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BREAKING NEWS & VIEWS

paidContent Embraces the Web
Friday, June 19, 2009

It may seem ironic that one of the leading sources for digital media news is just now launching a full-bore Web strategy, but 8-year-old paidContent.org's redesign represents the brand's true commitment to a more Web-centric approach. ContentNext’s flagship b2b site redesign, rolled out yesterday, is clearly aimed at moving more eyeballs online from its highly successful email newsletter business. With large images dominating the upper-left quadrant and a scroll of headlines from across the four ContentNext properties in a right-hand gutter, the site aspires to be a destination rather than just a landing page for e-letter click-throughs. Traditionally, paidContent and its progeny (mocospace, contentsutra and paidContent) were content-filled e-letters delivered every business morning with aggregated news and commentary.

Back in March, minonline asked then-CEO of ContentNext, Nathan Richardson, what his biggest challenge was in 2009. He said at the time, “The challenge is to get our editors not to put all the content in the newsletter and to drive traffic to the site. It is convenient for our readers but we really want our editors to put less content in the newsletter and more on the site.”

Richardson has since been succeeded by Washington Post digital veteran Caroline Little, but that basic strategic shift seems to be in place. As regular readers of paidContent’s newsletters know, recently the e-letter started kicking readers to the Web site after a paragraph of content, when in the past the daily missive was a giant scroll that contained full-length articles.

The new design also promises increased personalization and functionality, especially for registered users. RSS feeds for news from specific companies and verticals are available as well as customized email and SMS alerts. A revamped mobile site allows for easier cross-navigation across the ContentNext properties from a single mobile Web page. Users can follow ContentNext Twitter posts now and an iPhone application is promised.

ContentNext was started as paidContent in 2002 by veteran media journalist Rafat Ali, who reported from his apartment bedroom for its first few years. Last year, the company was purchased by The Guardian News and Media Limited.

If you have breaking news to share please contact Steve Smith at ssmith@accessintel.com

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