In 2010, the Media Seems to Cover Just 2 Tech Companies. Will that continue in 2011?

We think the media will continue to focus on Apple, Google -- including Apple vs. Google -- as well as Microsoft as a distant third player, at least in terms of coverage.

There are, of course, thousands of tech companies in the U.S.

But given tech sections at daily newspapers generally focus on smartphones and, increasingly, tablets, and digital cameras, Apple and Google are the main stories for consumers.

When it's time to talk about laptops and printers, Dell and H-P get their share of articles.

That doesn't leave much room for the rest.

Check out "The Media’s Double Vision about the Digital Age" that provides more details, based on a Pew Excellence in Journalism study.

A Trend We Missed

We try to get cover a lot of ground with our annual list of predictions. But an article from CES highlights one we overlooked: "Gadget Makers Follow Facebook's Lead: Compatibility of Cameras, Games, E-Books Grows Along With Social Network's Role in Consumers' Lives."

Having read it, I think that's an ongoing trend.

"Where's the Beef" Taco Bell? Five tips on managing this crisis

Two decades after Wendy's commercials featured Clara Peller asking, "Where's the beef," we may have a sort of answer: Not at Taco Bell, according to a lawsuit filed this week. There are a lot of articles about the it, but you can check out an LA Times article, "Taco Bell buzz on the 'beef' class-action lawsuit."

Here are some points to consider for Taco Bell.

1. Although its attorneys have clearly advised the company to limit its comments to a public statement, the company needs to go beyond that statement. Taco Bell may feel that by aggressively fighting the allegations through ads, public relations and social media, it risks raising awareness about those claims to people who might not have been aware in the first place. That's outdated thinking, circa 1997. You can no longer expect bad news to disappear in a news cycle -- you've got to expect that people on Facebook and Twitter will comment.
   
2. The initial statement made some good points by saying that it buys "beef from the same trusted brands you find in the supermarket, like Tyson Foods" and that its starts "with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef." But Taco Bell should also consider ways it could provide content that will help fans support the company on Facebook and Twitter. The fact is Taco Bell's statement doesn't provide enough -- um -- meat, for Taco Bell fans. Or, the right meat.
3. For example, audiences on Facebook and Twitter need different information. For example, on Taco Bell's Facebook page, 947 people indicated they liked the company's statement while 368 people posted comments about the allegations. While there were a lot of people whose comments indicated the allegations would not affect their loyalty, there were more comments than I expected for a fan page of people who were upset by the allegations. What's interesting is that a quick scan of the 374 comments, only three people said anything about USDA beef -- and only one of those was not negative ("You start with USDA beef... but what do you end with?" posted Nicholas Ensz.) And the only one to mention Tyson was a Tyson employee. Meanwhile, a quick scan of Twitter for Tyson and Taco Bell found that people did use that sentence from Taco Bell's statement. Unfortunately for Taco Bell and for Tyson, people added sarcastic comments, with a lot of LOLs. Searching for USDA and Taco Bell generated posts in which people claimed that "USDA says meat should consist of at least 40 percent meat." I'm not sure if that's true or not, but having started out in food PR, I know that the USDA definitions can be confusing for those outside the industry. For example, the USDA maintains different definitions for "American cheese" and "American cheese food." A quick scan of Twitter for Tyson and Taco Bell found that people did use that sentence from Taco Bell's statement. Unfortunately for Taco Bell and for Tyson, people added sarcastic comments, with a lot of LOLs. Searching for USDA and Taco Bell generated posts in which people claimed that "USDA says meat should consist of at least 40 percent meat." I'm not sure if that's true or not, but having started out in food PR, I know that the USDA definitions can be confusing for those outside the industry. For example, the USDA maintains different definitions for "American cheese" and "American cheese food."
4. Seems that the allegations against Taco Bell are also raising issues for Tyson and USDA. So another recommendation would be for Taco Bell to be in close contact with Tyson and the USDA -- and that if it tries to defend itself in the future, it should point out that it purchases beef from providers other than Tyson.
5. As a franchiser, Taco Bell needs to make sure it provides its franchisees with content they can use when asked by customers. The statement doesn't provide much about that, doesn't even make the point about its commitment to "conducting its business in an ethical, legal and socially responsible manner" or to providing quality food at a great price. There are a lot of Taco Bell accounts on Twitter, most of the ones set up by franchise groups do not seem to post on a regular basis. None of the ones I saw -- @TacoBellChicago, @TacoBellDetroit, @TacoBellTruck, @TacoBellWestMI, @TacoBellCanada, or @TacoBellCanada -- had posted anything since the lawsuit was filed. Corporate silence doesn't mean that people aren't talking about you.

What do you think? Are there other steps Taco Bell missed? How has Taco Bell responded well?

Is the Future of News to be Found in Apps?

