Want to Survive? Recognize Opportunity

Back in the day, people complained that robotics would put factory works out on the streets, that ATMs would eliminate the need for bank tellers, that the Internet would put newspapers out of business.  Well, that last piece does seem to hold some weight.  Papers around the country have folded, figuratively, due to lack of readership caused by the ability to catch news online.  But does that mean the end of the news companies?  Not at all.

Just as robotics introduced a need for engineers and mechanics, programmers and all the other downstream jobs, so too does the shift from newspapers to the Internet for news.  Yes, it does mean that people with certain skill sets will need new skill sets, but that’s opportunity.   The Chicago Sun Times just reported that their website, Suntimes.com, set a record with page views in July almost  34 million.  Sure it helps that the governor of Illinois is on trial and it is a “newsworthy” event, but as a trusted newspaper, the Sun Times positioned itself as a trusted online news source as well.  They took advantage of the opportunity.  This news bit caught my eye and I thought it was a good example worth sharing.

As I’m sure some of the veterans can tell you, the Internet has evolved a bit already in it’s young life and will continue to.  Yahoo was once the place where all the cool people went to search.   Google changes its search algorithm and top sites get bumped down.  Users are tiring of boring seeing plain parking or Adsense pages.  New TLDs are introduced.  Technology changes and a great domain name becomes obsolete.  Things will change but new opportunities are available.  I don’t mean this to come off like a rant, really just a good example of adjusting to changes and thriving.