Media Execs Have to Adapt to their Audiences

Not long ago, nor so far away, there once existed a very different media world. Editors and producers trusted their instincts about content decisions; advertisers trusted their instincts as to where to place their ads.

Needless to say, that world has passed away, in favor of a new one where all sorts of data is available to help us do our jobs. Trouble is, too many people in the industry remain old-school, and continue to ignore the evidence of how to better serve their users.

In an article on O’Reilly Media’s site today, called “The Importance of Viewing the World as Readers Do,” Andrew Savikas has this to say:  “Publishers will soon have much more data to deal with as reading becomes more digital and more social. Publishers who see the world the way readers do and turn that data into something readers find truly useful stand a much better chance of success.”

One example of that kind of data we all have to become more familiar with is the usage patterns available via  Compete.com.

Take today’s news that CNET (owner of BNET) is being acquired by CBS. Out of curiosity, I ran the numbers and was mildly surprised to learn that in terms of Internet presence, the smaller of the two companies — CBS, with under 3.9 million monthly users — is buying the larger company, CNET, which has over 6.4 million. (Click on the image at left for a larger version of this graph.)

According to Compete, BNET has roughly 1.4 million visitors per month, or roughly 19 percent of CNET’s total. Now, none of  this data is granular enough for any of us to consider it anything other than mildly interesting.

But, once you cut any such data by demographics, geography, and behavior metrics (time on site, engagement, etc.), you begin to discern the patterns that can help guide future site design and content decisions. That’s the way our new media world works.