Traditional Media Need Google and other Aggregators

Posted by Sebastien on the 2007/06/22 at 12:07
in Atomization, Google, New York Times, News, Newspapers, RSS, Search Engine Optimization, Strategy -

Catching up on some interesting blog posts this week, I found this superb analysis by Publishing 2.0 about why newspapers should embrace online aggregators.

Highlights:

  • Many newspaper executives have made an enemy out of Google and other online aggregators who disintermediate newspapers and all other traditional media.
  • These aggregators drive a significant amount of traffic to newspapers.
  • The real fear is that aggregators are destroying the direct brand relationships that newspapers and other branded media have traditionally had with their audience.
  • The problem that newspapers and other traditional media brands have is that they still see branding as a function of controlling the distribution channel, rather than branding each unit of content that must now live and survive on its own in a disaggregated online media ecosystem.
  • The real missed opportunity for newspapers is in optimizing their content to convert user who find their