I was browsing around this morning, checking out some news stories on the anticipated Apple tablet, when my reading experience was interrupted by a little contextual link widget. We all started seeing these years ago, first, as tool-tips then as hyperlinked definitions. The later of which is helpful if you’re browsing a medical journal and are unfamiliar with some of the terms and jargon. Now, however, they are used as full-on mini-microsites, complete with their own tabs and navigation.

I have no desire to browse a website only to experience another microsite which is the size of my wristwatch. Hyperlinks should always be used in context of the article you’re reading. An example of the proper-use would be when it links to an article that is relevant to the hyper-linked word. It’s when they’re used to advertise that it degrades the reader’s experience. For example, the article I was reading had the word “business development” hyperlinked. As your mouse grazes the link, a little contextual ad for IBM business solutions pops-up. If you were going to tell me that there is a great article on business development waiting for me on the other side of that link, I would say – Thanks for the reminder. Instead, my reading experience was interrupted by a page peppered with these ad links, most of which had little or no relevance to the article I was reading.

As a UX consultant I am always faced with the challenge of how to monetize websites but this really isn’t the best way to do it. Don’t go for the cheesy contextual link-ads to gain a quick win. Especially in the case of a news and information site, you are bound to lose credibility with your readers.

As the news publishing industry struggles to find a way of monetizing their online products, I’m realizing more and more that perhaps their business model doesn’t need to change that much.  Greater accessibility to global news and topics has caused some alarm as we no longer rely on just one source for a story.  That aside, the quality of the journalism and the editorial content is still where the value will always be. Supporting your local news source will be an important responsibility of news readers as we don’t want our community voice to disappear.

Devices such as the Kindle are offering an interesting solution to how readers will get even more value out of their news experience. So what are you paying for when you subscribe to an online version of your local paper using the Kindle? You are paying for the same content as the paper version of course, and the ability to take your paper with you and read it wherever you go.  There are no wireless fees with Kindle – Amazon pays for the 3G cellular network and the cost would be included in the subscription fee for the content. Sounds pretty good for the reader so far? Oh yes, and the added benefit of not getting newsprint on your hands.

The transition for the Newspaper will mean having to tap into more revenue streams to make up for the fact that a portion of the subscription fee will pay for portability.  I believe that once the first few newspapers take the big leap and starts replacing print and delivery costs with electronic delivery and network fees, the product will end up ahead in profitability. By the time that happens, other revenue streams that newspapers are implementing online will have made up for some of the losses.  I think the model that Kindle is using is great, the question is:  will Kindle be to News what i-Tunes has been to music? Will this device be the one to get Newspapers to start making that final leap of faith? A lot remains to be seen but I don’t think we’ll have to wait too long to find out.

In the frenzy of trying to get social media apps to market, do most companies really know what they expect social media to do for them?  Are they aware that they democratize their product by opening up social media channels? Are they aware that it may already be happening?

It seems to be an easy choice; most execs will say “we want to be where the people are!”. Of course it’s a great way to gain visibility, find your audience and grow your audience but you have to be prepared for the organic nature of social media. The original question remains – what do you want it to do for you?

Growing an audience is great but if you’re in the business of making money, you need to sort out how social media will enhance your revenue stream. Assumptions are dangerous as community members will not necessarily convert into customers. The key is to identify what the problem is before you can go about developing a social media strategy.

Creating a comprehensive social media map is a good place to start. You don’t have to be an information architect to do this. Just start with one or two channels, say Facebook for example and draw on a white board how a community might grow around your product. As you visualize, some questions will emerge:

• What activities will they engage in?
• Are the conversations around your product sustainable?
• If it’s a subscriber model, how do you keep the community interested and coming back for more?

As you go through this exercise, you will start to see what a rudimentary pathway to a purchase could look like. Don’t worry if there are more questions than answers. The important thing will be to have the questions ready when you go to hire a social media consultant. Now you have a direction and some problems to solve and are well on your way to a social media strategy.

CommonCraft has a great way of explaining social media and social influence marketing in plain English: