sometimes they aren't talking about sources at all, but instead use the phrase as a sort of catch-all attribution for things that "everyone" knows.
Here's my prediction: the push for transparency in journalism is about to gain strength, but not from journalists, bloggers, academics or Dan Gillmor. This change will be driven by folks on the business side who are eager to protect their brands.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising, newsletters, business media, journalism ethics
Journalism ethics for B2B
American Business Media has released its updated "Editorial Code of Ethics." Nothing in it should be a surprise to anyone who practices the journalism craft. The guidelines are clear, simple and even a little obvious. Nonetheless, I know there are folks out there who balk at ethical behavior, so I'm grateful that ABM has taken the time to publish the code.
Of particular note are the guidelines related to online advertising. The online world is new, and the rules are still being written. As a result there have been more shenanigans on the Web than in print in recent years. ABM is calling for online standards similar to those used in respectable print publications -- clearly labeling advertorial content, keeping editorial content under the control of the editorial department, etc.
ABM also wants online readers to be able to "opt out" of having their information sold to third parties. That's the sort of consumer-oriented move I support, but it's not going to go down well with many circulation departments.
One disappointment is that the guidelines don't mention transparency. Dan Gillmor, who may be the best thinker in journalism today, has suggested transparency as part of a model for the post-objectivity world.
My experience is that the most common form of unethical journalistic behavior involves non-transparency, in which reporters don't fully disclose biases, history (many B2B reporters once worked in the industry they cover) and relationships with sources.
I'd like to think the folks at ABM are thinking about these issues, and perhaps next year's version of the ethics guideline will address them.
In keeping with this idea of full disclosure, let me say this: Among the members of the ABM committee that issued the guidelines are Rama Ramaswami, who I remember as one of the brighter people I met in my time at Primedia Business; Marlys Miller, who is an editor at Vance Publishing, where I once worked; and Whitney Sielaff, publisher of one of my favorite B2B magazines.
Of particular note are the guidelines related to online advertising. The online world is new, and the rules are still being written. As a result there have been more shenanigans on the Web than in print in recent years. ABM is calling for online standards similar to those used in respectable print publications -- clearly labeling advertorial content, keeping editorial content under the control of the editorial department, etc.
ABM also wants online readers to be able to "opt out" of having their information sold to third parties. That's the sort of consumer-oriented move I support, but it's not going to go down well with many circulation departments.
One disappointment is that the guidelines don't mention transparency. Dan Gillmor, who may be the best thinker in journalism today, has suggested transparency as part of a model for the post-objectivity world.
My experience is that the most common form of unethical journalistic behavior involves non-transparency, in which reporters don't fully disclose biases, history (many B2B reporters once worked in the industry they cover) and relationships with sources.
I'd like to think the folks at ABM are thinking about these issues, and perhaps next year's version of the ethics guideline will address them.
In keeping with this idea of full disclosure, let me say this: Among the members of the ABM committee that issued the guidelines are Rama Ramaswami, who I remember as one of the brighter people I met in my time at Primedia Business; Marlys Miller, who is an editor at Vance Publishing, where I once worked; and Whitney Sielaff, publisher of one of my favorite B2B magazines.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
VNU Business sells four B2B titles
VNU Business Media is selling four B2B magazines for the retail industry to Chicago-based Ideal Media, a new division of Schofield Media Ltd.
"Retail Merchandiser," "Restaurant Business," "Foodservice Director," and "Beverage World" as well as related trade shows and Web sites are all included in the transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to the press release, editorial staffers won't have to worry about relocation, because the magazines will "be co-located in New York City and Chicago."
The purchase -- at least of the food and drink magazines -- may prove a nice fit. Schofeld already publishes "Food & Drink" magazine in the U.S. and "Food Chain" in Europe.
Schofeld, the U.S. arm of England's Schofield Publishing, has been growing at a rapid pace of late. Last month Schofeld bought "American Executive" and "Health Executive" from RedCoat Publishing.
