My business' competition

The second part of our assignment is to identify any competition that we could face. I've already written about this briefly, but these are the gaming news sites that I have identified to be my main competition:

Game Informer
I talk about Game Informer a lot, but for good reason. It is one of the most subscribed magazines in America, with a circulation of 7.8 million and 3 million online readers, according to Slate.com. Its staff members are excellent journalists who have a wide range of reporting multimedia knowledge. Since it is primarily a magazine, Game Informer has very well-written articles. Game Informer would most likely be my main competitor in the video game news industry.

In order to compete with Game Informer, I would have to enforce that in order to be a good journalist, one has to know how to write and report. As important as multimedia has become nowadays, it's crucial to know the basics of journalism.

IGN
IGN, or International Gaming News, is right up there with Game Informer. It's an online-only news site that tends take advantage of video features more than written features. While Game Informer would off competition through words, IGN would offer competition through multimedia.

Even though I would place emphasis on writing and reporting, I would require all staff members to have experience working with multi- and social media. It is the only way I will be able to compete with IGN.

Polygon
Polygon takes the best aspects of Game Informers and IGN and puts it into one. There are excellent, well-written features, thoughtful video features and discussions, and a beautiful web layout. Each feature is designed like an online magazine, tempting the reader to read more and more.

There are other gaming news sites like Gamesradar, Joystiq, and GameSpot that offer great video game journalism, but Game Informer, IGN, and Polygon are the most popular and well-made sites.

Actual market research

Now that I've identified different elements of market research, I have to do some actual research for five of them. Here's what I discovered:

1) How many gaming news sites charge for content?

To my surprise, very few gaming news sites charge for paid content. In fact, only found one that did. Companies that would be big competitors such as IGN, Polygon, Gamesradar and Joystiq do not charge readers for content, and, as a result, there are no paywalls. Game Informer, one of the most subscribed magazines in the U.S., charges readers for the actual magazine, but most of the online content is free. Some online content is only available with a subscription, however.

2) The number of mobile gamers in America.
Based on a review by Newzoo, there were over 100 million mobile gamers in America in 2012, a 35 percent increase from 2011.

3) The Average price of mobile games.
For this element, I went to the Apple App store's top 10 paid games. Eight out of 10 titles were priced at $0.99; one is priced at $6.99 and one is priced at $8.99. I searched through the app store some more, and while there seems to be a mix of prices, it was clear that a majority of games are priced at $0.99.

4) Which gender plays mobile games the most?
Based off of the same study by Newzoo, 58 percent of mobile gamers are male in the U.S.

5) The amount of money gaming news sites charge for content.
As I said before, Game Informer is the only gaming news site that I found that charges for content. It costs $20 for a 12-month subscription. 

Market Research

With the semester winding down, we are starting to focus more and more on our final projects. Our first assignment is to identify 10 different elements of market research that we would have to conduct.

As a gaming news site that also makes video games for mobile devices, these are the different elements of market research that I would have to conduct:

1) The number of people who read gaming news sites.
2) How many gaming news sites charge for content.
3) The amount of money that gaming news sites charge for their content.
4) The amount of money readers would be willing to charge for gaming news.
5) The average age of readers.
6) The average age of gamers.
7) The average of age of mobile gamers.
8) The average price of mobile games.
9) The number of mobile gamers in the U.S.
10) How much money gamers would be willing to pay for video games.
11) What types of games mobile gamers prefer to play.
12) Which gender plays mobile games the most?

These are the ones that came to me first, but if I think of any more I'll be sure to post them.

Questions for John Christie

-How did you come up with the idea for the Pine Tree Watchdog? Was it one "ah-ha" moments or was it an idea that developed over time?
-How did you come up with the name?
-When working on a story like The Book on Paul Lepage, how did you even begin to gather information? Where did you start? How did you start your writing process?
-When you first started your career as a journalist, did you ever think you would take on such enormous role?
-What was the hardest part in starting your own news outlet?

My company's vision and mission statement

Vision: The Gamer's Gazette will provide readers with well-written and in-depth reporting on the gaming industry while developing new and ethical ways in which our followers can experience story telling.

Mission: The Gamer's Gazette will keep readers informed about the latest news and trends in the gaming industry through different kinds of multimedia and high-quality and ethical reporting.

