idiomag

Sramana Mitra’s post at Read/Write Web got me thinking about how idiomag fits in with her ‘Web 3.0 formula’ that predicts the direction of the web.

So first the formula: Web 3.0 = Content, Community, Commerce and Context + Personalisation + Vertical Search

Sramana’s main point seems to be that the web is moving into a phase where services (Content, Community and Commerce) will be bunched around contexts, with the context providing a value-added foundation to the other C’s. And as a summary that describes the biggest players, I wouldn’t disagree. The large ‘Web 1.0′ companies do need to work hard to meet the very varied needs of their mass of users. The underlying value of content, commerce and community is inherent to its context, as it is this that draws together relevant content, a focused community, and related commerce.

As Yahoo is finding out to its cost, a lack of clear context causes revenues (advertising in particular) to be constrained. On the other hand, within a given context, personalisation and vertical search are both means of providing users with relevant (and therefore more valuable) content, commerce and community, also enabling relevant (and therefore more highly-priced) advertising.

With less mature services, the formula seems more descriptive than predictive. Most of the more recent offerings are built specifically for a context (e.g. LinkedIn is built around networking specifically for business gain, and Last.fm is built around personalised music for music lovers), or have not developed to the point at which content, commerce and community have overtaken context. It will surely be the natural progression for many of the successful ‘Web 2.0′ startups to mature into a position of providing all of the formula’s elements.

I am not sure that Sramana’s formula defines Web 3.0, but instead it seems to put a good framework on the immediate progression within ‘Web 2.0’. My comment being really that the next phase of the web, as described by the formula, does not seem different enough to be a next phase!

Now I will use it to explain what idiomag is doing…

idiomag = 4C + P + VS

Context:
idiomag’s context is the personalised magazine. It is for creative people who regularly read music magazines and have specific likes and dislikes.

Content:
Being a magazine, idiomag’s content is fundamental to the service. It is a range of text articles, videos and audio that analyses, describes and comments upon subjects relevant to each reader.

Commerce:
The methods of commerce will be more clearly defined in our v1 launch in March than they have been previously. Firstly, we enable advertisers to target very specific segments, based on their interests as well as their demographics. Through their rich-media formats, advertisers can choose to seek the response they most desire from relevant readers, whether that is a direct sale, a click-through, or brand recognition being built. In addition to advertising, idiomag’s initial focus on music content will allow users to buy the tracks they are listening to (or reading about), and concert tickets, with more commerce options opening as the content subject areas expand.

Community:
Although it won’t be available for everyone immediately, idiomag can connect readers based on their likes and dislikes, geography and demography. This will allow networks of readers to be created, allowing readers to publish pages to their network on an opt-in basis.

Personalisation:
I am glad Sramana mentioned this, and not just because it is idiomag’s strong point! In order for users to use more of, and make better sense of, the incredible resources on the web, companies will start to use more effective methods of personalisation. This will make using the web radically more efficient, and more useful for more people, because searching/browsing time will be dramatically reduced. Of course, idiomag delivers personalised content and advertising to every reader – with the magazine becoming increasing relevant over time as readers rate the content they view.

Vertical Search:
This is an interesting one, because idiomag’s initial premise is that our system delivers such personalised content that readers do not need to search for it. However, we realise that even when personalisation has effectively reduced the need for search, that functionality must be there. So in v2 (don’t even ask me when that will go live…) we are aiming to integrate some ‘vertical-search-like’ options for the more proactive users. For example, we are working to identify the functional classifications of articles, so the content type and structure is identified. For example, some readers will prefer shorter newsy content, where as other prefer a more in-depth analysis. And some don’t mind what structure the content follows, as long as it is written with a sarcastic/comedic edge.

So there we go… an interesting exercise!

Read/Write Web has recently published an article explaining how niche technology services, such as digg and del.icio.us, are now being recognised by the mainstream media. For example, the New York Times and Time Magazine have digg and del.icio.us buttons beside their online content. As Alex Iskold rightly point out, this has huge implications for the usage of these sites - and therefore their value to advertisers and potential buyers.

The fact that traditional publishers are essential to the mainstream adoption of online services (and that this dependency seems odd) epitomises the current state-of-play in the media industry. We are nearing the tipping point, when online becomes the new offline and when traditional publishers must go beyond simply using “Web 2.0″ services, and actually become them. And of course, Web 2.0 publishers (and their VCs) are betting that the payback will be swift, as advertising money follows the masses onto these services.

We’d just like to say a quick congratulations to Jon, for a brilliant feature of FormatPixel at TechCrunch. FormatPixel allows you to create your own online magazines, fanzines, brochures, catalogues, portfolios and much more. Jon does the development for FormatPixel in his spare time, but for his day job works as the main developer for our Flash magazine interface!

