Do you think print newspapers are relevant medium in today’s world? This is a question I posed through the new Ask500People website. 100 people voted from across the globe. 66% voted yes and 34% voted no. Here is a visual snapshot of the results:
My interest was in trying out the new Ask500People site. I like the idea of an instant polling facility even though the results are unscientific. It is interesting to see, visually on the Google map and in a tabular form the location and vote of each of the voters.
Years ago, in the days of more personal and fearless contact, retailers took the pulse of the community as did taxi drivers. Today, in a faster world with barriers blocking personal contact, it will take sites like Ask500People to do this.
As for the question I put, I expected that the early adopter types using Ask500People would produce a resounding No result. The Yes result is a strong vote for print newspapers, something I find encouraging – even though it may reflect more desire than thoughtful analysis.
Ask500People is like the ask the audience option on a TV quiz show. If you want a view from the masses, you may get it here. It is an interesting social media site in that beyond the questions is the opportunity for interaction with those responding and from this, who knows, maybe new friendships are formed.
So, what does this mean for newsagents? Not much except that Ask500People is another example of changes in how we interact with each other. Our businesses are personal. We have a generation fast rising which has not experienced the personal contact around which our businesses have grown. We risk irrelevance to them. We cannot run set and forget businesses. Our newsagencies need to change to maintain relevance an this means navigating a less personal world.