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A quiet revolution started this week in the small Yorkshire town of Whitby.

The Whitby Gazette became one of three newspapers from the Johnson Press stable to start charging for content. Readers of the Gazette as well as Northumberland Gazette and Southern Reporter now have to pay £5 for a three-month subscription - or 40p a week.

While it has been Rupert Murdoch and his News International titles that have caught the headlines about when they will charge for access, it is regional newspaper publisher Johnson that has taken the first bold step.

What is interesting is that this move covers local rather than the national and international content that Murdoch’s titles provides.

Johnson’s chief executive John Fry said that he felt that local newspapers offered a “unique” service for which readers may be prepared to pay.

According to HoldtheFrontpage it has seen an internal memo circulated by senior managers in one Johnson division that says “Customers are used to paying for content in-paper and we are simply transferring this thinking online.”

Is this all a bit of reverse psychology with the ultimate aim to drive people back to buying newspapers? Michael Woolf writing in Vanity Fair last month hinted that Murdoch’s aim in charging for content is to drive people back to buying newspapers. Certainly an interesting thought from a newspaperman through and through.

The issue of charging form content also surfaced at the recent Society of Editors’ conference where the editor of the Newquest title the Worcester News, Kevin Ward felt that local newspapers had: “more opportunity to charge for the web” than their national counterparts. He added:  ”What we produce is niche. Nobody else sits in our courts every day. Nobody else scrutinises our public bodies.

One thing that is for sure is that newspaper groups will be watching the latest move from Johnson Press with interest.

What Are the Business Benefits?

…asks Phil Jones, Sales and Marketing Director of technology brand Brother, in the second of two guest posts on PR Media Blog.

Here’s the $100 million question.  I’ve put the key stuff down as bullet-points so you can work through it quickly:

For your business

1. Transparency. It’s a great way to build authenticity for your brand. Do you have brand values that you want to shine through? Then build a personality on Twitter. But don’t do it if you’ve nothing interesting to say. If you’re a small business, build trust with potential purchasers of your product and look for people in your locality using the search tool.

2. Traffic with no jams. It’s a great way to build traffic to your official website or blog. A well worded Tweet can entice people to click through to your website as part of your overall traffic-building strategy. But don’t cheat people or bend the truth or they won’t click on your link again; make it interesting. My blog traffic increased threefold after I started Twittering and readership has expanded to more than 20 countries, so it works.

3. Treasure and measure. Give something unique to your followers. Many of the well known global brands are already offering unique offers or pre-launches to their Twitter followers. This gives incredible ROI measurement when using unique codes.

4. Join the conversation. It’s a great way to understand what others are saying about your product or brand, and for people to share positive experiences with others. Buyer remorse is rife; the more support and reinforcement available, the better.

5. Shareware. I’m making this point twice (see below). The whole point of these platforms is to acquire and spread knowledge; if you build your brand/company reputation through a loyal following of people, they will help you spread your word.

For you in business

1. Grow up. You can increase your own personal learning and growth. There are some awesome and really clever people on Twitter who share their daily insights. Some of their Tweets are really thought-provoking. It’s free mind food.

2. Stay in touch.You can keep up with your key customers and contacts. A great reason to interrupt someone with something totally personalised: “I saw that you were… how interesting. Did you know?” You can see where people are and what they’re up to. Could you both be in the same place at the same time for an impromptu get together (called a Tweetup)?

3. I’m free. I’ve seen some really good consultants offer “free consulting” in their downtime between meetings. You can take advantage of this or give tasters of your goods or services to others. This is brilliant for smaller businesses - free advice.

4. Feed me. Ask questions of your followers to get instant feedback. Got a problem? You only need ask; people will give advice. Want to see some early feedback on a new product or service? Ask and people will reply. The community is building.

5. Shareware. The more you give, the more you will receive and the more your personal reputation will grow.

Phil Jones is Vice-President of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Sales & Marketing Director of technology brand Brother.  He writes a daily blog at http://thecorporatebubble.blogspot.com/ and can be found on Twitter @Philjones40. 

The first of two guest posts from Phil Jones, Sales and Marketing Director of technology brand Brother.

