Another observation on IHT discussion groups

I've spent half an hour or so looking at the discussion groups on http://www.iht.com/ and what they can tell us about the IHT's readership, at least online.

What also stands out, beyond the tech issue, is that if the IHT want to get triple digit contributions, the topic has to be American.

Indeed, the topics currently online as of today that have more than 100 contributions are all topics coming out of the USA.

1. Share your thoughts on Eliot Spitzer and his political future. (111 comments)
2. Democrats are battling over how to hold do-over primaries in Florida and Michigan. Being debated are what kind of contests to hold, when to hold them, how to allocate the delegates and, critically, who picks up the tab in each state. Share your thoughts. (192 comments)
3. Another author has been found to have fabricated their memoirs. Share your thoughts on their motivations. (260 comments)
4. Share your predictions for the Democratic race in Texas and Ohio. (101 comments)

None of the other 26 discussion groups currently up at time of writing hit triple digits.

Now, I haven't had time to de-duplicate contributors, but with such low numbers in terms of participation, lower even when de-duplicated, I would say http://www.iht.com/ has a problem connecting with its audience, or its core audience is very small, or they're just too damned important to write posts and send in letters (most letter writers are regulars rather than one offs by the way, something easily seen if you search for their names on http://www.iht.com/)

I think better discussion topics would be a good start, because, to be frank, some are extremely dull. Timely does not make for interesting. Some examples:

1. Do you think the fact that the Democratic race is still going on will help or hurt John McCain? (7 comments)
2. Do you think the U.S. Air Force made the right choice in giving the contract to EADS? (31 comments)
3. Despite a slowdown in growth, interest in the use of search engines as marketing tools is unabated. Are you likely to click on a paid link before looking for an unpaid one? (1 comment)
4. Toshiba, champion of the HD DVD standard, has lost the battle to Sony and its Blu-ray format as the successor to DVD. Now that one standard has prevailed, do you plan to trade in your DVDs for Blu-Ray discs? (3 comments)
5. In an age when many define themselves by what they will and won't eat, dietary differences can strain a romance. What role does food play in your relationship? (17 comments)

My rule of thumb would be this: what are IHT readers in Europe and Asia and the Americas and indeed elsewhere talking about at dinner or around the water cooler? My guess is none of the above.

Who is deciding what discussions to post and how much of a sensibility do they have for the IHT reader?

IHT readers interest in technology

Just an observation, but has anyone noticed how few comments are posted on the International Herald Tribune's discussion boards on all matters tech, as compared with other discussion groups.

What does this tell us?

My guess is that given the subject matter (e.g social networking) the IHT's readers are just too old to care. Or that techies prefer to post on dedicated techie sites.

Here are some examples of what I am talking about:

1. Do you think the removal of restrictions on electronic equipment sales is a sign of more change to come in Cuba? (1 comment)
2. Mobile war over social networking (says there are 3 comments but the link doesn't work)
3. How should bloggers deal with anonymous posts that amount to personal attacks? (3 comments)
4. Despite a slowdown in growth, interest in the use of search engines as marketing tools is unabated. Are you likely to click on a paid link before looking for an unpaid one? (1 comment)
5. A german court ruled that surveillance of personal computers would be allowed only for exceptional cases. Should the authorities be allowed to use virus-like software to spy on suspects' computers? (5 comments)
6. Toshiba, champion of the HD DVD standard, has lost the battle to Sony and its Blu-ray format as the successor to DVD. Now that one standard has prevailed, do you plan to trade in your DVDs for Blu-Ray discs? (3 comments)Toshiba, champion of the HD DVD standard, has lost the battle to Sony and its Blu-ray format as the successor to DVD. Now that one standard has prevailed, do you plan to trade in your DVDs for Blu-Ray discs? (3 comments)

In fact, of the 30 discussion topics put out there by www.iht.com the technology ones account for all but one of the 7 lowest response topics.

Any thoughts as to why this is; any thoughts as to why the techies at www.iht.com won't get the hint that whether we are going to trade in our DVDs for Blu-Ray discs hardly makes gripping discussion?

Governor Eliot Spitzer, Naked Ambition and the International Herald Tribune

It's ironic that when the New York Times took over the libertine, Paris-based International Herald Tribune, it insisted that the newspaper stop taking advertisements from escort agencies that had in the past delivered to the IHT an annual income in excess of $1 million; we now have one of these Manhattan-based 'New World puritans' (Governor Eliot Spitzer) simply migrating to the Internet.

The local telephone number advertisements provided a service that international business travelers, a core readership of the IHT, could use without leaving traces of their Internet explorations on their office laptops.

If it's OK for the Governor of New York to use these services (and I am not saying that it is) then perhaps the NYT/IHT should rethink introducing the escort classifieds into the paper.

If this is the mind set of a United States governor on a business trip to Washington, presumably it is one shared by many traveling IHT readers.

High-end escort services are a fact of international life, and I don't quite see how the IHT benefits by not taking their advertising.

A special edition of T magazine devoted to these services, mixed in with some of the fashion shoots and advertising as we saw in T's Naked Ambition edition, could be the go.

New York Times Results

Some commentary on the NYT's most recent results. Sheen or gloss?
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/newsanalysis/media/10406767.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA


I think the most telling observation is that there used to be a time when newspaper internet traffic growth was counted in the 40 percent region, and from such a low base, it needed to keep this up for years. Now we're down to single digits.



It would be interesting to know how http://www.iht.com/ stacks up?

Some thoughts for the next edition of T magazine

Here are some thoughts on women's fashion magazines.

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/magazines/andy_rooney_on_fashion_magazine_ads_79455.asp

New challenge for New York Times Co. board

Last year, The New York Times Co. fended off a major investor who complained of poor decision-making and was bent on shaking up the company. This year, management is facing another challenge from dissident investors with similar criticisms.
But this one may not be so easy to rebuff.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/10/technology/nyt.php


The funds are challenging the company's investment decisions, including its commitment to the struggling newspaper industry beyond the flagship New York Times.

OH DEAR. I THINK THAT MEANS US.

People briefed on the funds' plans say that they want to remain involved with Times Co. for at least several years, help change its direction and build up its value. One such person said, "A short-term investor doesn't run for board seats."

BUT OF COURSE THEY DON'T. THAT'S A RELIEF.