4 ms·

How a Liberian "newspaper" reaches thousands, with just one copy

29 points by jlangenauer 17y ago

kiba 17y ago
That could be an interesting business model. Just mount a big screen on a building and an internet connection so that they can get updated around the clock and then post a few video ads there and there.
- JimmyL 17y ago
  That's been around for a while - think of the video billboards of Times Square, or any of the ones that inhabit the financial districts of major (Western) cities. The problems come, I would guess, from a very high start-up cost. Not only do you need the side of a building in a busy location where people can stand, but you need a big-ass screen that is readable and reliable. You may also have trouble with determining advertising numbers - you don't even have the "subscriber base" numbers that print media has; all you've got is the average number of people that walk by, times some small fraction who, on average, watch the thing.
JimmyL 17y ago
The aspect I found most interesting - and this was mentioned in passing only - was that there was a second system for displaying what the issues of the day were in a quick fashion. When there was mention of the international community, the UN helmet went up on the roof. When there was something about fuel prices, a bottle of (what was meant to look like) fuel was up there. The cleverness, I think, lies in how dead-simple symbols that people already associate were used. Doesn't matter if you've just come to Monrovia and don't know what the Daily Talk is - if you saw a UN helmet on the building, you'd think that there was something associated with the UN going on there. If that interested you, you'd walk over and see what it was (in this case, the news) - if not, you'd continue on your way. It almost reminds me of the home-screen notifications on BlackBerrys/iPhones - a simple sentinel indicating the presence of more related information - but much better executed, since the vocabulary used isn't platform-specific (i.e. the Daily Talk didn't make up its own signals to use, they used ones that people already associated).
fortes 17y ago
An interesting, related, thing I saw while I lived in China: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortes/215857055/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortes/215857055/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortes/215856981/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortes/215856981/ Many bus stops and other public areas put a daily newspaper up on display, and people stop and read it.
- sireat 17y ago
  In former Soviet Union, they did the same thing, put newspapers on displays. Not sure if they still do the same in Russia these days.
BobBobinski 17y ago
Odd - doesn't that guy have Tux on a shirt?
- die_sekte 17y ago
  Saw that too. It's at 3:03. Anybody has an idea what's written around Tux?

29 points by jlangenauer 17y ago

kiba 17y ago

That could be an interesting business model. Just mount a big screen on a building and an internet connection so that they can get updated around the clock and then post a few video ads there and there.

JimmyL 17y ago
That's been around for a while - think of the video billboards of Times Square, or any of the ones that inhabit the financial districts of major (Western) cities. The problems come, I would guess, from a very high start-up cost. Not only do you need the side of a building in a busy location where people can stand, but you need a big-ass screen that is readable and reliable. You may also have trouble with determining advertising numbers - you don't even have the "subscriber base" numbers that print media has; all you've got is the average number of people that walk by, times some small fraction who, on average, watch the thing.

JimmyL 17y ago

The aspect I found most interesting - and this was mentioned in passing only - was that there was a second system for displaying what the issues of the day were in a quick fashion. When there was mention of the international community, the UN helmet went up on the roof. When there was something about fuel prices, a bottle of (what was meant to look like) fuel was up there. The cleverness, I think, lies in how dead-simple symbols that people already associate were used. Doesn't matter if you've just come to Monrovia and don't know what the Daily Talk is - if you saw a UN helmet on the building, you'd think that there was something associated with the UN going on there. If that interested you, you'd walk over and see what it was (in this case, the news) - if not, you'd continue on your way. It almost reminds me of the home-screen notifications on BlackBerrys/iPhones - a simple sentinel indicating the presence of more related information - but much better executed, since the vocabulary used isn't platform-specific (i.e. the Daily Talk didn't make up its own signals to use, they used ones that people already associated).

fortes 17y ago

An interesting, related, thing I saw while I lived in China: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortes/215857055/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortes/215857055/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortes/215856981/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortes/215856981/ Many bus stops and other public areas put a daily newspaper up on display, and people stop and read it.

sireat 17y ago
In former Soviet Union, they did the same thing, put newspapers on displays. Not sure if they still do the same in Russia these days.

BobBobinski 17y ago

Odd - doesn't that guy have Tux on a shirt?

die_sekte 17y ago
Saw that too. It's at 3:03. Anybody has an idea what's written around Tux?