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Hello everyone, Re. below, this is a bit lengthy, but I thought this piece might interest some of you. It further confirms Chebucto's important role in not only hosting local content, but also challenges us to think about how to become more proactive in developing dynamic content (and accessible tools) that will not only continue to generate more site traffic, but become attractive to potential sponsors - whoose revenues, I might add, could pay our volunteer editors and related support to maintaining our information infrastructure. This is the future ! Cheers, Leo ------------- >The Globe and Mail, Thursday, July 6, 2000 > >Upstarts think local to win on global Web > Small e-businesses offer services and content targeted to regions, even >cities >By Lyne McMurchie > > >When Herman Turkstra founded 701.com Corp. in September, 1997, the >Hamilton, Ont., native had grand ideas about building a Web site that >could link communities together with compelling local content, event >listings and neighbourhood business directories. > >After all, the former lawyer surmised, other media like newspapers and >magazines had successfully managed to carve a niche for themselves >delivering local news and information -- why couldn't the Internet do the >same? > >But Mr. Turkstra soon faced skepticism at every turn. "The reaction was, >generally speaking, 'This is lunacy, the Internet is a global product, >there's no room for startup companies to deal with local concepts.' " > >Then he lucked into an e-mail exchange with Kevin Kelly, editor-at-large >with Wired magazine, who assured him the Web was ripe for his ideas. Mr. >Kelly told him that the Internet can build relationships, recalls Mr. >Turkstra, and if he focused on areas in which he had expertise, revenue >would surely flow. > >"Of course, he was dead right," says Mr. Turkstra with a laugh. > >Three years later, 701.com boasts 32 community Web sites from London, Ont. >to Kingston, Ont., and is taking aim at a market in that region of one >million households and 90,000 businesses. > >The Internet spans the globe, but as e-businesses like Mr. Turkstra's are >discovering, there's a promising future in local content. And it's a >future that -- to date -- has largely been neglected by Internet ventures >looking to cash in on the favourable valuations of e-businesses with >international reach and profile. > >While the Web has often been applauded as a global medium, local content >can attract a highly targeted audience, says Anya Sacharow, an analyst >with New York-based Jupiter Communications Inc. In advertising terms, that >means these sites make up in quality what they may lack in quantity. > >But in a recent study on local content, Jupiter concluded that more than >50 per cent of consumers surveyed had no preference, no recognition, or no >use for local content on-line. > >That, Ms. Sacharow says, will change as sites learn to layer local content >with affinity -- essentially drawing people by combining both their >interests and their geographic location. > >The growing popularity of Web-capable mobile devices and high-speed >connections in the home will soon make local content even more appealing, >she adds, as people will keep their computers constantly connected and use >them as a quick reference to check the weather, movie listings and >community events. > >And as local sites deliver more loyal consumers in specific geographic >areas, advertisers are expected to follow. Jupiter predicts that local >on-line advertising will grow to $2.7-billion (U.S.) by 2003 in the United >States alone, or 24 per cent of the overall market for on-line >advertising. > >But as the financial stakes get higher, the marketing of local sites >becomes more challenging, says entrepreneur Heather Wilson, co-founder of >MuskokaDirect.com, a general store selling everything from maple syrup to >custom paddles crafted by merchants in the cottage region north of >Toronto. > >For instance, many local Web ventures get their message out by advertising >in community newspapers -- some of which have on-line editions. "Can you >advertise in a local paper or are you seen as a competitor because you >also offer ad space?" Ms. Wilson asks. > >Once those questions are resolved and relationships are defined, there are >many opportunities to cross-promote with other local businesses, she says. >For example, merchants whose wares are sold on MuskokaDirect.com promote >the site in their existing retail stores with flyers provided by Ms. >Wilson. In return, they have an opportunity to sell their goods year-round >on-line, no longer limited by the seasonal migration of cottage folk. > >Consumers are only now starting to see the Internet as an efficient means >of getting information and products from around the world or around the >corner, says Susan Sweeney, author of 101 Ways to Promote Your Web Site >and founder of Dartmouth, N.S.-based consulting firm Connex Network Inc. > >But many businesses have yet to develop their on-line strategy. "It's >still early days for Internet marketing, not a lot of companies know what >it's all about." > >To attract loyal consumers and take advantage of the medium's flexibility, >local sites should update their content daily with contests, coupons and >cross-promotions, she adds. > >Regularly updating content is only one of the challenges local Web sites >face. When consumers log on to 701.com and click on a specific community, >they have access to everything from event listings to a local business >directory. Each business in that directory represents one of Mr. >Turkstra's hard-won customers, many saddled with day-to-day operational >issues who are almost too busy to worry about taking their businesses >on-line. > >The Internet is something they know they have to contend with but, as Mr. >Turkstra puts it, "It's about as warm and fuzzy as paying taxes." > >That said, 701.com's chief executive officer has devoted much of his time >easing their transition onto the Internet, at first by offering free Web >sites to 3,300 of his small business customers, and now by providing >opportunities to add more site features such as maps, e-mail and coupons. > >"When you're dealing with small audiences on a local basis and bringing >along people who are reluctant participants in the whole Internet scene, >if you're not creative you're dead," Mr. Turkstra says. > >Being creative is the easy part; fending off hungry media conglomerates is >more difficult, says Kate McDonnell, art director of Montreal.com. The >Pointe-Claire, Que.-based site aims to provide native Montrealers or >visitors with a complete guide to all the city has to offer. > >"There's a constant pressure on us to sell up, to sell out," she says. >"We're one of the very few big city sites that doesn't belong to a media >company." > >The Montreal.com crew has what Ms. McDonnell calls a "starry-eyed" ideal >of using the site to give a voice back to the community. And that, she >says, is what the Internet was meant to be. > >"The idea that the Internet would be run by Yahoo, Time Warner and >Microsoft is actually pretty recent and it's not something people who've >been around for a while feel very congenial about." > >As locally focused e-businesses strive to carve a comfortable on-line >groove for themselves and the communities they serve, the goal is not so >much to do it all but do it well. > >"I don't ever believe we'll be the Amazon.com of anything, and it isn't >really the point," says Ms. Wilson of MuskokaDirect.com. "We're bringing a >more regional approach to e-commerce and I think it's been well received." > >Copyright 2000 | The Globe and Mail __________________________________ Leo J. Deveau Executive Director Chebucto Community Net Halifax, Nova Scotia. Canada __________________________________ "...the mind thinks with ideas, not with information." -Theodore Roszak. From 'The Cult of Information' p.88.
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