The Triumphs and Challenges of Independent Web Publishing

  1. Introduction
    1. Who am I
      1. Editor / Co-producer
        1. Digital Web Magazine
        2. A List Apart
      2. Author / Co-author
        1. Digital Web Magazine
        2. A List Apart
        3. WebReview
        4. Web Standards Project
      3. Designer / Developer
        1. Worked on
          1. Intel
          2. IBM
          3. Hewlett Packard
          4. Cisco
          5. Microsoft
        2. Recognized by and featured in
          1. HOW Magazine top ten sites (3 times)
          2. Yale's Web Style Guide (2nd ed.)
          3. Web Design Magazine
          4. Internet Magazine
          5. Taking Your Talent to the Web (NewRiders)
    2. What we will not cover
      1. How to write HTML 101
      2. The detailed ins and outs of Web development
      3. Web technologies in detail
      4. How to make a fast buck
    3. What we will cover
      1. Definitions
      2. Why content matters
      3. The process of setting up a zine.
      4. The process of maintaining a zine.
  2. Definitions
    1. Zines and Weblogs
      1. Weblogs are journals and short stories
      2. Zines are online magazines with several articles
    2. Content
      1. Content can mean many things
        1. Copy / articles
        2. Graphics / art
        3. Multimedia/flash and video
      2. We will use the term to mean articles and copy.
  3. Why Content Matters
    1. A different kind of "value"
      1. Attracting users, not visitors
        1. Content drives users, eye-candy drives visitors
        2. Users develop trust with publications
        3. Developing trust means returning users, word-of-mouth referrals
      2. Focused market segments
        1. Sponsors in the spotlight
        2. A higher value to advertisers
    2. Making a voice for yourself
      1. The freedom of the press
        1. The pen is mightier than the sword
        2. Dare to ask the unasked questions
      2. The power of the community
        1. Speaking your mind attracts those of like minds.
        2. Like minds form communities
        3. Communities can influence
  4. Getting started: Setting up a zine
    1. Finding a focus
      1. Finding something you can live with
        1. What do you love to talk about and write about?
        2. What are you considered an expert in?
        3. Do you live it, breathe it, eat it, and think about it when you sleep?
      2. Knowing what is already out there
        1. Research
          1. competition
          2. partnerships/alliances
        2. Keeping in touch with the community
          1. mailing lists
          2. community sites
      3. Setting yourself apart
        1. What makes your publication different from others?
        2. Where have other publications succeeded and failed?
    2. Preparation
      1. Knowing your user
        1. Why are they coming to your site?
          1. Word of mouth referrals
          2. Links
          3. Search engines
          4. Networks
        2. How much do they know, what is their experience level?
          1. The newbie
          2. The amateur
          3. The pro
          4. The expert
        3. What kind of format are they used to?
          1. layout
            1. navigation system
            2. intuitiveness
            3. site structure
          2. form and function
            1. printing
            2. bookmarking
            3. download and read offline
            4. redistribute
        4. Sometimes you just have to ask: take a survey
          1. feedback forms
          2. online surveys
            1. ask for it, don't demand it
            2. pop-ups don't work
            3. don't annoy the user
            4. find the user who is motivated to respond
          3. 3rd party critiques
            1. critique sites
            2. mailing lists
            3. personally requested critiques
      2. Treat your publication like your first born
        1. Find a good home
          1. uptime counts
            1. do the research to know the host's uptime
            2. look for redundancy
            3. guarantee?
          2. data is not always forever
            1. who owns the data
            2. who makes backups for recovery
            3. back up yourself to be sure
          3. practice good Murphy's Law
            1. it will go wrong when you need it to work right
            2. if its too good to be true, it's probably not true.
        2. Take ownership of the site.
          1. Respond to emails in a reasonable amount of time
            1. personalized emails
            2. auto-responders
            3. simplify the information
          2. Address feedback positively
            1. if it upsets you it's worth a look
            2. never turn away negative comments
            3. show action
          3. Find and fix problems before you are told about them.
            1. link check (linkbot)
            2. error checkers
            3. testing
      3. Lead time
        1. Preparing for releases
          1. One month is not much time
          2. Build a pool of articles
          3. Always have a backup plan
        2. Editorial deadlines
          1. Do not set deadlines back to back
          2. Encourage everyone to be ahead of schedule
          3. A week off is a good thing between issues
    3. Launching the issue
      1. Pre-production
        1. Securing contributors
          1. authors
          2. artists
        2. Defining the editorial staff
          1. editor
          2. managing editor
          3. copy editor
          4. proofreaders
          5. contributing editors
        3. Defining the production staff
          1. creative directors
          2. technical editors
          3. developers
          4. programmers
      2. Production
        1. Developing a template system
          1. The beauty of SSI
          2. The art of Caching
        2. Developing a database system
          1. PHP/MySQL
          2. JSP or ASP/SQL
        3. File Naming and URLs (avoiding broken links)
          1. Site Structure needs to be premeditated
          2. Cryptic URLs, who can read them?
      3. Post Production
        1. Promotion
          1. Linkage
          2. Emailings
          3. Newsletters
          4. Banners
          5. Cross-linking
        2. Keeping in touch with the authors
          1. encouraging future articles
          2. promoting other articles/books/sites by the authors
          3. allow them to post news
        3. Checking sites that have linked you
          1. bookmarking known links
          2. checking referral logs
          3. checking community sites
  5. How to keep it going: Maintaining a zine
    1. Defining a structure
      1. Editorial calendar
        1. Deadlines
        2. Themes
        3. Commitments
      2. Writing Guidelines
        1. Preferred writing style (The Elements of Style, Chicago, MLA, etc.)
        2. Pay or play
        3. Rights and ownership
      3. Consistency in format
        1. Style and approach
        2. Navigation, location (URL), interface
    2. Finding new contributors and volunteers
      1. Contributors
        1. Walk-ins always accepted
        2. Contacting expert writers and published authors
        3. Posting calls for proposals
      2. Volunteers
        1. Posting calls for volunteers
          1. mailing lists
          2. community sites
          3. forums
          4. newsletter
        2. Your contact lists
          1. experts like to help
          2. they will know who can help
          3. its a small web
    3. What is and isn't working
      1. Good feedback is more often conveyed
        1. Checking referrals and keeping an eye on community sites
        2. Cataloging the feedback for reference
      2. Bad feedback is rarely voiced
        1. What isn't being talked about or linked
        2. Ask: Survey time
  6. Conclusion
    1. It's a labor of love
      1. Don't come in expecting to make money
      2. Be committed to the project, don't try half-hearted
      3. Zines are made from blood, sweat and tears
    2. What the future holds
      1. Donations
      2. Sponsorship funding
      3. Acquisitions
      4. Subscription systems
      5. Content networks
  7. Questions and Answers
    1. Opening the floor for questions
    2. My email address and web site
      1. [ see contact page ]
      2. nickfinck.com
      3. digital-web.com
    3. Up and coming events
      1. WebVisions
        1. Zeldman, Geoff Hiller, Heather Irwin, Gabe Kean, Molly Sokolow
        2. August 7, 2001
        3. Northwest Cultural Center, Portland, OR
        4. $15 for early registration / $18 at the door
        5. www.oregon.org/webvisions/
      2. Web Design World
        1. The How & Why of Web Standards
        2. Jeffrey Zeldman, Molly Holzchlag & myself
        3. November 29th, 2001
        4. New Orleans, LA
        5. www.webbuilderconference.com/web_agenda.asp