Sorry for the lack of updates recently. Here are some photos of the snow in our yard.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Crazy Weather here in Lynnwood
Sorry for the lack of updates recently. Here are some photos of the snow in our yard.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Jon Stewart on the Newspaper Businesses
As usual, Jon Stewart has some great insight on the topic of my recent blog postings.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Vashon Island, Baby!
This week I am on beautiful Vashon Island working at the Vashon Beachcomber Newspaper.
It is a great community publication that comes out every Wednesday, delivered to around 4,000 homes on the island. The website already has a good amount of traffic, and I expect with the many features we are planning on rolling out it will really become a community hub.
I am staying at a fine establishment called Giraffe. They have a guest suite above their retail fair-trade store. It's quite cozy.
Vashon Island is also a very coffee-friendly community. I've been introduced to the French Press method of coffee brewing. It makes some tasty coffee.
Vashon Coffee Company is most famous on the island as far as coffee goes. I had the pleasure of visiting their facility and getting a sample of their blend. They have a very unique coffee shop on the Island.
State of the Economy hits Newspapers
So, as if newspapers in general hadn't been beaten up enough in the past few years, the full impact of the recession we are currently in is starting to hit the newspaper business hard.
For many of these newspaper companies (I'm talking about corporations that have traditional daily newspapers as 90% or more of their portfolios), things were already bad. Circulation numbers had been falling for years. The past 5-10 years had generally been bad news for advertising revenue. In particular, classified categories (automotive, private party, etc). But for papers that were doing it ok, retail, in particular, local reatil, was still holding its own.
But overall, things were still not good. Papers were having to make some cuts, borrow some money, take some lossses. Hoping things would get better. . hoping that craigslist would go away. . . . waiting for the auto dealers to start buying full page ads again. You catch the drift.
Anyways, guess what is just what this already delicate situation? You guessed it, a recession. Starting with the sudden and drastic decline of the real estate market. Fortunately for newspapers, Real Estate had been one category that had continued to be relatively strong. Although there were lots of dollars migrating to online offerings, local agents and builders were still spending money in newspapers, which was one bright spot in the often gloomy classified outlook.
Well, goodbye Real Estate advertising. Some papers went from strong weekly Real estate offerings to no Real Estate section at all.
But of course we can't stop at real estate. As the recession seemingly hits all angles the economy, advertising dollars seem to be increasingly fleeting. Because unfortunately, as silly as we all know it is, advertising is the first thing to go. Our small business owners are concerned with paying their employees, the electric bill, the lease.
This leads us to present day. The Tribune Company (Chicago) yesterday announced its filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Unfortunately, I think this will be just one of many huge shake ups for similarly positioned newspaper companies. For many of these companies suffering tough times already, the current recession could be the nail in their coffin.
Those that will survive will be forced to drastically alter the way they do businesses.
For many of these newspaper companies (I'm talking about corporations that have traditional daily newspapers as 90% or more of their portfolios), things were already bad. Circulation numbers had been falling for years. The past 5-10 years had generally been bad news for advertising revenue. In particular, classified categories (automotive, private party, etc). But for papers that were doing it ok, retail, in particular, local reatil, was still holding its own.
But overall, things were still not good. Papers were having to make some cuts, borrow some money, take some lossses. Hoping things would get better. . hoping that craigslist would go away. . . . waiting for the auto dealers to start buying full page ads again. You catch the drift.
Anyways, guess what is just what this already delicate situation? You guessed it, a recession. Starting with the sudden and drastic decline of the real estate market. Fortunately for newspapers, Real Estate had been one category that had continued to be relatively strong. Although there were lots of dollars migrating to online offerings, local agents and builders were still spending money in newspapers, which was one bright spot in the often gloomy classified outlook.
Well, goodbye Real Estate advertising. Some papers went from strong weekly Real estate offerings to no Real Estate section at all.
But of course we can't stop at real estate. As the recession seemingly hits all angles the economy, advertising dollars seem to be increasingly fleeting. Because unfortunately, as silly as we all know it is, advertising is the first thing to go. Our small business owners are concerned with paying their employees, the electric bill, the lease.
This leads us to present day. The Tribune Company (Chicago) yesterday announced its filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Unfortunately, I think this will be just one of many huge shake ups for similarly positioned newspaper companies. For many of these companies suffering tough times already, the current recession could be the nail in their coffin.
Those that will survive will be forced to drastically alter the way they do businesses.
Woot off today
In case you didn't know. . . head over to Woot.com for some good deals. I've only purchased one thing so far. Not the best woot-off I've ever seen. But still some great deals, especially if you don't have a Roomba, Dyson, Computer, or Camera.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
News sites using Video
Video is an important tool for any news site in today's competitive online landscape.
