Add me to the list of people recommending the new ArtsBoston.org. Countless syllables have been spilled dissecting the future of arts and the media in the fast-changing world of ever-shrinking newspapers, thriving blogs and Twitter. ArtsBoston.org isn't intended as journalism, but it's not exactly advertising either. It's a mashup of the old newspaper arts listings with social media and links and multimedia. And while I'm wary of the slow blurring of journalistic boundaries online - BY THE WAY, PLEASE CLICK ON OUR SPONSORS OVER THERE TO THE RIGHT - it seems to me that ArtsBoston Director of Marketing Charles McEnerney and the rest of his crew are getting it mostly right. That's what I told him yesterday, anyway, when we spent an hour on the
phone walking through the beta site and talking about the
possibilities.
The site revamp came about in part because ArtsBoston heard from its member arts organizations that they were "looking for help selling regular price tickets as well as the half-price offers" through ArtsBoston's BosTix program. The other big factor for those arts groups was the steady shrinkage in arts listings in the mainstream media, as the Globe, Herald and other outlets cope with their own, partly internet-induced economic challenges. "A handful of groups said this is what is lacking," McEnerney said.
Still being tweaked byArtsBoston staff and their partners at Artsopolis Network in San Jose, CA, the site offers a ton of entry points on the front page, from featured events to category listings, as well as video. Each listing, in turn, includes ticket details, other media and both "citizen reviews" and "media reviews." (McEnerney said they're still figuring out where bloggers fit.) The initial information comes from the arts groups, who fill out an online form, and it's then approved by staff before posting. The featured spots on the bright and colorful home page are reserved for ArtsBoston's 170-and-growing membership. The aim, McEnerney said, is to give "a comprehensive sense of what's happening in Boston in the arts."
I think they're a good way down the road to doing that, although we talked about a bunch of little tweaks. Among the moves I suggested was putting the @artsboston Twitter feed on the side of the home page in a widget. Other bloggers have also been doing focus groups with McEnerney. "Social media," of course, can be translated as "one hand washes the other," and while McEnerney is looking for good blog reviews of the new site, I'm looking for links back to HubArts. And of course there's a BosTix ad OVER THERE TO THE RIGHT. When old-media refugees like me say journalism on the web brings a whole new set of dilemmas, that's what we mean. But most of today's online audience is either cynically savvy about such concerns or just doesn't give a damn. We live in interesting times, and a lot of new solutions are needed. ArtsBoston.org looks like one.
Nice inormative and practical
Posted by: celebrity | July 14, 2009 at 09:59 AM