DISQUS

Jason Jarrett · 2 years ago

Re Hyperlocal media
I think this is spot on. I started doing a hyperlocal podcast about the village where I live. We get so much feedback and engagement. People are really pleased to have a local show and items become a talking point. I think this is going to be interesting for the local elections! People are really engaged with this, they know some of the people and want to know the others.
In the past I never thought this would take off. I think the clear channel paradigm has limited our view of what is possible. The mist is clearing, the world is waiting to listen to the voices of the villages.

joec0914 · 2 years ago

The microcontent angle is at once illuminating and disturbing. Don't get me wrong, I *love* small, tasty bites. It's amazing what you can compress something down to when you really try. Twitter taught me that! Just the facts, ma'am. But is there a future for long-form content?
I heard that very question asked regarding feature-length films during a live feed of a panel discussion at the New Hampshire Film Festival last week. It's something to think about. Has the whole world of content become music-video-ized?

Ellen · 2 years ago

Great post Chris. I think there is room for both microcontent and longer content posts on blogs.

I like reading Lifehacker because the posts are short, sweet and to the point. I know by the post title whether or not the post is relevant to me. It also leaves room for people to comment and add to the content.

I think longer posts are useful for indepth reviews. I do want a summary upfront to let me know if the review is worth reading. Profy.com, TechCrunch, Read/Write Web and Mashable provide such content.

As for hyperlocal media you have given me an idea for the apartment community I live in which has recently been purchased and under new management. Rumors have flown all summer long because no one knows what the future holds for long time residents. A blog for our community would be great and something I am going to talk to management about...thanks for the inspiration.

One question for you is why you put the two ideas, microcontent and hyperlocal media in one post. Why not break it down into two separate posts?

Kyle · 2 years ago

I feel as if micro-content, when used correctly can either be a collection of content that forms a longer version of the same song or it pushes folks to think or write about things in long form. At least for me I find Twitter the most valuable when I go back and forth with someone several times OR I click through a link that has been provided OR I gather all of the Tweets on one subject and see it as a collection of thoughts.

Micro-content can often times be the beginning of something larger and perhaps more sustaining.

/kff

Mike Allan · 2 years ago

As usual Chris you are spot on - especially with the hyperlocal. This is definitely a trend I'm on board with.

For many years now our street puts on an annual street sale followed by a block party. We spread the news with flyers dropped door to door. A couple of years ago we changed the format of these flyers to be more of a newsletter, called "The Bingham Loop" after a local landmark in the form of a street car loop at the bottom of the street.

This month we are launching - OK I am launching - a blog so now we will have year round communication. We will publish good news about our street, announcements of birthdays anniversaries, new arrivals, people moving out , etc etc. As we also have a disproportionate amount of media types on our street we will also have a lot of video and other media on this blog.

I'll keep you posted as to how successful the neighbours take to it.

chrisbrogan · 2 years ago

@Jason- you're practically the role model for what I'm discussing. Thanks and keep us in the story.

@Joe- There's some interest in long form content, and it will continue, but I think the lion's share of content, especially in the Internet-delivered space, is destined to be micro. Why? Because our attention is deeply bent. We've got too much to do.

@Ellen- I see microcontent and hyperlocal media to be related insofar as that if you're producing blogs, audio, or video, I think these two trends need to be considered together. You might choose to implement one, both, or neither, but I think they BOTH need to be considered by media makers.

chrisbrogan · 2 years ago

@Mike- Sounds great! I think a neighborhood blog isn't complete without a neighborhood Flickr group, but what do I know? : )

Dan Schawbel · 2 years ago

Honestly, if you focus on local, but your audience/readership is national, then you are doing yourself an injustice.

Christopher Penn, Financial Ai · 2 years ago

Hyperlocal currently scales very poorly for national and for volume-driven business. The student loan industry, for example, is a volume play. You make cents on the dollar at best - about one and a half - so you need billions of dollars from millions of people to make it work. Hyperlocal can't accomplish that.

chrisbrogan · 2 years ago

It's not that EVERYONE needs to be hyperlocal. It's that you have to consider it. : ) Some things have national and international appeal.

whitney · 2 years ago

Niche and local will all work- it's about filling neds not already being filled elsewhere, and expanding information.

On intros, I have heard someone I respect in broadcasting mention a 20 sec rule. This caused me to get out a stopwatch and time the intros on public radio before interviews. Interestingly enough, most "intros" before the conversation and meat starts are between 20 and 40 sec. max. Maybe this will help people as they look at the header/footer/bumper issues.

Deek Deekster · 2 years ago

Micro-content: http://deekdeekster.com

Hyper-local: http://five.org (2005 elections, my local constituency = the first of its kind)

Catch up, guys!

love etc x

Joel Mark Witt · 2 years ago

Chris,

Great two points here. I think Starbuck's cups "The Way I See It" are a great example of micro-content.
It is something that I can read while I sip my cup of coffee. They also give a call to action and drive the reader to the website for more of these.

As far as Hyperlocal - I know there is huge money to be made - and great stories to be told. The big question is how do you scale it? If you can't make a living at it - it must be a passion - but passion doesn't put bread on the table.

Joel Mark Witt

Joel Mark Witt · 2 years ago

... I also think that Rural areas like the small 6000 person town I lived in for 3 years would love hyperlocal content. Every town (no matter how small) could have their own "nightly news" in a sense.

You've got my wheels turning.

Steve · 2 years ago

You know Chris, this post has been buzzing around my head for the last few days and I can't drop the thought. It's the microcontent bit that's gotten my juices flowing. I think that it fits in quite well with something I've been thinking about for an opportunity I have to make an app for a campaign website for the heart & lung patients' society in Sweden. If it pans out I'll drop you a line about it.

chrisbrogan · 2 years ago

Steve, I want to hear that it went AMAZING! Think small. : )