QUICK SHOT: Guardian on Twitter- April Fool’s or Great Freakin’ Idea?
[Note: There was some confusion. My bad. What I MEANT here was that a newspapers could go forgo print and only have a web presence and "tweet" the headlines. Folks, even my 5 year old twins know that you can synthesize an entire story into 140 characters. But with brick and mortar costs virtually minimized (no printing and going virtual) this maybe a viable way to save a newspapers as a brand.]
Ok I was totally had.
I saw a tweet (on Twitter, natch) about The Guardian going exclusively on Twitter after 180 years in print. I was totally gonzo excited. All of a sudden it just made sense!
Papers are going by the wayside, but information isn’t. Branding that information as quality, well-written & sourced is key.
“This is HUGE” I tweeted. Only to be “@” back that it was an April Fool’s joke. Ok, that deserved a “Good Show,” as it was a seriously good prank — I’m tipping my cloche to my overseas cousins.
But after a good laugh, I had one of my epiphanies.
A newspaper going exculsively to Twitter was totally a joke. Or was it?
Some of the most amazing things happen by happenstance, blunder or folly: maple syrup (’cause no one goes “Hey, let’s just boil some tree sap” unless it’s by mistake,) Chocolate chip cookies, Coca-Cola, Rubber, implantable cardiac pacemaker and penicillin to name a few.)
Currently, with the slow death of printable media, newspapers are folding left and right. What would happen if one just decided to stop printing and go only digital: online, Twitter and Facebook? Could they survive? Could they negotiate a great deal to “deliver” exclusive only to Twitter? Would this help Twitter monetize themselves as a content deliverer? Perhaps a subscription model (w/ ads?) and revenue-share with partners?
Could this work?
And if it did, now THAT would be hysterical!
2 Responses to “QUICK SHOT: Guardian on Twitter- April Fool’s or Great Freakin’ Idea?”
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Herds three kids through life. Mainlines all things media, including questionable TV. SCUBA diver that longs to hang-ten.
Newspaper content on FB and Twitter? Right now social media is acting more like a directory of news – giving links to actual blogs or news sites. Real content creation is minimal. So although electronic media is a reality that is here to stay (and which will continue to evolve) – I doubt that FB or Twitter in their current format can actually carry actual content in the current minimalist format. Awesome tool for news geeks like me who don’t mind linking around the internet to find out what’s going on in the world, though!
I was thinking FB and Twitter as delivery system or gateway not the “holder” of the content. I agree, I use also use Twitter as a directory for links, information, etc.