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NYTimes Opens Up and It Pays

Posted by: Heather Green on August 03

Om Malik and Mike Arrington have often said how much the input from their readers made their sites take off. The NYTimes has only taken that lesson to heart slowly. But the way that they created an interactive photographic slideshow of the tragedy in Minnesota and how they opened it up to comments on the front page has to prove more than anything that they need to break open their site more quickly. They’re clearly clever in how they think they can do it. But slow. Still, it’s a pretty amazing example of the power of a brand to bring folks together.

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Reader Comments

Michael Rubin, Arment Dietrich

August 7, 2007 11:07 AM

Heather,

Social media tools - even something as simple as a comment thread - are fundamentally about connecting people together. Kudos to the New York Times for opening themselves up and serving as a hub for conversation and support.

This reminds me of all the public forums and comment threads that sprung up overnight during and after 9/11. People may gripe about how we're a society disconnected from one another nowadays, but during times of tragedy, I'm always warmed and heartened that the natural instinct of people is to come together to share their grief, anger, and support. It's an old-fashioned notion that reminds us that, more than ever, we still need each other and that we are really one big village.

...Michael

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Michael E. Rubin
Arment Dietrich, Inc.

Call me -- 312-787-7249 x212
Tell a friend -- fight destructive spin! http:///www.spinsucks.com
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David S. Evans

August 7, 2007 02:58 PM

The NYTimes seems on a bit of a roll. They are embracing Internet technologies for developing content, and they managed to scrunch the print edition without making it look hideous like the WSJ. Still, it is hard to be optimistic that the NYTimes, and especially its even more beleaguered brethren newspapers, can stop the death spiral--as advertisers, readers, and content all contract--without being far more quick and clever than they have been. There's a bit more on this on the blog for my book with Schmalensee at Catalyst Code.

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