State of CORPORATE media

When I started this blog it was dedicated to following the movements of journalists from one publication to another in the electronics world. That was over a decade ago. Now I cover a lot more than that but I think it is fascinating that the movement of journalists is noteworthy not because they are moving to a new publication, not that they are moving to an corporate job, but that they are now moving from one corporation to another.

At the 52nd DAC (where exhibitors appear to be down 15 percent from last year) the news of the acquisition of Atrenta by Synopsys was eclipsed by word that Brian Fuller, editor in chief at Cadence Design was moving to take over content strategy at ARM ltd, and Richard Goering, dean of EDA journalism, was officially retiring.

When I started this blog it was dedicated to following the movements of journalists from one publication to another in the electronics world. That was over a decade ago. Now I cover a lot more than that but I think it is fascinating that the movement of journalists is noteworthy not because they are moving to a new publication, not that they are moving to an corporate job, but that they are now moving from one corporation to another.

On the show floor was all kinds of rumors about who will fill the gaps at Cadence, which has become something of a model for content strategy under Fuller's direction. Early favorites appear to be John Blyler, recently "liberated" from Extension Media and Dylan McGrath, currently blocking the newsroom exit at EE Times (Yes, I'm being snarky. Tepid apologies).

ARM's decision to hire Fuller is momentous as it may herald an era that they will actually invest in staffing rather than just technology, but it will be an uphill climb, and more than it was at Cadence where some of the trailblazing had been done by Goering and then by the late Anna del Rosario who brought a real vision for modern communications strategy to the company. The foundation she and Fuller laid will serve whoever comes in well.

ARM has a greater depth of subject matter to draw from than Cadence, however, which draws 90 percent of it's revenue from tools (OK, maybe less, but still a lot). So that depth may help Fuller breakthrough the bureaucratic logjam there. It's definitely a challenge that Fuller can take at least two out of three falls.

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Independent publications not as important anymore

Cadence Design's Brian Fuller dusted off his personal blog on Journalism last week and asked a question he's asked before: Are journalists/editors necessary?

The question comes on word of two major personnel losses at EE Times -- Dylan McGrath and Peter Clarke -- and is one that I answered in the affirmative several months ago.  But as I read his piece I was struck by one particular graf.

"But there’s a sense of unhappiness in our ranks. We can crank out that content all day long, but if there’s no one to validate it or call B.S., then we become an industry of echo chambers."

If that's the way veteran journalists respond to the changes in the industry, then we should despair.  But I think, now, that Brian's asking the wrong question.  Are independent publications necessary?  My answer is, not as much as in the past.

This is something I've said in other ways in the past, but I think journalists have lost a bit of spine in the past half century, relying on the illusion of independence provided by their employment. That corporate shield is going away, but the need for an independent voice has not. As corporate journalism, especially in the B2B sectors continues to contract the vacuum is, in fact, being replaced by a more egalitarian, though inelegant solution -- the voice of the audience. (watch our video discussion of this)

And it is going to take trained journalists, acting truly independently although under the employ of another industry's corporations, to help give them a platform.

Something I've learned in the past year is that customers generally have a better understanding of a corporation's products than anyone in the corporation does.  But there are myriad barriers to getting that perspective out in the sunlight where it can do some good. Not the least of those barriers is the belief in a corporation that the customer is stupid and needs to be led.  Journalists in corporate employ, like Brian, have a unique opportunity, as well as skill, to get that information into the hands of current and prospective customers.  They could not do it when they worked in a publication for fear of not being "objective" but within a corporation they can find that nugget that completely avoids the engineering, marketing, sales and C-suite minions.  That is an incredible value to everyone.

That does not mean that the independent publication is useless. Not every company can afford to hire an in-house journalist full time, nor can they all run their own publications.  Small, niche publishing houses like Tech Focus Media and publishing behemoths like UBM fill the need of a platform for those companies (who should be paying for the benefit, BTW), but the days of an independent media adequately covering an entire industry disappeared in 1999.

