If you don't know Rob Curley and the work he's doing at the Las Vegas Sun's Web site, now's the time to introduce yourself.
Curley and his team at Greenspun Media Group are light years ahead of the rest of us. Sure, they have the advantage of a deep-pocketed and progressive publisher, but, hey, at least somebody does. Editor and President Brian Greenspun built a solid, driven crew and gave them an expensive space -- including a tricked-out studio -- and room to roam.
Curley's enthusiasm runneth over. You get the feeling he's annoyed that he has to take the time to put his ideas into words. He said he once gave a speech that ran four hours over. By the end of this one, I was kind of hoping he'd break that record.
Here's a sample of Curley's pearls:
• People go to the Web for the five P's: their passions, practical information, play, personal communication, and, of course, porn. "News" sites would be wise to think about the first four when creating and maintaining their sites. That fifth one is out of the question, though, boys.
• Focus on breaking news. This takes a lot of resources and legwork, but it's crucial to establish that you're the place to go when the community wants to know what's up. And here's the rub: You only get one chance to establish this. If there's a huge column of smoke rising up from the middle of the city, and people go to your site to find out what it is, you'd better tell them. If you don't, they're not likely to check again. Start here: Establish a plan to cover breaking news.
• Broadband and alternate delivery are a must. One of the coolest innovations here was an ad for a free pitcher of beer that was delivered to users' cell phones. No scissors or printers necessary.
• Have deep, strong evergreen sites. This speaks to Gannett's "Local Information Center." For an idea of what's possible, check out the Sun's casino cache. Here's a snippet of what you'll find: a map of the strip with a rollover timeline (watch it grow!); videos of vintage Sinatra and Liberace shows, not to mention all the implosions; interactive graphics on mob ties; a virtual tour of Vegas' vintage neon signs; the list goes on. Whiz bang, indeed.
I could go on. Honestly, though, watch the podcast when KDMC gets it posted. You'll either be really depressed or really inspired.
3 comments:
the class sounds awesome,I am following the blog, good posts.
It sounds great but it sounds like it takes resources. I went to a conference and spent an hour listening to three guys brag about their Web site and all the cool things they did, but during the Q&A they couldn't or wouldn't answer two questions - what does it all cost and and where does the money come from?
Indeed, Tommy. That was the case here, too. Curley said the site's revenue has been doubling every month, but of course, they started from zero. Still, this guy was incredibly inspiring. It was great to see somebody leading the charge.
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