It’s super, it’s shiny and the “twalk” of the town.  So, is Twitter just another social networking tool being hyped up by the media luvvies as a way to earn fee income in a flat market?  Or is this a new tool that business should be paying proper attention to?  If we’re to believe it, untold riches, overwhelming customer demand and speaking engagements are only 140 characters away, so should we drop everything and rush at Twitter as our economic saviour?

Show me the money….

If that’s your basic expectation - time in = money out - may I nudge you to read Seth Godin’s book Meatball Sundae or The Soul of the New Consumer by David Lewis to understand where the world is at now in terms of buyer behaviour.  It’s not about the traditional business model of instant cash, it’s about engaging in the big conversation that’s going on out there amongst your customers, then using that conversation or credibility to draw people towards your business.

Fad or Twend?

Interestingly many businesspeople I meet are simply put off by the name Twitter, arguing that it sounds silly and unserious.  The issue isn’t necessarily about Twitter; Twitter is merely the platform that allows people to “connect” up, discuss, make new contacts, share instantaneously, join tribes and interest groups, learn and push forward their contact base, in a very dynamic way.  This is a macro trend, not a fad.  The fad might be Twitter as the micro-blogging platform, in the same way that myspace was overshadowed by Facebook.  Someone else might come up with something new.  What about a business-only version called Bitter (laughs out loud)?  Google won’t  stand by for long; they’ll either acquire Twitter or do it themselves, and Twitter will dissolve into the background as the pioneer who didn’t keep up.

How does business get a “Twicket” to the party?

To the uninitiated, it can seem like there’s a big party going on that you haven’t been invited to.  However, before you rush to put your party outfit on, stop and think a minute.  Is this a party you need to be at?  Is it one you’re going to enjoy?  Are you going to go and leave early?  Are the people there your kind of people?  Are you going to turn up and then not talk to anyone?  If so, might be best not to go.  Right now, I’ve held off from a brand perspective but went with it from a personal perspective to learn it inside out.  Now I have, expect something soon.

The thing is, it is worth going if you fully understand that the world is changing as people continue to divide and divide again into interest groups, seeking like minds in an increasingly hostile and lonely society.  Web 2.0 genuinely has changed the world as we know it.  The big conversation is going on all around us in the ether, like a scene from The Matrix.  Twitter offers a way of tapping into that dynamic conversation in real time.

I would advise any business to register, create a profile and start listening.  In the early days, you don’t need to do so much talking.  After signing up, do this:

• Type the names of people you know (customers, contacts or staff) into the “Find people” search function at the top of the screen. When you find someone you know, follow them.
• Type your company name into the search box and see if any conversations are being had about your company or brand. Do the same for your competitors.
• Sit back and watch it for a couple of weeks before you jump in and start Tweeting yourself. See the tone, the style, the content of what people say in your “Twittersphere”.  Authenticity is everything; people won’t want to interact with a marketing machine or automated service.

Phil Jones is Vice-President of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Sales & Marketing Director of technology brand Brother.  He writes a daily blog at http://thecorporatebubble.blogspot.com/ and can be found on Twitter @Philjones40.The second post on this subject will appear on PR Media Blog tomorrow, Friday 19th June. 

A bit of indulgence from me here. One of my clients is a corporate lawyer, advising the tech community, both investors and companies looking for funding. His name is Richard Eaton and he works for Orrick.

He’s started a discussion on the Long Room, the FT’s discussion forum for City-types, re the prospects for tech companies seeking investment to start-up or continue in 2009.

The Long Room is a closed forum i.e. you have to be a member to contribute, so I thought I’d post here to offer an open forum for the new media community to view and/or comment.

RIP Good Times - VC is dead, long live VC

Posted by reaton (The lawyer to the technology community) on Feb 13 16:13.

It seems that Sequoia’s words of warning last autumn are staring to be echoed over here:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b6426bf0-f87d-11dd-aae8-000077b07658.html

But does it matter if some of the less successful companies go to the wall now?  We keep being told that failed companies are a badge of honour for entrepreneurs, so now is the time for many to earn their merit badges.  The technology, if it is good, and, crucially, if it is capable of making a profit, will not die, but lots of it will be recycled.  The entrepreneurs will start again. 

