Schmidt: A New, Digital Business Model

On December 3, 2009, In Newspapers and Media, By Blake

Google CEO Eric Schmidt responded to Rupert Murdoch today with an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. In the piece Mr. Schmidt imagines the world in 2015 and forecasts how readers will be consuming news.

He writes,

It’s the year 2015. The compact device in my hand delivers me the world, one news story at a time. I flip through my favorite papers and magazines, the images as crisp as in print, without a maddening wait for each page to load.

Even better, the device knows who I am, what I like, and what I have already read. So while I get all the news and comment, I also see stories tailored for my interests. I zip through a health story in The Wall Street Journal and a piece about Iraq from Egypt’s Al Gomhuria, translated automatically from Arabic to English. I tap my finger on the screen, telling the computer brains underneath it got this suggestion right.

Some of these stories are part of a monthly subscription package. Some, where the free preview sucks me in, cost a few pennies billed to my account. Others are available at no charge, paid for by advertising. But these ads are not static pitches for products I’d never use. Like the news I am reading, the ads are tailored just for me. Advertisers are willing to shell out a lot of money for this targeting.

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Eric Schmidt on Technology, Social Media

On May 19, 2009, In Arkansas, Culture, Newspapers and Media, Public Affairs, Technology, By Blake

Add this to the list of very interesting commencement speeches. (Thumbs Up: @rachaeldean)

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Maureen Dowd on Google and the Future of Newspapers

On April 15, 2009, In Arkansas, Local News, Newspapers and Media, By Blake

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd sat down with Google CEO Eric Schmidt to talk about Google’s role in the future of the newspaper business.

Firms, like Google here and Craigslist in San Francisco, have hijacked journalism, making us feel about as modern as the Tyrannosaurus rex model that sits on the Google campus.

She’s got some issues with Internet magnate, clearly. She asks,

Why can’t Google, which likes to see itself as a “Don’t Be Evil” benevolent force in society, just write us a big check for using our stories, so we can keep checks and balances alive and continue to provide the search engine with our stories?

Mr. Schmidt doesn’t see it as Google’s responsibility.

He declines to pony up money, noting that newspapers could opt out of giving their content to Google free and adding, “We actually like making our own money for obviously good capitalist reasons . . .

“The best way to get out of this is to invent a new product. That’s the way Google thinks. Incumbents very seldom invent the future.”

From earlier: My note to Neal Gladner about the future of the newspaper business and why newspapers should be pissed at Google.

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Schmidt to Newspapers: Don’t Piss Off Consumers

On April 7, 2009, In Arkansas, Local News, Newspapers and Media, By Blake

Google CEO Eric Schmidt gave the closing lecture at a meeting of the association of newspaper publishers yesterday in which he addressed the onging problems with the newspaper business.

In response to a question, Mr. Schmidt observed, ““From our perspective, we look at this pretty thoroughly and there is always a tension around fair use … I would encourage everybody, think in terms of what your reader wants. These are ultimately consumer businesses and if you piss off enough of them, you will not have any more.”

This is the same meeting where the AP said it was going to lay siege to Google, Yahoo and aggregators like The Huffington Post. Really?

Said Mr. Schmidt, “We at Google have a multimillion-dollar deal with the Associated Press not only to distribute their content but also to host it on our servers. I was a little confused by all of the excitement in the news in the last 24 hours. I’m not sure what they were referring to. We have a very, very successful deal with AP and hope that will continue for many, many years.”

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Twitter Obsessed

On March 4, 2009, In Arkansas, Corporate, Culture, Local News, Newspapers and Media, Public Affairs, By Blake

You can’t turn on television news without someone wondering what the hell Twitter is. As I sit here watching “Morning Joe,” Willie Geist and MSNBC media correspondent Dennis Kneale are talking about the microblogging site. Mr. Kneale, not a fan, said Twitter takes “a certain amount of solipsism.” Mr. Geist is on Twitter along with his colleagues Joe Scarbrough and Mika Brzezinski.

Scanning my morning blog roll, Joe Klein and Michael Scherer sound off about Twitter on TIME’s Swampland blog. Mr. Klein echos opinions of some of the early opponents in Arkansas. “I can’t bring myself to twitter. I’m not sure I quite understand what it is…except that it’s another thing. And I’m still trying to figure out the various things I have.”

This morning rumors abound that Google’s interested in buying Twitter. Notes CEO Eric Schmidt, “Twitter’s success is wonderful, and I think it shows you that there are many, many new ways to reach and communicate, especially if you are willing to do so publicly.” Facebook already tried to buy Twitter and failed.

If you’re on Twitter Jon Stewart thinks you’re an idiot.

Lance Turner’s keeping a running list of Arkies on Twitter over at his blog.

You can follow The Think Tank at http://www.twitter.com/blakerutherford.

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Barack Obama: America’s First Online Social Networking President

On December 31, 2008, In Arkansas, Culture, Government, Newspapers and Media, Politics, By Blake

If Bill Clinton was America’s first Internet president (introducing WhiteHouse.gov and forcing all federal agencies to get online) and George W. Bush was America’s first digital president (introducing podcasting, video and online chats) then Barack Obama will be America’s first social networking president, according to David Almacy who directed President Bush’s Internet operations from 2005 – 2007.  This is according to a story published today by Jose Antonio Vargas in today’s Washington Post.

You can look to change.gov, the transition website the Obama campaign created to capture resumes (290,000 thus far) and allow people to interact with the transition team. The site offers a blog and allows for users to submit comments, both good and bad (see Rick Warren’s announcement). It has also hosted several “Open for Questions” discussion sessions. According to Eric Schmidt of Google, “This is a part of our Internet culture, and it’s an emerging part of our political culture — you, as a citizen, get to talk back to your government.”

A month ago Mr. Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, sent a message to Obama supporters requesting their input as to what to do as they plan for the future. This week, the Pew Center released a report that says that 51% of Obama’s online supporters expect to receive e-mails, text messages and other forms of communications from the administration.  There have been several stories written about this in recent weeks.

And then there’s this news from Israel where its New York consulate held a 2-hour press conference on Twitter to discuss the current war.

Mr. Obama has stated that he will name a chief technology officer – a new position – to his administration.  How and where that person will operate is yet to be known. Hopefully the CTO will have real authority and can avoid a bloated bureaucracy. With so many social media tools available to the new administration, it would be shame for Mr. Obama not to use them.

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