Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Reuters CEO on personalized news

Reuters CEO Tom Glocer gave a speech on personalized news at the FT New Media and Broadcasting Conference. A transcript (.doc) is available. Some excerpts:
    If we can characterise the 19th century as the age of the newspaper, the 20th century the age of radio and television, this century will be defined as the age of media personalization. The news you want, when you want it.

    The concept is simple -- forget the old media that decided what was news and when and how you would consume it. Personalization is all about delivering news to the individual -- stories that are relevant to you, your life, your job, your family.

    Personalization of news will cut through the clutter ... In a world of information overload a premium will be placed on personalization.

    Serendipity is part of [it]. In the same way when you read a newspaper you stumble across stories that you otherwise weren't looking for. Customized content needs to be flexible enough to also provide the quirky and strange. It's the chance encounters that make life interesting.

    Provide what's most relevant to me. Give me the news on the topics that I am interested in and give it to me quickly and accurately ... Show me what other people like me are looking at.

    Personalization will be the dominant theme of media for the next hundred years. How we respond now will determine the future for all our companies.
Tom Glocer's speech follows a similar talk by Associated Press CEO Tom Curley. Both AP and Reuters see personalized news as the future.

[transcript via The Bitter Vat]

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