Make no mistake, we're also getting together to work. In an open forum that focuses on audience interactivity and networking, we'll thrash out issues that could hinder our success. Offline, side gatherings of newspaper technical managers will address issues of mutual interest, and another key meeting will tackle online classified-advertising standards. The latter represents continuation of an effort begun May 12-13 in Houston. Such standards will both facilitate the exchange of online newspaper advertising among publishers and ensure that the end product is the most useful and effective anywhere on the Web.
Standards is a scary word.
It implies compliance, structure and a way of doing things that might differ from the comfortable norm. But in the case of online classifieds, the goal is golden. Making newspapers' wealth of classified data searchable and portable will maximize our marketing options and give us the highest degree of flexibility in packaging our online and print products. Our future depends on it. Members of both the Classified and New Media Federations will have a chance to weigh in, and then all online newspapers will work to adopt a standard way of creating classified ads to certify the highest utility and reliability in the market.