BG.com: media company, web site or newspaper?

This morning was the first time I was able to fully appreciate what Joseph has been telling me for many moons now: he sees Boldly Going Enterprises as a “media publishing company”. My thought was usually “What the hell IS that? Are we going to be producing news shows, printing a daily/weekly newspaper, or broadcasting live/recorded radio shows?
The cause of this morning’s “Ah ha” moment? Yesterday I bookmarked
Newspaper and Web Design from my feed subscription to Signal vs. Noise weblog (you REALLY want to subscribe to this feed!)
From there I head over to Best Front Design . But the concepts of why this was interesting, other than seeing cool things didn’t register at first. Slowly, as my journey took me through the BFD site (I’ll admint it; I kept expanding the acronym in my mind 😉 ), the brains and brawn powering BFD: another site called Brass Tacks Design.
The concepts behind Brass Tacks Design really grabbed me this morning, giving my a fuller appreciation for “media companies” in general, newspapers more closely, and design specifically. Obviously, they are about design. They apply sound design (and specifically, “re-design”) to enabling classic newspaper businesses compete in this online world of “get your news now”.
Newspaper Next , by Alan Jacobson opened my eyes to just how tough it must be in the world of daily/weekly publications. His rendering of the 96 page report Newspaper Next: The Transformation Project down to ten bullet points is a vital and concise list that I feel not only applies to how the newspaper industry is going to save itself, but could as easily be applied to online companies, like Boldly Going Enterprises.
So this journey brings me to a better understanding of why Joseph sees BGE as a “media company” more than merely a website blogging about an interesting idea or two; more than an online outlet for a hard copy publication. Our vision is to use the “disruptive innovations” that apparently are rocking newspapers. We are already in the process of creating an abundance of content in our 8 core Boldly Going Attributes that will attract more Contributors, who will bring even more interesting and unique perspectives to you.
In my next “Are You Effective?” post or two, I plan on delving a bit deeper into Jacobson’s ten point summary of Newspaper Next’s report, and how we plan on using those concepts and variations of them to propel our business towards success.
How are you and your companies, online and off, using these concepts to better position yourselves for success? And if you’re not, why not?