1 Effectively Coordinating Print and Web Publications David Strom (516)

2 Today’s seminar Some platitudes from yours truly Hear from our panelists See lots of different web publications Get your own comments

3 My background Founding editor Network Computing Self-publish Web Informant Built Intranet Construction Site for CMP 1997 (both print and web) Freelance writer and editor for both print and web trade publications

4 Mistakes on ICS ( ) Had different graphic artists for print and web, ended up doing graphics twice Had web team inexperienced in publishing industry Lack of overall coordination, no one really in charge Print deadlines drove web content, rather than the other way around

5 ICS design flaws Print was 4 serial editions, web static Articles mainly reference works and too long for the web Lame newsletter to drive repeat traffic Too many ad spots cluttered the page

6 Some wit and wisdom from Norm “We still haven't found a way to put a magazine on the Web.” Norman Pearlstine, editor in chief, Time magazine. CNNSI has taken off, yet “I'm not convinced that charging subscriptions wouldn't result in the site falling apart.”

7 So should you charge web visitors? Two schools of thought, and you’ll hear more about both An alternative is require registration on some portion of the site How not to do it: Infoworld, which has two separate servers

8 The web is not a book People don’t like to read from a screen People are more impatient over 28.8 modems Navigating online is still harder than turning pages

9 Don’t get too attracted to technology Frames suck The fewer graphics the better The more complex your pages, the more limited your audience The more dynamic your site, the less can be indexed by a search engine

10 Interactive is a dirty word Visitors aren’t interested in video games They take too much time and technology to do right Develop simple things such as Attachmate’s Treasure Web that play off registrations ( )

11 Understand your audience What pages are popular? What inbound links produce visitors? How long are they at your site and where do they go? What browsers do they use and where do they come from?

12 Think carefully about advertising What you promise may not be what you deliver Who really clicks on ad banners anyway? Sell sponsorships like Forbes ($275,000 each)

13 Complement your print publication Don’t worry about “giving away the store” Match content delivery with newsstand availability Have search button right up front and on top Put lots of navigation aids everywhere

14 Hire the right web ME Who can make the trains run Who knows enough HTML to be dangerous Who comes from publishing Who can coordinate with print counterparts

15 Issues Does your audience first see something on the web or in print? –how do you display URLs and cross-reference? Should the web edition be a reference work or stand on its own? –reading from the screen is slower than from the printed page! How easy is it to update your own content? –keep archives of the past, even if out of date? Are web and print editions enemies or bedfellows?

16 Panelists Nancy Macagno, Director New Media, Consumer Reports Jackie Gavron, Editor Windows Sources Jennie Baird, Editor, Smart Money Interactive

17 Discussion topics Panelist and publication background Relationship between print and web editorial Production streams for both Differences in design Lessons learned, skills looking for