In the midst of a national crisis—a senseless shooting in Newtown, CT, a natural disaster in Joplin, MO, or a terrorist attack in Boston—social media becomes a source for instant information.

And the recent events surrounding the Boston Marathon underscore just how complex managing these social channels has become. Misinformation spreads on Twitter, the front pages of major newspapers identify innocent men as suspects and witch-hunts begin in forums like Reddit.

As an industry, publishing is in a unique position: Even if we’re not all go-to breaking news sources, we are media outlets whose core mission is to inform. 

So, how should we handle these sensitive situations? Isn’t it our dut More...

At ABM's 2013 Annual Conference here in Amelia Island, FL today, membership cast their vote as the final step to approve the merger between ABM and SIIA. The vote came in at 83 for, 3 against, but not without a bit of drama.

During the vote count, Lebhar-Friedman's Roger Friedman stood to pay a heartfelt tribute to the ABM of the past, recognizing his own mentors and previous leaders of the b-to-b media association.

While acknowledging both the inevitability of the member vote in favor of the merger as well as the momentum of change in the b-to-b media industry, Friedman called this year's annual conference "bittersweet&q More...

This is the cover for the May issue of Boston magazine. The story behind its creation is equally as awesome (the May issue was just days away from shipping when the bombs went off on that Monday; tweets and Facebook posts were employed to collect the actual shoes from runners.). Editor-in-chief John Wolfson provides the details here.

As we all wait for the white smoke to appear above the Time Warner Center, it appears that many are  fixated on gaming the odds of one CEO candidate or another. Mr. Bewkes has already announced (after talks broke down with Meredith) that he wants to “spin out” the magazine assets into a separate company. Recent reports coming from Sixth Avenue indicate that the HR folks are doing all they can to retain their best employees during this period of uncertainty. Not sure how much Laura Lang (outgoing CEO) can and/or will do in the remaining months of her tenure. The departure of More...

*Editor's Note: This blog originally appears on FOLIO: sister site, EXPOWeb.com

While the Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society produces an annual tradeshow attended by more than 30,000 industry professionals, The Privacy & Security Forum was its first foray into smaller conference territory. A senior executive wondered out loud to me if we would make any money at all. Well, we did.

The event welcomed more than 250 attendees during a day and a half program with 12 sessions and 26 speakers. There was a small exhibi More...

Content marketing or advertising? This budgetary conundrum challenges not just brand marketers, but the publishers who have witnessed customers divest marketing spend from advertising and invest it into content marketing initiatives outside of their brands’ reach.
 
While a reduction in advertising spend poses an immediate threat to publishers, it also enables the opportunity for nimble publishers to reinvent their business model as well as their client relationships.

Publishing sales teams must change their perception of their customers’ roles, as well as their own:
 
• The customers of publishers are not advertisers, they are brand marketers. A brand marketer’s responsibilit More...

We’re addicted to mobile content. We use our tablets to lull us to sleep. We use our smartphones as alarm clocks, we bring our phone to the bathroom for reading material, and we have panic attacks when we realize that we’ve left our mobile device at home or—heaven forbid—lost it. According to a poll by Time Magazine, “1 in 4 people check their smartphones every 30 minutes and 1 in 5 check it every 10 minutes. A third of respondents admitted that being without their mobile for even short periods leaves them feeling anxious.” In fact, they compare mobile content addiction to a form of sustenance and point that, “twice as many people w More...

Yesterday Bloomberg Businessweek reported on a brilliant idea by a Korean tech entrepreneur and magazine professional: Won Hee Chang has developed a strategy for possibly "coercing virality" on the social Web, a move that may help her Seoul-based literary magazine gain new revenue and audiences.

“Readers who share content via social media will be able to access additional articles for free,” writes Businessweek's Caroline Winter. “Content, available in English, will initially More...

Based on my experience planning and buying millions of dollars in advertising for events, and seeing the results first hand, platform allocation—the share of dollars invested across various media platforms like newspaper, radio, TV, outdoor, digital, etc.—is the most important driver of campaign performance.

It defines who sees your messages and the size of the advertising package you deliver to them. If you get this wrong, no follow-on media buy variables (i.e. rates, placement, timing, etc.) will make much of a difference.

If you want the best results—as many attendees as possible—make sure your platform allocation syncs with the current media habits of your target audience.

Don't over-f More...

The mobile Web has been a challenge, to say the least, for even the largest content publishers, and when it comes to city and regional magazines, strategies range from exploratory to non-existent.

This month’s issue of FOLIO: has put a spotlight on city and regional magazine publishers and their strategies for reaching audiences, and advertisers, in the digital marketplace—our report shows that some publishers in this market are, in fact, responding aggressively to the changing marketplace despite previously held reservations. 

“Most city and regional magazin More...

Our list of the most creative individuals in circulation, consumer marketing and online audience development is back: We’re proud to announce that nominations are open for the 2013 Audience Development All-Stars.

The Audience Development All-Stars is our supplement's annual list honoring the industry’s top thinkers that have continued to innovate on the audience front—building new opportunities in both traditional and cutting-edge customer marketing initiatives.

It might be a new approach to fulfillment, direct mail or database analytics, but the list is designed to highlight the pros who over the last year have helped keep, manage, and attract new audienc More...

It seems like everyone is getting a face-lift these days: The Atlantic, WSJ.com, Redbook, the XO brand, Self. And whether you’re hitting refresh on a legacy brand or a newer dotcom, the redesign and relaunch of a publication is a b More...