This is the age of the truly ethical and independent journalist and it doesn't matter who we work for.  Our ethical standards belong to us, not a corporate master.  The truly ethical corporation will see the benefit in this and will bury their less ethical competition.

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Alex Wolfe is next to leave UBM Tech

How long can they last?

Alex Wolfe is leaving UBM Tech. Just heard it from two sources (neither of them Alex).  Don't know where he's going, but it is a major coup for whoever grabs him. 

Alex has been, for a long time, a stalwart of electronics journalism.  He broke the story about the Intel Floating Point error.  He's been edior in chief of Information Week, Design News, IEEE Spectrum.  My first trip to Manhattan was specifically to meet with him, face to face, with a client because the client considered him the most important editor to meet. That's why he's risen as high as he has in the UBM organization and why his loss to them is going to be pretty devastating.

The word is everyone on UBM Tech is sending out resumes if they aren't getting offers,  If you look at the EETimes masthead you see 44 editorial positions.  One (executive editor held by George Leopold) was eliminated in January. Both positions for EBN are now gone (Wolfe and Brian Fuller), six are duplicative (they hold down other positions), and I count 11 that are on contract and have other duties outside of UBM.  That means 24 of the 44 are staff members, dedicated to developing and managing content.  They're good people.  How long can they last?

The UBM decision to merge media with events is not a bad idea.  It is possibly a good idea.  But you can't make anything work unless you have people to do the work.

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When you hear of journalistic treasures like Nic Mokhoff, Barbara Jorgenson and Bolaji Ojo going out the door at a media house, you tend to think the worse for the company.  I know I did after hearing about the "spring cleaning" at UBM.  Closer inspection, however, shows the reasoning behind the move.

UBM Electronics seems to be in a constant state of change over the past decade because the media world has been evolving rapidly over that time.  The latest obvious change is the elimination of the print version of EE Times, in favor of an all online presence.  The problem is that there have been, essentially two staffs for the online and print operations.  When the latter was shut down, that left a lot of redundancy and unnecessary cost (from an accounting perspective).

EE Times and EBN have built a significant infrastructure out of contractors, including Brian Bailey, Max Maxfield and Douglas Alexander, to provide content.  They are prolific and, well, inexpensive.  

Brian Fuller is, arguably, the guy with the greatest wealth of experience and ability on the paid staff, having served as reporter, editor, publisher, EiC, bureau chief as well as a varied career outside of the organization.  He's got a strong understanding of how new media works and a rare understanding of what it takes to work with publications from the outside.  He can be plugged into almost any position and make it work.

Rick Merritt, who has been operating without portfolio but will be taking over Brian's position as SV Bureau Chief, can cover just about any kind of technology in the valley, will fit into that position like a hand in a glove.  The rest of the positons at UBM Electronics are in solid hands. That leaves a surplus of talent; people who are great journalists who can observe and write on technology subjects on a deep level.  And in this economy, surpluses are luxuries.

Anne Francoise Pele will be taking over the Automotive Design Line from Brian and Brian will still handle the Drive for Automation, but EE Life is yet to be decided.  I'm wondering if it will exist in 6 months at all, considering it was created when UBM brought Brian back from the dark side and teamed him with Sylvie Barak (one of the casualties) and Karen Field, who now sits atop the group as the director of content.

Things are looking better in our economy, but tough decisions still have to be made.

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Being in good company in the 21st Century

Looking back over the past decade has not been easy for me.  The recession really began in 1999 and is just now coming around in my view.  It's been a rough 10 years and I'd rather not dwell on it.  There have been some very good things that have come out of it, however.  One is the satisfaction that I was pretty much right how things would go (pat on the back), even though I was unable to change the outcome (sigh of resignation).  Another has been watching my family cope with the negative changes and seeing them adapt and support me and each other.  As an only child with two dead parents and no other family ties it has been great having these remarkable people teach me what family means... even though we don't seem to be like any other family we know.

