Related searches: MSM, news media, Google, Google AdSense, Google news, blogger, youtube, youtube partner, Rupert Murdoch, New York Times, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.
At times it's good to take a step back and look at how news media's changing. Yes, it's done everyday, but I'm referring to this blogger pulling away from what I now call "The systems approach to blogging" for a moment to reflect on the changes in media I've seen. While there are many small news media developments that are really interesting, the one large one that bugs me is what I've referred to before: the fragmentation of news media and the involvement of Google.
Again, the "fragmentation of media" is news media created by many individuals and groups, often for niche markets or interests. What's happening is that as more people discover blogs and how to use them, as well as social networks and mobile social networks, it's harder for any one news outlet, individual, group, or company to make money. And Google's adding to this problem.
In protecting one news media group, Google's making it harder for other news media organizations and individuals to make money online. Google is protecting established news organizations online at the expense of smaller and newer ones. How? With Google News.
Google News favors established news websites. But what if it didn't do that. What if what was posted was the result of a pure automated content analysis, and whatever was posted first that met the criteria was listed? That would open up more media platforms and push out established media. It would force larger media organizations to partner with existing blogs and perhaps buy them, or vice-versa.
Why? Because smaller but smarter media publishers would have a fighting chance to generate traffic and earn ad dollars from that volume.
Why Google and not Bing or Yahoo for this approach? For several reasons. First, Google still controls, as of this writing, Google controls approximately 70 percent of the search engine market. And even with the advent of Bing, Google's search engine share doesn't seem to be threatened one bit.
Google also owns Blogger and has Google Adsense, the online advertising platform that's almost symbiotically linked to Blogger. Google could actually increase its own ad revenue base by leveling the news playing field. And it could give Google News placement priority to content that was created by Google account holders who were YouTube Partners. That program is also part of Google AdSense, go Google wins again.
While Google takes full advantage of its integrated web systems in this way, bloggers win by being able to see a simple reward for hard work and teaming up. The bigger the blog staff and the more active the blog, the more traffic it draws.
Who loses? Established news websites that do not understand how to write for the Internet, that's who. Google has been protecting and coddling these news organizations for far too long, and in the process slowing their growth in the Internet business.
The problem is too many journalists and news organizations don't understand that when they're writing online, they are in effect creating a new web page. The basic rules of web site design for search are consistently violated and so often that it's criminal. Titles have nothing to do with the subject of the article post. The subject name, the primary keyword, at times doesn't appear in the first paragraph and it it does, it's there only once.
I could go on and on.
Google leveling the playing field would force old media organizations to ship up or get out. And it would work as a breakwater against media fragmentation by essentially rewarding teams of bloggers.
What would Rupert Murdoch think about this? Not much, probably. What about Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., the publisher of the New York Times? Can't imagine he would be thrilled with the change. But it would force those organizations, and others, to produce better content that can be found on the Internet.
Over time, it would also force media consolidation, and help smaller media teams to actually have a better chance be rewarded for being competitive, and that reward is to earn a living.
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