Mark Pasetsky's Cover Awards

Dear Friends, 

For the next two days I’ll be bringing you coverage of this year’s IAB conference, which is taking place in sunny Phoenix, Arizona.   I added these palm trees for a dramatic visual effect.  You like?

When I left traditional publishing last year, I launched Tecktonik Media, a digital publishing company.  At the time, I knew I had a lot to learn.   And, the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) conference is the perfect place for me to start and to share some of that learning with you through CoverAwards. 

At CoverAwards, the first web site launched by Tecktonik Media, our mission is to not only to critique magazine and newspaper covers, but web site homepages as well!   We also look at how print works with interactive, which is why I’ve found the success of NY Magazine’s Lindsay Lohan cover so fascinating. 

We also bring you breaking news that’s critical for editors to grasp and grasp QUICKLY.  The world is changing every second and I don’t think a lot of you are seeing what’s happening.   I sat in the traditional space for a while and it’s easy to ignore the seismic digital changes that are occurring in 2008 and beyond.

Who Gets What’s Happening in the Digital Space?

I compare what’s happening in the digital space to the famous book, “Who Moved My Cheese.”  Editors are sitting on top of age-old successful magazines and are quite proud with the EIC title.   They are so focused on the print product that they are not paying close enough attention to the digital explosion.   Those editors are sitting back eating the same “old cheese” until it runs out.   I can think of a few publishers doing this exactly, but I don’t want to embarrass them! 

On the other hand, there are outlets like Forbes/Forbes.com and People/People.com that are  going after the “new cheese” and becoming shining examples of how to move traditional brands online, as well as MAKE money.   Their editors are thinking across platforms and it’s starting to work in exciting ways.   They are creating original content as well as generating significant revenues for their companies.

Last Night!

The IAB conference kicked off last night and it was my first Internet fest in a long time.  For those of you that know me, this used to be a regular occurrence for me.  I worked with a ton of Internet companies in the first Internet boom and it’s great to be back again.  

It was great to bump into an old media friend Cathy Taylor who is here covering the event and has her own blog called www.Adverganza.com which covers the advertising industry.  Definitely check it out!

It was also nice to meet Marla Nitke, Director, Marketing Communications, for the IAB who made me feel very welcome.  I’m looking forward to getting some scoops from her throughout the conference.

Speaking of scoops, I met an insider from Microsoft who told me that he expects the deal with Microsoft and Yahoo to go through.   Hmmm.   We’ll see.

 What I learned?

• Traditional publishers need to be freaking out!  They now have competitors everywhere.  Companies like P&G are launching their own sites like homemadesimple.com and babycenter.com, and are now reaching their consumers directly.   Why should you care?  Because this will affect traditional publishing in a dramatic fashion.   Advertisers no longer need to go through magazines to reach consumers.   They are creating “editorial content” on their own.   On a positive note, at least there will still be media jobs, but they won’t be at traditional media companies.

• Consumers take charge!  Wenda Harris Millard, Chairman of IAB, spoke about how consumers are programming their own media and also distributing content.   Will there be a need for editors in the future?  Of course!  You just need to understand that consumers are much more active in the process.

• Editors need to become competent digital journalists!  The days of writing solely for print are OVER!  If you work a publication that is ignoring what’s happening in the interactive arena, I suggest looking for work TODAY.  Your future career depends on being able to write across platforms, quickly, creatively and effectively.  

That’s all for now.  Check in later for more updates.

xoxo
Mark