But the one grand thing of the past decade has been the new relationships that have developed over the past 10 years and that have been honed by the use of social media.  At present, I have more than 1500 relationships spread over Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Linkedin, DeHood all of which, at one time or another, have provided insight, support, opposition, laughter tears, prayers... everything that a physical relationship provides but spread throughout the world.  There is pretty much no place in the world I can go and not have a friend within a two-hour drive.

These relationships have helped me adapt  to what the world is today.  One of those key relationships has been Brian Fuller of EE Times who recently posted about reinventing yourself.  That's not an easy thing to do and I've done it several times in my lifetime.  I've went from music teacher to top-40 DJ to birdcage cleaner at Marine World before I hit 20.  Then came journalism, professional minister and nuclear weapon systems technical editor. That preceded freelance writer, marcom management, PR for semiconductor companies and then communications consultant... which is kinda what I am today but the definition is still morphing.  But it has been the support of my family and friends, the insight of people like Brian, Dan Holden and IdaRose Sylvester that has showed me that evolution is not a goal but a process.

And as we enter into this second decade of the 21st century I hope that is an encouragement for those who are still trying to find where or if they fit in.  I'm here to tell you that if you don't fit into your current hole, there is another waiting for you.  Don't wait for your environment to change to suit you.

Social media is sneaking up on you

Just had a chance to listen to the EDAC panel on Social Media, and again IMHO, Brian Fuller captures my attention with a tidbit out of left field.  And even he didn't catch it.

Brian threw up a slide showing where engineers get their information and again it beat the dead horse that the two top vote getters were company websites and colleagues.  Brian even tossed social media away as almost an anomaly.

But buried in that information was a real nugget.  The numbers showed that corporate websites have actually dropped a percentage point year to year as a source of information for engineers.  Still number 1 but a slip.  Colleagues maintain the same percentage.  Print was down 20 percent, no big surprise there.  Trade shows are down 1 percent.  And social media scrapes the bottom of the barrel... at first glance.

But look at the numbers year to year and then consider the growth rate.  If you combine blogs, RSS feeds and social media networks like Facebook, there is a 100 percent growth rate year to year... correlating to the drop in websites, print and ... wait for it ... trade shows.

Later in his talk, Brian called for patience and foresight regarding social media.  In another slide he points out that in 1994, it was "illegal" for engineers to go outside the firewall of their own company so they could not read the first EETimes.com news.  Today,  EE Times online presence is the driving platform for its network.  That graphic, combined with the hidden nugget, tells me that the people who are most reticent to use social media now, will probably be the one on social security or hunting for a job in the food industry service in the next five years.

Engagement is where you find it.

I love it when great minds think a like.  First Brian Solis sets up the segue from low-level to high-level engagement, and then Dan Holden talks about what the most important influencers might be.  so today I can talk about where you find the highest-level engagement in your social media program

As a recap, since it was almost a week ago, the first level of engagement is made up of people that agree with you and give you kudos.  You know, the really intelligent readers ;).  The second level are the people who disagree with you and can include competitors.  these are people that can help you make course adjustments by giving you a reality check.  You don't have to accept what they say, but looking into the criticism can often make what you share so much better.

The most valuable of all engagement, however, is the expansion level -- the people that take your ideas and concepts to different levels.  It may start as either agreement or disagreement but goes deep into the issue and becomes a virtual partnership.  These are the people that link to what you have to say and send it out among their own networks.  These are the people to find and cultivate because they help you to understand yourself better.

Over the past few years, I've found a lot of these people.  Like Brian Fuller now back at EE Times and his boss Paul Miller; like the aforementioned Solis and Holden; like someone who may read this and give his own two cents to the concept.  Because of this interaction I have been able to better define my philosophy ad business model to the point that I can now get it across in a matter of minutes with very little Q&A.  Doesn't help with short budgets, but I know I can fit what I do into almost any budget around.  These relationships have also helped me escape the small orbit of the semiconductor world and explore new technologies, countries and cultures.  I've even entered the political arena in some areas.

