1599 Why I like Life Online

I became all exited when I discovered Life Online. I  discovered that it was a permanent gallery of the National New Media Museum, which is part of the National Media Museum in Bradford (UK). I did not know that it existed and did not know that the National Media Museum consists of: 
- the National Photography Collection;
- the National Cinematography Collection;
- the National Television Collection;
- the National New Media Collection.

I like that combination of collections in one museum. In the Netherlands we have two photo museums in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The Cinematography Museum has just openend with a beautiful designed building in Amsterdam. The National Television Museum is located in a beautiful building in Hilversum under the title Institute of Image and Sound; besides an experience center it is also an expertise centre for radio and television archives. And as we spend so much money on separate buildings, no more money is left for a New Media Experience in the Netherlands, certainly not in this economic dip.

In line with the publication of my book on Pre-internet history (Toen digitale media nog nieuw waren - Pre-internet in de polder (1967-1997)) I produced a presentation of a New Media Experience and Expertise Centre and called it Digiworld. Having seen the National New Media Collection, it gave me more inspiration and I will have to update the presentation.

I made some presentations to municipal institutes in Almere, my home town. The city is the latest new town in The Netherlands and belongs to the Northern New MediaWing, ranging from the cities of Haarlem, Amsterdam, Almere, Hilversum, Amersfoort and Utrecht. Almere is in need of a real attraction, according to Almere City Marketing; so why not a New Media Experience Centre and Expertise Centre.

Another venue in The Netherlands could be the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, started by Philips and recently bought for 450 million euro by a group of investors led by Marcel Boekhoorn. In this way a very innovative environment would be put into perspective by a New Media Experience Centre and Expertise Centre.



The story of the internet (1969-1983) in 6 YouTube instalments

Part 1 - The First Time Two Computers Were Ever Connected
Part 2 - Vint Cerf & Bob Kahn Invent Code of Internet (TCP explained)
Part 3 - Three Networks Connect for First Time
Part 4 - Vint Cerf on the Birth of the Internet in 1983
Part 5 - The Rise of the Network
Part 6 - The Impact of the Web for Life Online

Never a dull moment at PCM

PCM is many illusions poorer as well as a lot money. Yet it improves its revenue flow due to a financial reconstruction and despite the hefty bonuses for the top management (of course the results could have been better if the bonuses had been added to the final results).

It is unbelievable that after so much mismanagement and turmoil there is still a reasonable financial result. The newspaper and book publishing company had a turn-over in 2006 of plus 3,4 percent from 653 to 675 million euro. The netto loss went down from 51 million euro in 2005 to 31 million euro in 2006.

The positive results were mainly made in the newspaper sector and the educational division. In the newspaper sector the job advertisements brought in more money as the Dutch economy is in full swing. And extra revenues at 50 million euro came from the sale of the book publisher Bohn Stafleu Van Loghum to Springer.

But what is the real status. The newspaper companies keep on working and still have to realise heavy cuts in their budgets. This while the managers of Apax leave with a fat profit and the top management cashes, while it is still possible. Two top managers have left in the meantime, each taking 2 million euro for less than two years of work. The CFO, who stays on, has returned his bonus of 1 million euro. Also two members of the shareholders’ board have left (of course without a bonus). So there is a CFO and a chairman of the shareholders’ board left.

In order to pimp up the picture of the company, PCM expects for the future:
• It has a fine starting position to profit from the economic upswing and new developments in newspaper and book publishing;
• The advertisement sector is picking up again, but the newspaper will have to look to get into the competitive game of television and internet (in The Netherlands newspaper publishers are not allowed yet to possess television stations);
• The company will invest in new products such as the free paper DAG; it aims to develop a cross-media news platform to reach younger target groups and invest in a multimedia strategy for the present quality titles (read established audience; mind you: cross-media for youngsters and multimedia for the elderly!)
• The newspaper and book divisions need to work on improving the results (of course after handing out bonuses so generously);
• The book publishing division will remain part of PCM and no longer be put up for sale.

So what is happening today?
- PCM is still negotiating in silence with the newspaper an book publishing company NDC/VBK. Mr Jan de Roos of NDC/VBK is rumoured to be the new CEO of the merger.
- Mr Marcel Boekhoorn, proprietor of the free paper De Pers has put a claim on the desk of PCM for 10 million euro. This claim represents the damage caused by PCM when the company was talking to Mr Boekhoorn about collaborating in De Pers project, but broke off talks and left promises unfulfilled..

Tomorrow there will be more on the 10 million euro claim and the project De Pers.

Blog Posting Number: 723

Tags: newspapers, cross-media, multimedia