The gaming industry is an ever-growing business that shows now signs of slowing down. The Gamer's Gazette believes that it is important to report on this industry as it is a major contributor to popular culture and the entertainment industry as a whole.

Our stories will take advantage of multiple multimedia programs to fully immerse our readers in our stories.

In recent years, video games have proved to be an excellent medium in which stories are told. The Gamer's Gazette believes that it is a journalists duty to tell stories, so the gazette offers video games based off top news stories in addition to journalistic contest.

The games developed by The Gamer's Gazette will be ethical and informative and will be the collaboration of professional game developers and journalists.

Our stories and games will be accessible online through our website. A subscription is required to access all that The Gamer's Gazette has to offer.

Vision and mission: what's the difference?

Part of our homework assignment for Tuesday was to take a look at the Pine Tree Watchdog's website, specifically looking at the news site's vision and mission statement. I didn't know that a company could have both a vision and a mission statement; they just seemed like the same thing to me. But after reading through the Pine Tree Watchdog's I understand the difference between the two, and why it's important for a company to have them.

A vision is defined as an imaginative concept. This means that a company's vision is simply a concept or idea that it strives to meet everyday. In terms of the Pine Tree Watchdog, this means that all staff members strive to "fulfill the responsibility of a free press in the American Democracy," while writing and reporting clear articles that don't choose sides. The mission statement essentially says the same thing, but it goes into much greater detail as to what the company believes in and how it delivers content that reflects these beliefs. I think it's important to have both of these because it shows customers what the company strives for and what it believes in.

Revised Powerpoint Pitch

So I'm once again having problems embedding my powerpoint to a post, but I will provide the link. As I said in an early post, I focused on making the slides look cleaner. Here's the link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8v40a7CVTtwTTgtX3pDSnlibWc/edit?usp=drive_web

Response to pitch comments

Before we edit and pitch our business ideas, we were asked to look at what our classmates said about we have so far. I was surprised about how everyone supported and liked my idea. As I've posted before, my idea is a video game news outlet that that reports on video game news and actually develops small games based off of big news stories. The idea is a stretch, but I guess a lot of people like it!

As for the strucutre of the pitch, my classmates had a lot of positive feedback to give. Mostly everyone said that the slides were very informative but text-heavy. When I revise my pitch the first thing I'll do take care of that. Now that I'm planning on actually presenting the idea, I'll save the words my actual spoken words. I'll also split up some slides into multiple slides to save space. A few people noted that the template for the pitch is kind of bland. As a video game news company, it would make sense that the presentation is fun and colorful. One response noted that I only talk about the video games at the beginning; I have to make sure that I'm running a news company that makes video games, not the other way around.

The structure of the pitch needs the most attention, but I also need to think about some aspects of the business itself. One person wanted to know how I would make people aware of my company, and another suggested that I change the amount of articles before a paywall is reached.

All in all, the comments were very helpful. I'm really glad that people like my idea, and it looks like the structure of the pitch itself only needs a little tweaking. The only thing I'm dreading is making sure I have enough to say when I talk to the class. Public speaking has never been my thing.

Response to "Inside Forbes" article

One of our reading assignments for Monday was a Forbes article titled "Inside Forbes: Journalists Need to Understand the Ad Business, Not Sulk and Go Home." It's basically just an informative article about the different types of advertising, but I'm the exact type of person that this is aimed at.

We talk about advertisement pretty frequently in our entrepreneurial journalism class, and I tend to zone out or loose track of what we are talking about. I'm a journalist after all, why should I care about this stuff? Just leave it for the business guys.

While I still think there's some truth to how I used to think (I certainly don't plan on managing advertising), the article proved that I need to learn some of the basics. If I don't know at least something about how newspapers make money, I can't contribute to discussions about the industry.

I like how the article related to Terry's discussion last week. The old business models of the industry don't work anymore; we have to find ways to adapt to the digital age.

Response to Terry Williams' visit

Terry Williams, the president and Chief Operating Officer of Keene Publishing Corp. came to our class to talk about what we should be do to prepare for our future and the current state of the journalism industry. Terry was my favorite guest speaker for one reason: he was optimistic. 

