Why Traditional Media Will Die (And Maybe Should)

Through a link on Facebook I got introduced to career blog by Penelope Trunk. It's quite brilliant and I quickly became obsessed. The writing is fresh and interesting. More importantly the advice is great. Penelope offers truly innovative ideas for managing your career and your life.

Now let's contrast any random post on Trunk's blog with this column from the Sunday New York Times. This piece is so insipid it actually makes me a bit angry. I can't believe the Times wasted resources on it. First, the advice is so obvious that I have a hard time believing anyone who has been looking for a job would find any value here. Second, the advice also feels hopelessly out-of-date. Resumes? Cover letters? Sure, these are still tools that job hunters use -- and making them as good as you can <i>is</i> important -- but is this what people really need to be focused on to get a job in today's economy? Finally, the advice is so superficial that it is nearly useless.

Take, for example, this gem:

Not very helpful, right? Contrast that to any one of these four blog posts by Penelope. Fresh, interesting, not-obvious and actually helpful.

Top dogs in old media companies love to downplay blogs and talk about the superior quality of their content. They bemoan the "unfairness" that they invest so much in their content and stupid consumers don't appreciate the difference.

I think consumers DO appreciate the difference. And, at least as this column shows, new media mavens are winning because -- not in spite of -- the value difference.