On Hyperlocal News Sites
Terry Heaton summarized why the Backfence experiment failed. Of note, is the distinction between hyperlocal versus hypertargetted. Increasingly, the physical world is so small that people who share common interests no longer live in the same town, or in the same country.
Out in Toowoomba, population circa 100,000, a lot of people forgo buying the local paper and just opt to receive the free advertising-driven one. Most people aren’t that interested in the local news, but is interested in local events, shows, timetables and of course, offers from local retailers. Despite the gains internet shopping has made, most purchases are still done locally. It is the same thing with TV. Where I live, I’m able to tune into both WIN Toowoomba and Channel 9 Brisbane. WIN is the local version of Channel 9, for all intents and purposes serving exactly the same programs, except for news and ads. I find myself preferring the local channel not for the news (for that I track Google News, which I find more relevant), but for the ads.
Funny isn’t it.