A lot of publishers are hoping that tablets, principally the iPad, will help save them by serving as a platform for getting users to pay for access to content.

But some news apps are doing an end run around publishers to make it easier for users to get the content they want. Some of them pick up and package newspapers' own RSS feeds.

Check out "Read All About It as News Apps Arrive," which describes a couple of news apps.

Also, check out "In the App Economy, Newspapers Are Apps" by Maya Baratz on HuffPost.

New York Times Finalizes Pay Wall

You can read about the Times' plan for the launch of its pay wall next month in the "Wall St. Journal, New York Times Readies Pay Wall: Paper Will Charge for Bundled Digital Service, Allow Some Free Access."

The Times plans are said to include:

• A certain amount of free online access
• An Internet-only package that may cost $10 per month.
• A digital package, including iPad app access, for $20 per month.
• Print and online access: bundled together for the same print subscription fee.

Key questions include:

• How much access will non-subscribers get to Times coverage?
• How much access will non-subscribers get to Times coverage -- via the Times' syndicated news service -- available on other sites that lack a pay wall yet?
• How many non-subscribers will decide to pay for online access?
  

As they used to say on old radio programs, Stay tuned tomorrow...

Clarifying What We Mean That 2011 is the Year of App-based Subscriptions

We've gotten some interesting and positive responses to our predictions. One theme, however, is about whether app-based subscriptions will work because people are used to accessing news content without having to pay for it.

On that basis, a VC friend of ours specifically questioned whether we were right to call 2011 the year of the app-based magazine subscription.

So let me clarify.

When we say it will be the year of app-based magazine subscriptions, we mean that this year, publishers are going to need to figure out the mechanics of charging for app-based subscriptions. Regardless of whether or not they actually develop an app specifically for the iPad or a competing tablet platform, and whether or not they actually roll out a subscription fee for app-based access, what's clear is that 2011 will a make-or-break year in terms of how publishers and readers approach app-based access to magazines.

There's a cost involved in developing an app that provides a consistent look-and-feel that's similar to the print edition while providing additional value with content that takes advantage of the tablet's multimedia platform. But that all costs money, and somehow publishers have got to have this effort payoff.

That's the real challenge facing publishers as they roll-out and embrace tablet access. They've got to find a way to convince people to pay for app access. They're pretty much doomed if they don't.

As a journalism fan, I think I'm a bit more optimistic that users will be willing to pay for content customized for their tablets -- even as they're used to accessing free content off the web. The key will be how publishers package content on a tablet that's more impressive than what you can get online.

Meanwhile, although we listed a dozen story angles we think the business media will cover, we have missed two topics that unexpectedly are generating a lot of attention:

1. The medical leave from Apple by Steve Jobs. Since that news hit after our predictions were posted, I think it's okay to let us off the hook on that one. We wish him well, and a quick recovery, but in the meantime, expect that to be a theme, and that reporters, analysts and bloggers alike will question the role of celebrity CEO, the nature of a senior management team, the role of the board, etc., in managing and running companies. Also expect that questions about disclosure and succession planning will be important topics.
2. Tiger Mother. Amy Chua is a Yale law professor who wrote a book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,”which the New York Times described as "a memoir about strict Chinese parenting (that) reads as criticism of Western practices. Since a Wall St. Journal excerpt from her book was published Jan. 14 (after our list of trends was first posted on Jan. 10), it's been difficult to avoid the controversy about Tiger Mothers, which even reached People Magazine. I'm not sure of Tiger Mothers (a very different species from Mama Grizzlies) will be a hot topic once the initial furor has passed over the next few weeks. However, I do think the role of parents, particularly women, could continue to be a top topic for two reasons that are changing family dynamics: the lingering impact of the jobless recovery, in which women may be working while their husbands may still be unemployed; the new way of working, in which people don't have one full-time job but have a number of part-time jobs, which might make traditional family dinners a thing of the past as parents no longer work nine-to-five jobs.

Let us know if you have other comments to our predictions or to our clarification of our predictions.

Boston Globe Validates Predictions about New Way to Work

Last year, in our Top Dozen Business & Technology Stories in 2010, we predicted that the media would cover "The freelancing of the US workforce -- or how we'll all be contractors or "perma-temps" in the future (especially given the jobless nature of the recovery)."

This year, we predicted continued interest in that story as it develops, calling it the new small business model fueled by contractors, not employees.

Today's Boston Globe reported on aspect of that: "When time is money: Flexible schedules are a boon for workers and a saving for firms."

The increasingly flexible workforce, made possible by technology like videoconferencing, is a main driver of the new small business model.

We see that trend as one that will be increasingly mainstream, where more people work when and where they want. Please note: we're not saying that's the rule for everyone, every job and every company. That said, we do think more people will have more flexibility in where and when they work.