But newspapers don't do video, you say. While some newspapers across the country have made good use of video on their websites, many are not using it at all. Many others are using it infrequently or ineffectively.
The best way to think of video is that it is just one more tool to help tell a story. Imagine newspapers before photos were used. Just stories, right? Then photos came along and newspapers probably had a difficult time at first figuring out how to use this new technology. Now of course photos are a natural in all news reporting, and without them, something would just be missing.
Video needs to be thought of in the same way. Five or ten years from now, it would seem silly to have a news website with no videos on it.
How is video best used? Well, it should be used to enhance the stories that newspapers are already telling.
But newspapers don't do video, you say. While some newspapers across the country have made good use of video on their websites, many are not using it at all. Many others are using it infrequently or ineffectively.
The best way to think of video is that it is just one more tool to help tell a story. Imagine newspapers before photos were used. Just stories, right? Then photos came along and newspapers probably had a difficult time at first figuring out how to use this new technology. Now of course photos are a natural in all news reporting, and without them, something would just be missing.
Video needs to be thought of in the same way. Five or ten years from now, it would seem silly to have a news website with no videos on it.
How is video best used? Well, it should be used to enhance the stories that newspapers are already telling.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Black Friday - 2008 and My GPS
A pretty uneventful shopping day for me. I scoured the ads at the 11th hour, and decided there were only two stores worth visiting this year. That is mostly due to my daily fix of electronics deals on Woot and Sellout Woot.
But my trips to Office Depot in Lynnwood and the well-hidden Staples in Mill Creek turned out to be fruitful. I couldn't help but notice how weak the Best Buy and Circuit City offerings were this year.
And in case you haven't noticed, flat screen TVs of all shapes and sizes are on sale everywhere this year. Same goes for GPS systems.
I finally took the plunge into the GPS world with the Garmin C510, pictured here. I got on Woot for around $80 a month or so ago. For someone who is as directionally challenged as myself, I am really wondering why I didn't get one of these ages ago. It can sometimes be frustrating not quite knowing where this thing is leading you (it seems to have a knack for taking you right into traffic, probably because it's leading everyone the same direction), but at times when you don't know where you're going, it's a lot better than nothing.
Daily Dose of The Beach Boys
One of my favorites, this performance is apparently from early 2008. Some nice visuals of Mike Love's trademark facial and finger moves.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Challenges faced by traditional daily newspapers
Everyone wants to talk about the challenges of the newspaper industry today. Yes, there surely are challenges. Looking at it objectively, the traditional daily newspaper is a business model that no one in their right mind would start right now hoping to ever turn a profit. Now that may sound harsh, but it's true (on a side note, the same thing could be said about many other businesses/industries, including the United States Postal Service).
Here is my top 5 list of major hurdles facing daily newspapers today:
But the point is they have to step up and do it. If they don't, someone else will - or already has.
Here is my top 5 list of major hurdles facing daily newspapers today:
- Information overload: The Internet has given readers literally unlimited choices of where to get their news.
- Scope of their news coverage: The local daily newspaper is rarely seen as the best choice for world, national, or even regional news. However, they feel compelled to still try to compete in these fields, as it is what their readers are expecting. This nails down what their one true strength is: local news coverage. Many local dailies have figured this out, and are trying to spend more of their resources in this direction, but it is difficult given the scope of coverage that they traditionally have provided.
- Expensive distribution method: The carrier-delivery model is a load of dead weight. With gas prices shooting way up, it has become more and more challenging to recruit and maintain carriers. With most dailies seeing falling circulation, it is also far less efficient to operate carrier routes than it was in the days when most people on a street were subscribers. These problems will continue to get worse.
- Newsprint costs: This again is another expense that will never go away. Papers are trying to do as much as they can to save on this (narrower pages, cutting back or eliminating sections, going to tabloid format), but there's no escaping this large cost. It makes one think long and hard about the online only newspaper.
- Trouble migrating online: Newspapers have struggled mightily in the online game. Many of them are getting around to it, and some are doing a fantastic job. Many papers spent years in denial, treating the web as if it was some kind of fad that would soon go away. They put up basic websites, just because someone told them it was a good idea, and threw some articles up there to make it look good. There was no strategy. Heck, they saw the web as competition. They struggled with what to do with their content - if they put all of their articles online, who would buy and read the print product? Putting their stories online before they came out in print - no way! Frequent updates? What?
But the point is they have to step up and do it. If they don't, someone else will - or already has.
Monday, November 10, 2008
The importance of content
This is the first in a series of posts I plan to make about the newspaper business.
The content produced by news organizations is now more important than ever. No other time in the world's history have consumers been faced with so many choices of where to get their news.
