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LWN in Trouble
DanDan writes: "It seems that Linux Weekly News may be on the rocks. Tucows has cut support and they have lost their Senior Editor. It would be sad to see them go." Anybody who has bright ideas or cash burning a hole in your pocket should check out their discussion list.
I have worked for a couple of firms restructuring - and they are always difficult. I will list a couple of suggestions regarding restructuring and then some general strategy notes.
Restructuring
1. Do it as fast as you can.
If you need to reduce your overhead by $10,333 a month, which may not be easy but sure beats the alternative (chapter 11). The longer you wait, the more drastic the cuts will have to be. If you wait too long, cuts alone may not be enough to save the site.
Layoffs can do serious, long-term damage to a company's culture, but sometimes they're necessary. First think about freezing salaries, eliminating perks, postponing company parties, and so on. And if it turns out you can't save jobs without laying some people off, don't allow the process to drag on. Make all the necessary cuts at the same time, and then let the remaining employees know their jobs are secure. You will destroy morale--and lose good people--if everybody is wondering who will be the next to go.
2. Marketing is hit first in a recession
In a recession companies cut back on advertising first. In an effort to conserve cash, they cut back in the one area they should be expanding -- namely, sales and marketing. So get ready for the long haul.
3. Check your cash flow.
You need to look at your cash flow over the next 90-180 days and determine how much you need to survive.
Options....
Here are some personal suggestions that may or may-not work.
1) Put a donate button on the website. Suggest a small fee - say $5.00. Make it secure and give the users the option of saving the credit card numbers so they can re-donate frequently and easily.
Small amounts are easier for users to swallow than $100 subscription fees.
2) Focus on your core competencies.
Main page - Core
Security - non-core
Kernel - core
Distributions - core (maybe)
On the Desktop - non-core
Development - core
Commerce - non-core
Linux in the news non-core
Announcements core - ( I would call it events calendar and market it as such)
Linux History - non-core
Letters - core (inexpensive)
My feeling is that the real strength of the site is in reinterpreting the different mailing lists(kernel etc). - Not in re-posting press releases like linuxtoday.
Target technical information for programmers. Programmers have money and create trends - and thus get attention from advertisers.
3) Require registration so that you can prove the quality of your readers to the advertisers. Then market yourselves to those who want to get developers attention such as IBM, Microsoft, Borland and Sun.
4) Get a mailing list going with the info. - more fodder for marketers - "Push marketing"
5) Look at relicensing opportunities for sections of the website. For example license ibm developerworks the content of the kernel section. Don't sell the all your content though - get the users to visit your site for the full overview.
check inc magazine for more: www.inc.com
Anthony Barker
I've been a regular reader of LWN for years - it's the only site I *always* remember to visit on a Thursday. The quality of the editorials are generally excellent, and thought-provoking at the very least.
On a personal level, I would happily subscribe to the publication if I could - $5 per month would probably be about right - about the same as a subscription to a monthly magazine.
It would be a genuine loss to the Linux community to see it go away.
Read my online journal: http://chris.carline.org
They are 4 guys (and gals) plus some hosting. The problem is that they need some way to pay the 4 guys and gals, and pay the hosting bills. Until now, that's been paied by advertisers, first directly and then via Tucows (5 points to anyone with a 5-digit or more Slashdot ID who knows what Tucows stood for). The advertisers are no longer paying enough of the bills, so they've had to let two people go, and the continued operation of the site is in question.
They need non-advertising based revenue.
Paranoia isn't an infectious condition, it's a way of life
they barely started the discussion list today.
"I keep looking in the want-ads under 'revolutionary' but there don't seem to be any listings.. "
The Ultimate Collection of Winsock Software.
I went their all the time to find the latest and greatest software to make Windows for Workgroups 3.11 actually usable on the net. Only five-cow rated newreaders for this geek!
obviously no deficiencies vs. no obvious deficiencies
You're thinking of linuxtoday.
Anything is possible given time and money.
I just learned today that FAQS.org is in financial trouble, too! More here...