milne media

Podcasts - Could They Be the New Black?

Brits, it seems, lead the way in downloading and listening to podcasts.

According to research published by eMarketer, four in 10 internet users in the UK aged between 16 and 54 have downloaded podcasts at some point in their interactive lives.

That compares with just 29.5% of the same demographic in the US (Source: Universal McCann's Power to the People: Social Media Tracker)

But it is looking a little closer that throws up the potential this holds for media suppliers and, dare I say, bloggers.

Facebook Grows Up

Facebook is holding its annual developer's conference over in San Francisco today with all eyes on the new look which is expected to go live tonight.

For a sneak peak, both Inside Facebook and allfacebook are well worth a look.

But it is another development that caught my eye.

LinkedIn with NYT.com

Earlier this year I discovered LinkedIn.

A bit slow off the mark, I know, but it is a great business networking tool and best of all, free.

One of the appeals was that it seemed a simple, unobtrusive way of expanding and developing my contacts base in a way that other sites, such as Facebook, don't.

But now I hear that the information of all those on LinkedIn will be open to the New York Times who have struck a deal with the company.

And I don't quite know what to make of it.

New Look for Mirror Website Unveiled

The Mirror has launched its new look website today and as predicted last week, has a pretty heavy showbiz content.

And sure enough, as this blog suggested back in April, it has been pulled together by Cases Associats who carried out the re-design of the main paper too.

But it goes further, with sections aimed at attracting readers to click on their colour coded sections, much like those introduced through the main paper.

So why did Charles McGhee quit?

There was a time when The Herald newspaper was a must read.

It had gravitas, it had excellent writing, it broke hard hitting exclusives.

Yet I never really liked it.

Radiohead - a video without, er, video

This is very clever.

The video for the new Radiohead track House of Cards. Except not really. It doesn't use video, instead 3D imagery using geometric information instead of cameras.

Newspaper Websites Get Facelift

This week's Press Gazette has a piece about forthcoming changes to The Telegraph's website as it looks to build on the huge success it has enjoyed in attracting viewers over the past 18-months.

And the main emphasis, it seems, will be on increasing 'user engagement' which appears to be the new Holy Grail for media companies as less and less stock is put on the once all powerful SEO optimization agendas in favour of seeking new tricks to keep brands ahead.

And fair play.