But here's the thing, while there are tools that can help you quantify this kind of interaction, you can't really qualify it with tools.  You have to go out and find it.  Luckily, that's not as hard or time consuming as it may seem.

Hashtags, retweets are probably the most common ways of finding some of these third level influencers, but most of what you will find are second level followers -- the people that agree with you.  What is most helpful is linking multiple platforms.  I currently write five blogs on widely different subject to widely different audiences.  i also maintain 3 presences on Facebook, three on Twitter, one on Linked in (with participation in 2 dozen groups), one on Plaxo and about a half dozen other more obscure social networks.  Now if I was actually maintaining each of these individually, I would have no life and no home.  But all social networks make it possible to link to other networks and other social media platforms.  All of my presences on the social web are linked to each other, so when I post something in one place, it pops it in multiple places, like Facebook, Plaxo, and Networked Blogs.  

My readers pick them up there and, amazingly enough, begin conversations there.  Those of you reading this on the State of the Media site may wonder if I get much engagement here and, in fact, I don't.  I get about two or three comments a month here (which is actually more than a lot of blogs), but what you may not see are the conversations and comments going on about these posts in other platforms.  The most prolific area is actually Networked Blogs, followed closely by Facebook and then Twitter.  As it is, the 6,000 members of my worldwide network are pretty chatty and I get some great feedback from them.

This kind of following and feedback didn't happen overnight, however.  This network has been growing organically for about 6 years, when I really tarted getting into the social media scene.  I do very little promotion because I like to see how it can develop naturally.  If I put more promotion into it, I would imagine it might grow much larger, but right now I can handle it on my own.  What could you do with it if you had some staff to help?  What could you learn? And who exactly would be participating in the conversation?

That will be the subject of part three.

Chattin' it up at EE times with Brian Fuller

Today I sat down with Brian fuller, newly returned to EE Times, and did a quick video interview on social media.  But this time I was to one under the gaze of the leery interviewer.  EE times is moving in a new direction that I think is the future of at least B2B journalism and Brian's one of the thought leaders taking them there.  It was kinda fun having him ask me my opinion for a change.

Hey, guess what? You can go home again. Just ask Brian Fuller.

Brian Fuller announced yesterday that he is back under the employ of United Business Media and working at EE Times, although not under the position he was before (editor in chief) but as the Products Content Strategist of EE Times Products section.

From the press release; "Fuller will drive product news, information and community and also provide engineers and their marketing teams with the assistance they need to bring products to market more effectively, leveraging the breadth of EE Times' capabilities -- from products to e-learning, news, events, courses, webinars and video."

This is ridiculously good news for the semiconductor industry's marketing wonks, especially those who have come to appreciate and implement social media strategies within their ranks (and there are still damn few of those).  Brian has been on a personal journey into the social world that began at EE Times and their convulsions over whether to stay as a traditional media house or to branch out into other directions.  In that journey he learned what it was like to be a PR hack, an in-house marketing guru, a freelance writer and unemployment.  

He brings back to EE Times a great understanding of how difficult it is to have a vision for communication when most of the industry is still trying to work like it's 1999.

But be prepared. Brian is a very nice guy and will talk pleasantly with you, even if you have not a clue how to communicate your product.  If you are one of those, he will walk away and it will be like the conversation never happened.  Be proactive. pick his brain and listen to what he advises.  You'll be better off

Brian Fuller 2.0

A little over a year ago I interviewed Brian Fuller, then editor in chief of EE Times on the state of the media.  It was the kickoff of my podcast program and one of the most downloaded podcasts of State of the Media - both parts.

Brian threw us all a curve a few weeks later by resigning from EE Times and resurfacing a couple months later as the vice president of media strategies at Blanc and Otus in SF, a few blocks from the Times building he used to work in.

I decided it would be a good idea to catch up with him and see if his views of media have changed... they have.