By: Kelly Mehler
Earlier this week, baseball retiree Derek Jeter announced that he's going into the publishing business. A new online publication, The Players Tribune is an attempt for the player let his comrades tell their own stories and offer their own perspectives in an online platform-style.
"I realize I've been guarded," Jeter said earlier this week in a letter. "I learned early on in New York, the toughest media environment in sports, that just because a reporter asks you a question doesn't mean you have to answer. I attribute much of my success in New York to my ability to understand and avoid unnecessary distractions."
It's with this attitude that Jeter will be embarking on his post-baseball career: the world of publishing.
This online platform is an interesting way in which blogging takes affect. Jeter says his goal is to transform how athletes and newsmakers share information. This method was once executed by Arianna Huffington, who created her own (open) blog to enhance her interaction with readers.
From a publishing perspective, it's hard to believe that there will be no censorship among those who post. As we know from a CMS standpoint, most everything you post needs to go into an editorial process or editing, etc... Is this content Jeter and others are posting going to be valuable to what people want? Will the raw audience be large enough online that this idea will be self-sustaining? And how does Jeter plan on making money from this blog?
This reminds me of Jensen's "deep niche," where 'the percentage of people who, on any given day, because of a passing fancy, or a new career, or a new experience, are interested in (and potentially willing to pay for) affordable high-quality content.' At some point, will this online blog become a subscription-base? And who would be willing to pay for it?
It's no secret that sports blogging is one online tool that has become useful for audiences. The readers of sports entertainment are interested in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes; perhaps this is one way they can do that. However, monetizing online content becomes Jeter's concern - not the reader.
Earlier this week, baseball retiree Derek Jeter announced that he's going into the publishing business. A new online publication, The Players Tribune is an attempt for the player let his comrades tell their own stories and offer their own perspectives in an online platform-style.
"I realize I've been guarded," Jeter said earlier this week in a letter. "I learned early on in New York, the toughest media environment in sports, that just because a reporter asks you a question doesn't mean you have to answer. I attribute much of my success in New York to my ability to understand and avoid unnecessary distractions."
It's with this attitude that Jeter will be embarking on his post-baseball career: the world of publishing.
This online platform is an interesting way in which blogging takes affect. Jeter says his goal is to transform how athletes and newsmakers share information. This method was once executed by Arianna Huffington, who created her own (open) blog to enhance her interaction with readers.
From a publishing perspective, it's hard to believe that there will be no censorship among those who post. As we know from a CMS standpoint, most everything you post needs to go into an editorial process or editing, etc... Is this content Jeter and others are posting going to be valuable to what people want? Will the raw audience be large enough online that this idea will be self-sustaining? And how does Jeter plan on making money from this blog?
This reminds me of Jensen's "deep niche," where 'the percentage of people who, on any given day, because of a passing fancy, or a new career, or a new experience, are interested in (and potentially willing to pay for) affordable high-quality content.' At some point, will this online blog become a subscription-base? And who would be willing to pay for it?
It's no secret that sports blogging is one online tool that has become useful for audiences. The readers of sports entertainment are interested in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes; perhaps this is one way they can do that. However, monetizing online content becomes Jeter's concern - not the reader.