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“So, are the folks at Demand Media really spearheading a new paradigm that will further disrupt journalism on the Web? Not necessarily, as there does not seem to be an intention on Demand’s part to speak truth to power nor to create a media empire based on citizen-driven content. “
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“Elswhere there have been rumours that GMG will sell recently acquired PAid Content to raise cash…” Rumours from where? From up your bum?
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“Mobile games firm Gameloft has announced that it has sold more than 10 million games through Apple’s App Store since its launch in July 2008. ‘Sold’ is the key word – that’s 10 million paid downloads, in contrast to the many publishers who’ve announced multi-million iPhone milestones bundling paid and free together.”
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Is paidcontent the saviour? Ovum isn’t convinced: “The lessons from the web are simple; if content is not highly differentiated, or information premium and tradable, search technologies such as Google exist to provide an access channel to a zero cost source of identical or comparable content. The pay wall will act as a market-driven audit tool for what content is and is not premium and 2010 will see news and media organisations reassess their view of the online value of their content portfolios.”
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CasualGaming spells it out: “Established in 31 countries and generally popular with a teenage audience, Habbo Hotel offers a more gaming orientated environment than Facebook, and encourages users to customise rooms, train pets and even invent social games. Founded in Finland, Sulake has also been exceedingly successful in courting big brands, which regularly invest in a virtual presence in Habbo Hotel.” Trust me, this is potentially very big indeed…
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Another business using the compulsive nature of games to drive sales: “Pizza delivery chain Papa John’s has struck a marketing partnership around a paid-for iPhone game called Papa’s Pizzeria within which players can order its pizzas.”
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This is potentially huge: Farmville now has 73 MILLION users via Facebook, which is unarguably the leading games platform on the web these days.
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Good roundup of the iphone market
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Nothing like a bit of competition – but will it last? “Two freelancers have created a news and reviews site for Manchester…While the site may still be in development, the pair have big aims for the future, saying they want it to be “the most socially connected and innovative city guide for Manchester.”
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Brilliant, brilliant statistical Fisking from Goldacre on Sunday Times misleading splash on public sector pay – required reading. His conclusion: “I don’t know if the public sector pays more than the private sector for the same work, or less: nobody does, from a difference in median wages. Meanwhile I do know that this was one of the most statistically misleading front page stories I have seen in a long time. It’s going to be a fun election.”
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“Surrey Council, which already publishes a free magazine, Surrey Matters, at an annual cost of £340,000, intends to replace its press release site with a service carrying news stories about its activities.” Journalists need to get real about council papers: if the council has a democratic remit to inform its public of services, can they justify *only* using the local rag to do it, with its dwindling circulation and everything?
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FT: “By declaring it will no longer censor results on Google.cn, the world’s biggest internet company has set in train a confrontation with the Chinese authorities that could well lead to the closure of its local search service – though some industry observers cautioned that US diplomatic pressure may still yield some sort of compromise.”
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Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter: “(Game) publishers have probably done themselves a disservice by giving us way too much value for our money with each of these games,” Pachter says. “You just get way too much content. The installed base has a lot of music, and they don’t really need a lot more. It’s sort of like buying more books when you have a stack of books left to read. You just don’t.”
