A couple of insightful bloggers, Krasivolsky and Sterling, have commented on the recently announced demise of Backfence, a high profile, serious run at a hyperlocal destination site business model. The deepest review is in the American Journalism Review, where the learnings need to be seriously examined and mined. I thought I’d sprinkle a few observations and questions into the debate on lessons learned from Backfence, and how this opportunity seems to be elusive - so far.

But first, an ovation is warranted for the talented team who created what I think has been one of the most serious and dedicated runs at hyper-local yet. They have blazed an impressive early trail.

“news editorial” versus conversation?

I’m pretty intrigued with the “experiment” that Topix is playing out with local news feeds, as their website describes:

“turning passive news into active dialogue by giving people an easy-to-use publishing system with a built-in audience.”

Is it working? Well, probably early to judge - there has been turmoil of late. Anecdotally, in Denver central, the leading headline du jour is “Protest planned at Elitch Gardens by breastfeeding mothers”. With more than 750 comments, this is a passionate conversation! The model of stripping the news down (pun unintended!) to its bare generic bones and letting the conversation become the meat feels kind of scalable. Engaged participants build brand - perhaps way better than the (apparently impractical) model of traditional journalism at the neighborhood level?!

is a hyper-local destination site the right model?

The world of social networking, blogging, portals and news scanning are being thrown into the blender of web 2.0. I think too many venture-backed models are living in the comfort zone of a “destination site” strategy ALONE. I am not knocking it, I just view this as “necessary but not sufficient”. There is a new world being created where users roll their own internet, and the notion of having ONE PLACE for their neighborhood conversation feels increasingly contrived.

bubble economy versus adsense payments

The money that flows into this space expects (needs?) bubble economics to kick in (anyday now!) and reward the pioneers who can outlast the invention stages of a business model. Contrast this with what AJR profiles of local individuals who are just starting to eek out a decent living by being the “passionate local moderator” of a community site. The gap between cash flow and venture valuation is HUGE, ergo the red flag.

Only time will tell whether the payment earnings of AdSense (or SuperPages’ increasingly adSense like local search network, etc.) will evolve to become adopted by a mosaic of local independent writers. Most writers I know have NOT chosen a profession based on the pay scale! I kind of like the thought of an eclectic passionate local moderator engaging the conversations in my hood.

can this be done by the newspapers? sure. will it? hmmm.

I am constantly pleased by the insight I read from newspaper new media executives. Nothing I am saying hasn’t been said, debated and documented in the newspaper industry. Having said that, the gap between understanding and execution is one perplexing motherload of a gap.

[UPDATE]

A great read, which comes from one of the most interesting and dedicated new ventures in local news and information sites, Pegasus News, is here. If you’re interested in the quality of debate and insight going on inside the news media industry. It demonstrates the depth of insight “inside” the industry. Meanwhile, networks of social interaction and non-traditional distribution whiz on by.

Posted by Perry on Friday, July 6th, 2007 at 1:24 pm.