Right when he started he had good news and bad news. The bad news was that ad revenue is extremely low and that there are fewer jobs in the journalism industry. This is far less worse than I thought; we hear about this all the time in journalism classes, so I'm used to it. The good news was that the only way is up. Sixty five percent of publishers are optimistic about the journalism industry, Terry said, and news outlets all over America are figuring out ways to survive and survive well. We did talk about Patch.com's failures for a little bit, but the conversation was mostly about the industry's successes.

Two of the most interesting examples he gave were those that sold extra products in addition to magazines (like cowboy gear) and the newspaper that is completely free. I've never thought about the extra products business plan before. It's kind of like my semester project idea for the video game developing company but at a different level. I might add this to my business plan.

Overall, Terry's visit was positive and inspiring. I've wanted to go into newspapers for a while know because I figured the industry experienced it low points. Based on Terry's presentation, it looks like I was right. The industry had it's low points, but now things are getting back to normal, and I can't wait to see what it looks like in the next few years.

Powerpoint reactions 2

The second powerpoint I looked at was Focused Fencing by Corinne. My first reaction: it looks amazing. I know looks aren't everything for a pitch, but when I read through it I could tell Corinne put a lot of effort into it. I also really liked how she explained the sport and why her magazine would benefit readers. I was very impressed that she came up with hard numbers; I thought it was impossible to do for my pitch.

I really can't give much criticism for Corinne's pitch. It sells the product well. If I had to give one bit of advice, it would be to shorten the sentences on the slides to bullet points. The sentences aren't long and complicated, but anything that's not a few words looks long and cumbersome on a powerpoint. The powerpoint itself should just highlight key facts; the speaker can do the explaining. But like I said, I really liked her pitch.

Powerpoint reactions part 1

Part of our homework assignment was to look at our classmates powerpoint pitches and comment on them. The first one I immediately thought of was Breanna's project: See the News.

Her Project revolves around photo journalism and how stories can be told purely through photos. I love the idea and her powerpoint. It's simple, but that's what's so great about it. When we were making them last week I looked to my classmates' power points for inspiration, and I Breanna's blog gave the me the inspiration I needed. I was overcomplicating everything, but her pitch made me realize that a powerpoint shouldn't be so intense. Her pitch gets to the point fast, and it tells us exactly what she's striving for. But I'd like to know why she thinks her idea would better journalism. I personally think it would; we don't have enough photo journalism out there, in my opinion. But what does she say?

What I learned from Meg Heckman

Last week Meg Heckman, I fantastic local journalist, came to speak to our class about what it's like in the journalism industry right now and how important it is to keep coming up with good ideas. Meg focuses on hyper local journalism, so all the entrepreneurial examples she gave were based on that. My favorite example she gave was Chicago Talks, a hyper local site that reports solely on the poorer areas of Chicago. City news seems so focused on the industrial district that the majority of the city is overlooked. I've never thought about it before Meg showed us the website, but it's such a fantastic idea. Imagine how many stories newspapers overlook because they are too focuses on "bigger" things.

If Meg taught us anything, it's that coming up with new ideas in the journalism industry is critical. It moves too fast for us sit still and watch. As my editor at my old internship told me on my last day of work, zig where others zag. If you see a good idea, think of something even better.

Stateless Media: another unique news outlet

Ever since I've started this class I've been looking for news outlets that stand out from the crowd. Our first lecture was that entrepreneurs need to bring something new to the table, so now I'm curious as to what others have done.

I recently stumbled upon Stateless Media, a news outlet that brands itself with its "shortreals," short, journalistic films about popular news stories. The shortreals aren't 30 second clips that you'd find attached to an article; these are full video features that dive deep into a story and pull out facts.

What's great about Stateless Media's videos is that they can be humorous and journalistic at the same time. A video can dive into a controversial topic and pull out things that a newspaper or magazine would never use. The videos are longer than your standard feature, but they are entertaining and extremely well-made. I've always been a fan of video stories, and these are the best ones I've seen so far.

Powerpoint presentation link

I still can't figure out the audio for my pitch or how to embed the powerpoint, but it still should be viewable on Google Drive. Here is the link, and let me know what you think:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18-bYsHBiLzmGFt_EBd_EUiekYhtzwYeBoQoKTiz0CJA/edit#slide=id.g12182b3f5_2_185

Response to Meg Heckman's article

Meg Heckman, a well-known journalist in the area, is coming to our class today to speak about her visit to Local Independent Online News Publishers Association summit, but she asked us to read an article she recently wrote for netnewscheck.com before class. 

