Encouraging registrations has not been crucial for online newspapers. Still today, our reasons to register most online newspapers are not so attractive. As a result, registration volume is low and newspapers’ permission levels –i.e. permission levels on their audience- are low. Ft.com may be an example of a good attempt trying to gain permission from its readers and they claimed in march 08 having 7,1MM registered users what is peanuts compared with some social networking websites, and, the comparison could be even harder in terms of user activation even it is high compared with most newspapers.

Online media and, particularly, online newspapers, would like to increase the relationship with their audience and that is one reason for a moving towards social application usages of their platform, and, sometimes, even to trying building up social networks themselves. There are, of course, other reasons, like locking in users, engagement increase, or the feasibility of a more powerful targeting. So, knowing who is behind the screen is interesting for the advertiser, and so it is for the content supplier, but online media did not find the path for doing it.

How can online media increase permission levels without damaging audience growth? Maybe some people believe that increasing permission levels is not that relevant, but from my view it is a key challenge and we have to respond on how we are going to engage audience so they are happy not just to enjoy our contents, but to belong and contribute.

Written by Luis S. Galán Lozano, this diary intends to collect articles and thoughts on online contents industry, mainly about construction and development of profitable business based in audiovisual contents and new information techonlogies.

There are many blogs on new journalism, web analytics, marketing and advertising, but, when it comes to media business development I am finding it harder to get other people’s views. That is the reason why I am starting my own aggregation.

My main purpose writing this blog is collecting for myself what I find interesting within my area of interest apart from giving a personal point of view, but this blog is opened to everyone. Please, feel free and welcome to input your ideas. On the other hand, this blog is under Creative Commons License and so, all content can be used for non profitable purposes.

Most of my hours are nowadays invested in trying to cooperate building the biggest Spanish language media group into a world class player within Internet. It is both: a professional and a personal goal.

My job is developing businesses around our online audiences in order to generate revenues making our business healthier, and thus, more independent our journalists and collaborators. I have the hope that my efforts will result in a better and more independent journalism, and, as a result, in a more solid democracy in -but not only- Spain and in a wider range of opinions freely expressed and defended. Communication is more than a business; it is a meta-business that goes further than a mere economic transaction.

No audiences will come to our media in search of our code behind our contents, nor our design, nor promotions… none of this will allow us to grow a sustainable online media. It is a shared set of values what makes it possible for a media to succeed. Everything else may be very helpful, but they are just order winners and not qualifiers for a successful media.

Nevertheless, media is not just content because it would be not sustainable on its own. In order to run a media business we do also need, of course, good design, great code, solid information systems and architechture, and a sustainable business model supporting it (apart from many other attributes). This work intends to concentrate on what modern media buinesses can do to be profitable and sustainable from a strategic/commercial side without forgetting any other implications.

We all know that new technologies are a challenge for traditional media. Business development professionals have to actively contribute to find a way to embrace new technologies converting them in an opportunity for incremental growth.

I wish this topic, although quite specific, was for you as interesting as it is for me and I invite you to introduce any contributions you feel may help in this debate.

Luis S. Galán Lozano

www.onlinemedia.es

www.mediosenlared.es

Disclaimer and apologies on my written English

I have decided to write in English for several reasons being the most important of them that English is today’s most established exchange language and I would like to learn from what is being talked about out of Spain.

I would like to apologize for my language not being as accurate as it should be sometimes.