At the recent SIPA Conference data content industry expert Russell Perkins delved into the current transformation of our industry. He offered some head-turning statistics confirming what many of us know already: data product business models are highly stable and very profitable. He then went on to explore current trends in

The first SIIA INFO Local Meetup took place at Scholz Garten on April 30, 2014. A crowd from diverse information-interested companies came together for an evening of networking and discussing data, social, content, and content marketing. Attendees included representatives from The Daily Dot, Vital Interaction, Leadspace, Planview, Builder Homesite, Do512,

Here are a few of my favorite moments from the DataContent 2013 conference, which was, as always, a unique opportunity to learn more about what’s going on in our industry. Marketing Subscription Data Services bootcamp—Russell Perkins and Minal Bopaiah did a great job of giving us a lot of interesting,

Back in 1986 I was fortunate to be exposed to a network of publishing professionals eager to share their knowledge with their fellow colleagues via what was then called The Newsletter Association. A few decades later this same group (now called the Specialized Information Providers Association) carries on this important

The explosion of data-driven reporting, recent data privacy legislation, and the unfortunate loss of one of the Internet’s leading lights have brought the definition of “public” data back to the forefront of discussions about the information industry. At this late date in the game, it is astounding that there is

Last week the Times-Picayune, one of the most respected newspapers in the world, acted like it did not want to “go gently into that good night” and become a footnote in Wikipedia. We have come to expect spineless fatalism in the newspaper business (when they are not bribing policemen or

Over the years I have seen (and designed) a few successful new business models. A few years ago I came up with one that is fast becoming my favorite: the idea that companies can generate revenues with a 100% margin by simply rejecting work that they cannot do. Imagine that

On the eve of SXSW, Information Evolution’s U.S.-based team gathered at our Austin office for an informal meetup and photo. Pictured are, from left to right, Chuck Greene, Beatty Wilson, Matt Manning, Scott Smith, Deborah Dunlap, Shyamali Ghosh, and Kevin Dodds, the tough but non-adversarial cowpokes to our gracious and

Changing an information service’s business model is risky business. If you built your model the right way, there are several revenue streams (multiple advertising opportunities based on a variety of delivery devices, multiple subscription options based on delivery frequency and the volume/type of content, ecommerce hooks of every conceivable type)

The push-back on a 100% automated world is well underway. Ecommerce merchants, including information services, are increasingly being forced by consumers to show that they actually have real, living, breathing employees to support their convenient online offerings. Hiding behind email contact forms and sites without a single human’s name, a