The Launch of The Daily Darien

Last week I attended the launch party for several new online news communities, all owned by Mainstreet Connect.  The party reminded me of the media parties I used to attend when I worked in advertising. (No, I'm not as old as the Mad Men people.) It was beautifully catered, and we heard good, short speeches. The event hearkened back to the heyday of print media, even though it was for new media. As I nibbled my hors d'oeuvres and sipped my sangria, I kept wondering what these new community news sites were going to do for us and if they would be as successful as their founders believed.

But the next day, I was summoned for jury duty. Out of a roomful of 45 people, one other person and I were the only ones reading printed newspapers to pass the time. A handful were reading books. But most of the room was glued to a screen -- either the giant TV at the front of the room or the tiny screens held in the hands of about one third or the prospective jurors. Yes. We are in the age of the screen and the instant download of data and news.

That made me realize that Mainstreet Connect is probably on the right track. They're using economies of scale to create a network of online news communities. But will the initial traffic turn into loyal viewers that interact with advertisers and generate revenue? I'm particularly interested in The Daily Darien because I live in Darien, CT. But I'm also interested because as a business planner and consultant, I like observing how different startups behave. I like trying to figure out how their marketing works and how they've positioned themselves in the marketplace.

The founder, Carll Tucker, clearly has a vision and the media and advertising experience and management team to make a successful business. He can see what I saw in the jury waiting room. Younger people are not reading newspapers. The Daily Darien is exploiting that. But their print-based competitors are too. It's going to be interesting to see what happens. Which competitor will come out on top - The Daily Darien, the Darien Patch, The Darien Times or the Darien News-Review (the oldest of the lot)?  Can the Daily Darien discover the weaknesses the other papers have and exploit that in their online-only environment? Do they realize that many of the residents of Darien are actually the type of people who still enjoy print newspapers? (I've seen the statistics.) Upscale, educated, northeastern. We read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal., but our kids don't.

What do you think? You can see The Daily Darien at: www.thedailydarien.com.

Another Facebook Mistake - the Marketplace

What is Facebook management thinking? Is Zuckerberg off his rocker? Today, I received an email update from Facebook alerting me to my "friends' marketplace for Darien, CT". Being a curious soul, I clicked on it and saw ugly paintings of naked women, real estate for sale in Florida and other things I really didn't care about or want to waste time looking at. These items were being sold by "friends of my friends." It made me wonder about my friends' friends.

Even worse, the whole thing really turned me off. It left a sour taste in my mouth. What is Facebook trying to do, besides make money? This is not as clean or elegant as Craigslist or Ebay. I don't want these things. I'm not looking for them. This feels like an invasion of privacy and cheesy waste of time. If I'm in the market for such items, sold by friends or not, I will search for them. Facebook keeps messing around with its model. This needs to stop.

Companies that are successful are successful because they are coming from a vision of what they believe in. They have to understand why they are doing what they are doing. Companies that just set out to make money for money's sake are doomed to fail. That's what caused the financial meltdown and also the dot-com bust. Investment banks are supposed to help the flow of capital from people who have it to growing companies that need it. But instead, they're focusing on making money by selling new securities that they've made up out of thin air or junk. We've all seen the unfortunate result.

Facebook started out as a great, simple idea, filling a real need for people to connect with one another. But its mission to make money has taken place without soul or vision. I watched a great video yesterday on TED about what makes people into real, successful leaders. It's worth watching. Mark Zuckerberg needs to watch it, too. Then, maybe he'll do the right things with Facebook.

http://ht.ly/29iow

Inventions, Entrepreneurs and Success

Last night I watched "How I Made My Millions" on CNBC. The show gave excellent capsulized stories of how people had really great, simple ideas which they turned into businesses. It's clear that it's not easy to execute ideas, but the people profiled in the show had the tenacity, passion and focus to do it. And they made millions.

I know that there are thousands of entrepreneur wannabes and inventive tinkerers out there with the big idea and the next great business. Some of you will fail because your ideas really aren't that great. Some will fail because you don't have a plan or funding. Some will fail because you just don't have the energy to take the idea to fruition. You'll let roadblocks get in the way.

But the entrepreneurs and inventors in this TV show didn't let any of that stop them. Their creations and ideas filled needs and resonated with the public. Take a look. You can watch it on HULU:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/46543/cnbc-originals-how-i-made-my-millions

If you need a business plan or some mentoring along the way, contact me at: upstartwyn@gmail.com. Visit my website: www.upstartbusinessplanning.com.