Start Date of Newspaper conference Munich Wednesday 31/7/2013 -- Notes

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, [10] ]

Subject: Start Date of Newspaper conference Munich Wednesday 31/7/2013

Author:
Held Melbourne Tuesday May 19th 2009

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 15:15:53 08/10/13 Sat

Success not survival: Street Papers in the digital age
.NewsSally Brammall Aug 1, 2013 Share on printShare on emailShare on stumbleuponShare on twitter. ...Creative use of technology is bringing vendors and customers together, reports Sally Brammall from the INSP's 2013 conference

As the impact of the recent economic downturn hits hard across all quarters of the globe, it has never been more imperative to ensure that street papers are there for those people who find themselves without any other recourse to funds.

But in an increasingly digital era, street papers face harder questions than instituting paywalls to ensure their own financial sustainability.

At day two of the #INSP2013 conference, where more than 100 representatives from 30 street papers around the world have gathered in Munich, the group focused on projects which are experimenting with translating the vendor mechanism online.

In order to remain true to the street paper ethos of delivering 50% of the magazine cost to the vendor, as well as contributing effectively to the mission of ending homelessness, some creative digital thinking is needed.

Here’s a breakdown of the ideas to date:

Cashless street payments - Streetwise Chicago

Recognising that we live increasingly in a cashless society, the street paper team in Chicago decided to create a system combining smartphone technology and Paypal virtual payments. Customers could buy Streetwise with a direct payment to the vendor via a unique identifying code. In part developed as a ‘courtesy’ for their vendors and customers, it has also inspired many of their vendors to get to grips with social media. streetwise.org/2013/02/buy-streetwise-with-your-smartphone/
Book yourself in for a night of homelessness - Faktum, Gothenburg
In a spoof hostel booking site, ‘Faktum Hotels’ presented ten hot spots popular with the rough sleeper community as available rooms - for a mere 100 Swedish krona per night. Stunning photography matched with well integrated Facebook and Twitter links meant that the award winning awareness-raising campaign attracted global media interest and raised €18,000 for the Swedish street paper. en.faktumhotels.com/about
Locate a Vendor - Megaphone, Vancouver
Want to buy the magazine but not sure where your nearest vendor is? Tired of hearing reports that their readers could not find a magazine vendor, Megaphone developed a tool for people to track down their nearest seller. Using open source software and a comprehensive vendor database of average working hours, their innovative site halves the hassle of finding a magazine vendor, a win-win situation for everyone involved. It’s a mobile app so it also works on any phone. find.megaphonemagazine.com

Digital subscriptions - Big Issue South Africa, Cape Town
Our colleagues in South Africa trialled Google mapping software (similar to Megaphone’s project) with the location of their vendor pitches. However, internet access for both vendors and customers is still uneven across the region. At the last count, only two of their vendors were digitally active. The Big Issue South Africa team created a digital version of the magazine instead, to be purchased online as a subscription, and have subsequently attracted readers from far beyond Cape Town. berg-bach.com/releases/big-issue-app
Keep an eye on the Big Issue website for more updates from the INSP's 2013 annual conference

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]