Back in, let's say, 1920, there were no choices. Let's say you lived in Port Orchard. You read the Port Orchard Independent. That was it. Whatever articles that newspaper contained, that was what news you would be exposed to. If you lived in Seattle, then oh my goodness, TWO choices of newspapers.
Ok then came along radio, eventually TV. But as most newspaper readers know, those are really quick hits. Not much in detail. It did offer some limited choices - maybe 3 or 4 news options.
If you haven't figured out where I'm headed with this - with the Internet, the consumer today has nearly unlimited choices of where to get their news. It is no longer driven by what the paper thinks people want to read about. They better know what their target market wants to read - or else guess what happens, your readers will go elsewhere.
In this world where people are busier than ever and there are more distractions than ever, there's also exponentially more information available.
So bottom line - you better provide the information (news, stories, etc.) that your target audience is interested in reading, or else they will no longer be your audience. You no longer have the luxury of a captive audience.
The content produced by news organizations is now more important than ever. No other time in the world's history have consumers been faced with so many choices of where to get their news.
Back in, let's say, 1920, there were no choices. Let's say you lived in Port Orchard. You read the Port Orchard Independent. That was it. Whatever articles that newspaper contained, that was what news you would be exposed to. If you lived in Seattle, then oh my goodness, TWO choices of newspapers.
Ok then came along radio, eventually TV. But as most newspaper readers know, those are really quick hits. Not much in detail. It did offer some limited choices - maybe 3 or 4 news options.
If you haven't figured out where I'm headed with this - with the Internet, the consumer today has nearly unlimited choices of where to get their news. It is no longer driven by what the paper thinks people want to read about. They better know what their target market wants to read - or else guess what happens, your readers will go elsewhere.
In this world where people are busier than ever and there are more distractions than ever, there's also exponentially more information available.
So bottom line - you better provide the information (news, stories, etc.) that your target audience is interested in reading, or else they will no longer be your audience. You no longer have the luxury of a captive audience.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
RIP Colby
Our dog Colby passed away suddenly on Thursday October 30th. Thank you to all of you who have offered your condolences. Here is a little tribute video I made.
A Tribute to Colby from Rob Schwertley on Vimeo.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
TV Show Review: Weeds
I've watched the first 2 seasons of this show now on DVD. It's a Showtime original series, and towards the end of Season 1, I was beginning to wonder how 4 seasons - the storylines seemed a little bit limited.However, Season 2 introduced a whole lot of new elements besides the obvious one (a single mom with 2 kids in suburbia who sells, you guessed it, weed).
Anyways, Weeds is a fairly good show. Not my favorite of all time, but definitely worth watching. A pretty quick watch as well - there are only about 12 episodes per season.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Smokin!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Beatles' Ringo Starr tells fans to stop writing to him - NME.com
Sent to you by Rob via Google Reader:
via beatles - Google News on 10/13/08
Beatles' Ringo Starr tells fans to stop writing to him NME.com, UK - 3 hours ago The drummer says he's got "too much to do" and warns he'll throw any fanmail in the bin after October 20 in a video posted on his website. ... |
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to beatles - Google News using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Carl's JR in Marysville
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Great chinese food in anacortes
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
What the heck
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Deer in Port Orchard
Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Priest once was million-dollar ad man
Personal message:
To view the Heraldnet.com story, click here: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080823/NEWS01/46000470
If you are having problems with link, please copy the full url and paste directly into your browser address window.
*red75bug* thought you might like this item on eBay
|
 | An eBay member wants to show you this item |  |
This is a really rare record, as it was the first pressing of the first Beach Boys' single, Surfin. It's on Ebay right now, but not something you'd find every day.
| Check out this item
 | |||||||||||||
| Learn More to protect yourself from spoof (fake) emails. This email sent through the eBay platform from a sender who thinks you are likely to be interested in this information. eBay takes no liability for sending this email or its content. You can report this message as unsolicited (spam/spoof) email. Copyright © 2008 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. eBay and the eBay logo are trademarks of eBay Inc. eBay Inc. is located at 2145 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125. |
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Smile Ellen!
Are the Mariners suffering from the Curse of the Rally Fries? - Big League ... - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
(rob@schwertley.net) has sent you a news article
------------------------------------------------------------
Personal message:
------------------------------------------------------------
Personal message:
Are the Mariners suffering from the Curse of the Rally Fries? - Big League ... - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Are-the-Mariners-suffering-from-the-Curse-of-the?urn=mlb,100876
============================================================
Yahoo! Sports - http://sports.yahoo.com/
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Silver City Restaurant and Brewery
A room with a view
Video shows impact of drunk drivers on residents of Kitsap County - Bremerton Patriot
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