I'll let you read it, but it's a report on LION's first summit in Chicago. It was a gathering of 75 journalists who are dedicated to local and hyperlocal journalism. As Meg puts it, it was "a study in the paradox of local digital journalism."

The article reflected a very optimistic attitude at the summit, something that you don't hear too often when it comes to the future of journalism, but I really enjoyed how much support local journalism is getting through LION. I recently wrote about my local newspaper's publisher filing for bankruptcy, and how it was kind of an eye opener. The threat of papers going under is real, and this news only solidified that.

But after reading Meg's article, I am more hopeful than I was last week. It's cleat that people still care about local journalism, and even if the the publisher doesn't stay up, maybe The Westford Eagle will find a way to live. 

Creating a business pitch

Last week's reading talked about how to pitch business ideas. In writing it seems easy enough; I even wrote a post last week saying how creating a pitch was a lot like pitching a news story. We were told to create a powerpoint pitch for our idea, and I thought it would be a piece of cake. But sitting down to actually create a powerpoint presentation for your business idea is a lot harder than it seems.

For starters, I don't have any real budgeting information or investors, so I can't include that in my pitch. It felt awkward to not have such crucial information in my pitch, but then again it's just for practice. Then the technology didn't work. We were supposed to put the powerpoint on the blog and attach audio to it, but nothing was cooperating. Goes to show that technological mishaps can happen even during the most important moments.

The most challenging part was actually coming up with the best way to sell my idea to investors. I needed to find a way to make it sound new, desirable, and professional, while giving real details and goals. It was the first time I actually sat down to think about my business in such detail, and while it was tough, it was exciting at the same time. It actually sounds like it could be a real business.

If I can figure out how to put it online, I'll post the powerpoint as soon as I can.

My home town newspaper is in trouble, and boy is it eye-opening

I found out the other day that GateHouse Media, the company that owns my home town newspaper The Westford Eagle filed for bankruptcy.

I couldn't believe it. The Westford Eagle has been a part of my home ever since we moved to Westford when I was five years old, and there's a chance I might not see it anymore. I'm kind of in the stage of disbelief. I want to say that everything will be fine, but look at how many newspapers have gone under. As much as I love the Eagle, it's not exempt from such things.

This just proves that journalism needs new ideas. I know the Eagle has been making real attempts to adapt to the digital age, but I guess that just isn't enough.

An important lesson on self-branding

I think I've mentioned this before on the blog, but my goal is to one day become a video game journalist. I love video games and the video game industry; it seems that there is something new to talk about everyday. Working for a gaming publication would be amazing, but this weekend showed me that I have a lot of work to do.

Two weeks ago John Herman, a social/multi-media guru and self-branding expert, gave the contact info for Chris Dahlen, a local freelance writer who has spent a good amount of time as a games journalism. I spoke over the phone with him, and he gave me great advice for how to get started as a video game journalism.

Our conversation basically boiled down to self-branding. I will have to pitch story ideas to editors, remain in touch with them, and prove that I can be a reliable and talented addition to their staff. I have my own gaming blog and my social media accounts have a lot of gaming content, but it's time to go beyond that. I need to take charge and dive into the video game journalism world.

Self-branding is important for journalists, but it's equally important for businesses, especially startups and entrepreneurs. When you pitch business ideas or advertise, it's up to you to show what your business is about and what you stand for. This isn't something I was thinking about for my semester project, but knowing how I'm going to brand it is on the top of my list.

I sure am glad I didn't major in business

Last week's visitor was Joe Burke, my professor's friend who bought his magazine Points East a number of years ago. It was basically two-hour lesson on the terms, skills, etc, that you have to know to run a successful business. It was long, and my brain hurt afterwards, but it taught me one very important thing.

Business, no matter how you look at it, is not easy. I always thought that being a businessman (or businesswoman) meant taking numbers and adding and subtracting them. There's so much more to that though. A businessman has to predict, keep track of expenses, and know what to do when a bank account is lower than expected, just to name a few. The mind of a journalist and the mind of a businessman are two very different things; I can't imagine majoring in business after Joe's lecture.