Read/Write Web have an interesting article focusing on Flixter, which ends up discussing the future of social networking.

It seems quite clear that many commentators are starting to draw a distinction between networking-for-pleasure and networking-for-purpose. In one way, this is absolutely true: There are now a few large networks that have no real function other than facilitating social interaction. But on the other hand, surely its very Web 1.0 (I hear the groans) to separate out the social from the purposeful, especially when the sheer volume of ‘Myspacers’ and ‘Facebookers’ prove that there is a purpose (albeit a non-commercial one) in interacting online.

Just as the large “generic” social networks are meeting a need, a host of new networks are growing to meet more tangible and specific needs. Linkedin is the place to network for business. Change.org is the place to discuss and plan social activism. And as more organisations build in networking aspects that add to their services (rather than just surrounding their services), it will be seen as a vital part of commercial and personal activity.

A prime example of this is seen in product reviews. I would not consider buying a new camera without reading online reviews of the product. In fact (and here’s the killer point), I would probably go to the internet with no fixed make/model in mind, but just open to what the millions of other consumers recommend. And (some would say unfortunately) this is the basis of most effective and sustainable networks: A clear and robust revenue model. As networks start meeting specific needs more effectively, and start to become more closely linked with action, we will start to see a range of profitable services-with-networks, rather than the current abundance of networks-with-slightly-relevant-services-tagged-on.

Here is a great post by Jeremiah Owyang which identifies and classifies the types of online marketing. It reads like a marketing textbook (reminiscent of my University days) but does a great job of structuring how marketers should think about their online strategy.

Techcrunch announced today that Condé Nast (who bought Reddit last year) have just released a social networking site for teenage girls built around “customizable, rich media blog/journals and include text, photos, music and videos”. This is obviously interesting news for us, since we have a very similar interface, and have been considering the best way to integrate a networking aspect into the site.

It appears that Flip provides a funky alternative to Myspace, a bit like an online doodle-pad/scrapbook/photoalbum, and will probably gain popularity with its target market - creative girls, therefore attracting boys (and unless they put in place some decent security/verification features, older men).

It would be easy for idiomag to include the same functionality as Flip, and create a basic social network - but we are trying to go beyond this. We want to use social networking to build a community around readers’ magazines and interests, rather than a basic user-generated-content site which creates a tangent from our focus of quality content. Let’s face it, if you want to browse through profiles of (potential) friends, there are plenty of other places to do it. Watch this space…

So Youtube has now joined the growing number of social networks that motivate their contributors to produce popular content by sharing advertising revenue. And now, because Youtube is the daddy of all things cool (with good reason), everyone is talking about this model.

So that contributors can be rewarded fairly, idiomag decided six months ago to use this model, but with one significant difference: idiomag includes a moderation process. This is in line with our focus on delivering quality content, not just the rantings of every Tom, Dick and Harry (there are many sites that can do that). It also prevents the drive for lowest-common denominator content, or highly controversial content - both of which attract large viewing figures. For ourselves, the goal is to create a loyal readership that are attracted by consistent quality, rather than boosting short-term pageviews.

For advertisers, this is the latest announcement in a push for monetisation of the social-web, but simply filling the advertising inventories of the social networks is not the final frontier.

The big step up in both campaign effectiveness and user experience needs to come when forward-thinking advertisers start to use the mass of personal information to actually personalise their advertising. There are immense opportunities for adverts to become so targeted, and so linked to user action, that they reflect the same characteristics (relevant, helpful and unobtrusive) as the search advertising phenomenon.

Instead of users being force-fed advertising; it needs to be desirable and even sought out. As adverts start to actually add value to users (whether by being funny, engaging, or just plain relevant) the increasing effectiveness of campaigns will ensure that, through the strengthening of the ad-revenue-share model, contributors will get their just rewards.

Just to clear things up before even more people mention the name…

Firstly, we are very aware of the idio = idiot link, and we like it. Secondly, unlike many of the recent tech startups, idio has an etymologically supported name. Not that this is of much practical benefit, however.

idiosyncrasy: from Greek idiosynkrasis, from idios (own), syn (together) + krasis (mixing)

We deliver your own magazine - personalised to you.

Thanks to Marshall at TechCrunch for a great post on idiomag. It drew some interesting comments and some encouraging emails!

The idiomag system (beta) is looking great! And what’s more, it appears to be working! We are just conducting the final testing, and we should have a live system ready for you all by the 25th October.

Just as a heads up, our beta stage will be public - and everyone is welcome. We expect the beta audience to be limited by our initial focus on digital design and music content. But, we will be expanding out from these interest areas as soon as we have had a steady period of operation - and also when we have some feedback so that we can incorporate your thoughts in the next iteration.

Do register for the newsletter to get sent a reminder when we launch. You can also stay up-to-date with the blog by subscribing to the feed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/idiomag.