When Business Week speaks people listen. This week, Business Week has a cover story about blogs, the information phenomenon which is sweeping the world. Here’s a wake up call quote from one of the excellent articles:
Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they’re simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they’re going to shake up just about every business — including yours. It doesn’t matter whether you’re shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They’re a prerequisite. (And yes, that goes for us, too.)
Everyone in business should read the Blogs Will Change Your Business article and the other articles and commentaries in the magazine. Those involved in the news and information supply chain MUST read the coverage. Business Week’s attention is that the world has changed.
Newsagents, those 4,600 independently owned and uniquely Australian businesses are a key part of the supply chain in this country and every newsagent ought to read Business Week and then engage in a conversation about the future direction of their business.
Manufacturers (publishers) are getting closer to consumers. This will impact the supply chain (newsagents included). Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not next year. However, we are seeing the impact of the expected future in decisions being made today. Our suppliers have to make the decisions which are best for them. Likewise we need to make decisions which are best for us. The specialist retailer of news and information is no longer. We need other specialisation. Many newsagents are doing this already with excellent success. Too many, though, are not and face starvation.
We (newsagents) need to engage in an informed, intelligent and intellectual discussion about blogs and the disaggregation of media and create models which provide for our customers, our employees and our families in the future.
We need to make business decisions today with the knowledge of what is happening and with an eye to protecting our key asset of our relationship with our customers. We need to stop suppliers leaning more on us and abusing our disunity to their advantage as these changes filter through.
The changes we are seeing mean that our space in the supply chain is more valuable and this ought to be reflected in the fees we charge.
Reading this issue of Business Week is the start or arming yourself for consideration of the future. Business Week have done the research and responded by creating a blog themselves. blogspotting is a welcome and interesting addition to the conversation.
In my own newsagency business we are responding with the launch very soon of an online local newspaper. LocalNews Daily combines blogging, citizen journalism and an environmentally friendly online presence for news local to the community we serve. This will provide us with practical experience which we hope will guide a way forward through the changes.