Given that Schofeld is publisher of "Construction Today" and "Furniture & Interiors," I'd look for more purchases in the homebuilding and furnishings space.
"Retail Merchandiser," "Restaurant Business," "Foodservice Director," and "Beverage World" as well as related trade shows and Web sites are all included in the transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to the press release, editorial staffers won't have to worry about relocation, because the magazines will "be co-located in New York City and Chicago."
The purchase -- at least of the food and drink magazines -- may prove a nice fit. Schofeld already publishes "Food & Drink" magazine in the U.S. and "Food Chain" in Europe.
Schofeld, the U.S. arm of England's Schofield Publishing, has been growing at a rapid pace of late. Last month Schofeld bought "American Executive" and "Health Executive" from RedCoat Publishing.
Given that Schofeld is publisher of "Construction Today" and "Furniture & Interiors," I'd look for more purchases in the homebuilding and furnishings space.
Monday, March 21, 2005
B2B magazine for retailers
My fellow B2B media blogger David Shaw has announced his latest venture -- a B2B magazine for senior retail executives. The publication promises coverage of transportation, logistics and other issues "throughout the retail value chain."
Congratulations to David and his team. I'll look forward to the first issue in May.
B2B video-on-demand service
On days when I can't get to the gym, I'll sometimes use Cablevision's video-on-demand services on my television and take a yoga or Pilates class through "Sportskool" or "MagRack."
The services are essentially instructional videos, usually bearing some sort of consumer magazine title. Yoga Journal, for example, produces classes for video-on-demand.
I've often wondered about the potential for similar B2B services.
And now someone has done it....sort of.
Home and Garden Television, a unit of E.W. Scripps, will produce three-minute videos for professional home builders. But HGTV won't offer the video through cable television. Users can access the product only through the Web at HGTVPro.com.
The videos are proving popular, according to the Associated Press, which says HGTVPro received 380,000 unique visits in its first 19 days of operation -- roughly half the number of the Web site of B2B trade publisher Hanley Wood.
The services are essentially instructional videos, usually bearing some sort of consumer magazine title. Yoga Journal, for example, produces classes for video-on-demand.
I've often wondered about the potential for similar B2B services.
And now someone has done it....sort of.
Home and Garden Television, a unit of E.W. Scripps, will produce three-minute videos for professional home builders. But HGTV won't offer the video through cable television. Users can access the product only through the Web at HGTVPro.com.
The videos are proving popular, according to the Associated Press, which says HGTVPro received 380,000 unique visits in its first 19 days of operation -- roughly half the number of the Web site of B2B trade publisher Hanley Wood.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
B2B magazine awards and psychology
About 18 years ago, when I was young reporter for the Winston-Salem Journal, I decided I wanted another job. So I took a drive to nearby High Point, N.C., to apply at Furniture Today.
The folks there gave me some sort of psychology exam, which I apparently failed. Because they told me that the test results indicated I wouldn't be happy as part of the FT family.
On the Myers-Briggs test -- my personal favorite among the personality inventory exams -- I'm an ENFJ. That means I'm creative, highly verbal and have a mentoring personality. A lot of ENFJs become writers.
But being an ENFJ apparently wasn't enough for Furniture Today.
Whatever was missing from my personality, I cannot argue with Furniture Today's decision. The magazine has been plenty successful all these years without me.
And today comes word that they are a Neal Award winner for news coverage.
Check out the full list of winners here.
The folks there gave me some sort of psychology exam, which I apparently failed. Because they told me that the test results indicated I wouldn't be happy as part of the FT family.
On the Myers-Briggs test -- my personal favorite among the personality inventory exams -- I'm an ENFJ. That means I'm creative, highly verbal and have a mentoring personality. A lot of ENFJs become writers.
But being an ENFJ apparently wasn't enough for Furniture Today.
Whatever was missing from my personality, I cannot argue with Furniture Today's decision. The magazine has been plenty successful all these years without me.
And today comes word that they are a Neal Award winner for news coverage.
Check out the full list of winners here.
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