Read with care

I'm posting this link only hesitantly... A Publisher & Editor list of online failures and problems.

Quote :

At the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Online News Director Kurt Greenbaum got a lesson in what can happen when certain Web content runs in the print edition. Last year the paper was covering the shutdown of a Ford auto plant in nearby Hazelwood, prompting numerous postings to the Web site's comments page. Among them was one from a reader who stated that a monkey could do some of the work the auto plant employees were doing, and argued for more automation.

When Greenbaum contacted the poster and asked if he could reprint the comment in the paper, with his name and hometown, the writer agreed. Little did he realize what an angry reaction it would incite. "He basically got terrorized by thugs," Greenbaum recalls. "They e-mailed him, called him, sent letters. It showed me that that kind of comment sort of goes by online. But when people see something in print, it seems to have more of an impact."

Why the hesitation on my part? As Steven Safran of Lost Remote says:

Quote :

Web Editors Reveal Online Flops and Failures,” while it certainly carries some good warnings about taking care when executing projects online, will likely reinforce the conservative attitudes too many people in the industry have toward the web.

But... as I thought about it, I decided that for those who are not so faint of heart, these might be valuable, important lessons in what to watch out for.

Well, I'm glad you posted it. As for being scared, the story says:

Quote :

Still, veteran Web spinners such as Jim Brady, washingtonpost.com's executive editor, understand the need for online operators to hit some snags and stumbles if they truly want to succeed. "Failure isn't to be feared on the Web, it is to be embraced," he says. "If you are not failing, you are not stretching as much."

I found it interesting that separating print and online sales staff was an unsuccessful venture.