The fact is that there are three key elements to the success of any growth company: the technology, the management and the market - what is the point in having technology so bleeding edge cool that is incapable of making money, or is backed by management that would not have looked out of place running a bank?  But companies with good technology, that have good management that is capable of adapting to a changing world will survive: Google was born out of the dot.com crash.  Ten years later it is a mature company.  In this country, Autonomy continues to be one  of the most attractive stocks in the FTSE100, because it has the basics in spades. 

What does this mean for VC funding?  Well without doubt, the market for funding is extremely poor.  Poorer than any of us can remember.  Expect to see VCs pull in their horns, drip feed money to their best companies, merge their ok companies and cut loose the rest.  Yes there will be new funding, but on terms, and at the rates, that hark back to 2002.  In ten years time, the best run companies with the best money making technology will be bigger and stronger.  Will £1bn of government money help?  To secure people’s jobs, it might do.  To build great technology companies, I wouldn’t bet on it.

While the digital world is immersing itself in social media, with something else finally overtaking pornography as the UK’s favoured online pastime, companies operating in “business-to-business” remain sceptical.

So says US-based communications expert, Shel Holtz, who appears to have repeatedly heard the refrain: “There’s no role for social media in B2B”.

But it’s quite the opposite: social media, with its focus on creating intelligent, useful and compelling online content and generating mutually beneficial conversations is just right for B2B.  

Holtz goes on to explain how social media makes sense for those selling in the B2B arena, building relationships with niche audiences via online dialogue and creating a community of “customer evangelists”, inspired by your company’s openness and willingness to exchange information and ideas.

PR Media Blog has advocated this before, but with the caveat that dipping your foot in the social media ocean has its fair share of hazards lurking in the depths. In short, it’s not an advertising medium in the traditional sense and brazenly pushing product in the faces of your new-found community doesn’t gel.

Research from Gartner suggests that B2B social media campaigns will fail if companies rush in to an online community “without a mutual purpose” and that firms need to recognise social media as an ongoing activity; a conversation that lasts beyond the adrenaline-fuelled fuss surrounding a product launch.

But companies operating in B2B shouldn’t rule out social media as something just for the kids or those kooky consumer brands.

Twitter users are growing by a factor of 10, so says web measurement firm, Hitwise. Not bad going for what was a niche, online tool with no clear use apart from giving other intrepid social media pioneers a running commentary on your day-to-day life - in 140 characters or fewer.

But now the BBC, according to correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones’ “Tweets”, is having meetings about its own reporters’ use of Twitter, surely it’s gone mainstream.

And so, social media is becoming part of the fabric of our lives. When your Mum and Dad are on Facebook - even if they are slightly bewildered by it - you sense a corner has been turned.

In the past 24 hours I have been involved - for the first time - in a new business discussion that began on a social networking site. A few hours later, it went offline and is progressing in a way you’d never expect after meeting someone in today’s equivalent of the infamous “chatroom”.

But it makes absolute sense. If you need a service, and you know that people looking to do business are gathering in particular places online, why not congregate? Not only can you get an insight into the background, knowledge and expertise of prospective business partners or customer (it tends to be spelled out in a clear chronology), you can open a dialogue and get a feel for the person you’re dealing with. Interacting on social media is disarming, so you should get a truer, more unvarnished view, free of marketing gloss.

This model, in my opinion, would serve the procurement of professional services such as PR and marketing very well, as it allows for a more natural evolution of understanding between buyer and seller, rather than the unnatural beauty parades that dominate the sector. Companies can be dazzled by a pitch, but does that translate to a long-term working relationship? Sometimes, but not always.

Social media is out there and - for business - it’s coming of age. Get with it, before your Granny beats you to it.

Update: Here’s what the FT has to say: “Social media…transforms a business if you use it correctly.” (Bob Pearson, Dell)

Jeff Pulver @ SMBMSP from Albert Maruggi on Vimeo.

Take a look at this great vodcast from Albert Maruggi interviewing Jeff Pulver about all things social media-like.

And an interesting take on what social media is: it’s the modern day equivalent of the Rotary Club - that international bastion of local business relationships. What’s changed is the technology, which enables us to interact from our computers rather than the back rooms of pubs.

Linkedin seemed to be a good place to start a conversation about social media, how well companies are being advised in this arena and how willing they are to participate (having said it actually fits in with their communications strategy, business objectives and all that good stuff).

Some great insights have already been aired. So, what are you waiting for? Join the (online) conversation!