Summary: Gall’s Law, planned cities like Brasilia, and the constructed language Esperanto all have one thing in common: they all show that experts can’t plan certain things. Rather, they must evolve organically through real-life experience. A radically user-centric approach to website design might be an effective counter to the fear that AI might replace content-based…
Summary: Google, OpenAI, and Bing are using website content to train AI, which will have a devastating effect on publisher websites. The New York Times is showing the way by forbidding their content’s use for AI training. While this may delay the decline of publisher websites, chatbots and AI are improving. The path forward requires…
Summary: Software companies are embracing subscription models for recurring revenue, similar to how Microsoft Office shifted from one-time purchases to subscriptions. Now, a debate arises regarding the ownership of eBooks. Libraries typically follow a “one copy, one user” model for eBooks, but the Internet Archive has not followed that model. Corporate publishers want to treat…
Summary: To improve the performance of your e-newsletter sign-up process, (1) Make it pop, (2) Make it compelling, (3) Make it easy, and (4) Make it fast. Avoid these all-too-common mistakes with your e-newsletter sign-up Email is becoming more and more important to publishing companies as search traffic gets scarcer. And I predict it’s only…
Summary: Traditional news outlets struggle because their offerings are much more limited now. The internet has taken away most of the money makers, and what they have left is “news,” which is not the greatest seller. Some local news outlets are doing well by focusing on email as a content delivery mechanism. But email is…
Summary: After 100 daily podcasts, I’ve learned (1) have lots of sources for new material, (2) Focus on steady improvement, (3) ask for the money. Watch • Listen On my whiteboard I have a list of six things publishers can do with their content. Update me Educate me Keep me on trend Give me perspective Divert me…
Summary: Use cases are more important than identity in constructing a customer data platform. To understand their relative roles, use the device framework and the person framework. The former involves understanding device requests, activity, and collecting identifiers, while the latter deals with complex individual identities across devices. The article stresses the need to consider both…
Summary: The article explains how to use two frameworks — device and person — for refining CDP (customer data platform) use cases. It applies these frameworks to personalization. Under the device framework, personalization involves responsive design, contextual links, and location-based changes. The person framework focuses on individual profiles, devices, identifiers, and personas, emphasizing the need…
Summary: The article delves into deterministic and probabilistic matching in CDPs (customer data platforms). Deterministic matching seeks exact attribute matches like email addresses, while probabilistic uses statistical algorithms for likely matches. It notes deterministic isn’t always accurate and suggests a confidence-based approach tailored to use cases. It underscores the need for caution in merging profiles…
Summary: Norwegian company Schibsted embraced text-to-speech technology to enhance audience engagement. Focused on riding the podcast popularity wave, they leverage “Beyond Words” to convert text into audio instantly, catering to changing article versions and potentially cloning the voices of popular podcast stars. Serving the audio from their own site allows them better data insights and…
Summary: “Yes” represents the allure of possibility and affirmation, while “no” signifies discipline, focus, and resource control. “Yes” is alluring, but can lead to illusions. “No” is a tool for maintaining focus, setting boundaries, and adhering to principles. “Yes, and” is a good tool for creativity, and “no, but” is suggested as a way to…
Roger Overall, a content maker and consultant in Ireland, asked for a copy of The Krehbiel Letter, which is my 4-page, printed newsletter. I mailed him a copy. I had no idea what I was in for. Roger posted on LinkedIn 7 days of careful analysis of the letter. He looked at it methodically, going…
Summary: The article discusses the evolving role of large language models (LLMs) in answering questions and the potential threat they pose to content creators. It advises four steps for content creators to protect their intellectual property from being used to train LLMs by modifying robots.txt files, blocking server access, updating terms and conditions, and training…
Summary: The article discusses the importance of questioning assumptions about data to ensure accurate interpretation. A conversation with data expert Michelle Drewek highlights key observations. Firstly, the shift from “average time on page” to “average session duration” led to better content decisions. Secondly, eliminating anomalies from page views and considering context aids accurate analysis. Lastly,…
Summary: The media industry’s focus on expanding reach at the cost of sales is critiqued. Fortune’s Chief Customer Officer, Selma Stern, highlights the misalignment of incentives leading to acquiring new customers at low prices. Such an approach dilutes subscriber quality and decreases advertiser interest. Balancing reach with quality content for niche audiences is emphasized for…