Pushing the debate

A panel at the Interactive Newspapers '97 conference here Feb. 12-15 considered the question of whether readers prefer to have custom news feeds designed for and delivered to them (push), or to have the ability to browse and to choose the information they want to see for themselves (pull).

The answer: Yes.

"Push is bigger, but both are necessary," said John Funk, chief executive officer of Mercury Mail http://www.mercurymail.com/. "The key is to integrate push with pull."

"Push is what you've been doing for centuries," Andrew Currie, chief executive officer of Email Publishing Inc. http://www.emailpub.com/, told the newspaper-oriented audience.

"Newspapers have always pushed their product," said Chris Jennewein, vice president of technology and operations for Knight-Ridder New Media http://www.knight-ridder.com/.

The panel appeared unanimous in the belief that push is a significant factor in the future of information delivery. E-mail appears to be the push method of choice.

E-mail delivery is standards-based, with predictable change, Currie said. It allows the use of hardware and software from multiple vendors, he pointed out, and has an assured longevity. Perhaps most important, the user is not asked to adopt any new receiving schemes but just uses what he or she already has.

"Open standards always win," Funk said, adding that e-mail is a nonintrusive push method that is available when or if the customer wants it. E-mail also is intuitive, because it already is a part of the customer's life in most cases, and no new hardware or software is required for its use.

E-mail, Funk said, "was, is and will be the killer app." Plus, about 90 million people already have e-mail, making for a large, readily accessible customer base.

"I recommend e-mail as the logical push delivery choice," Currie said, adding that electronic delivery is a complement to print products and the Web, not a replacement for either.

Jennewein suggested using push technology such as Netscape Mail http://home.netscape.com/ to push a newspaper web site's "front page" to customers, letting that draw them into the web content.

Funk expanded on that thought:

"People don't always come back to your web site. How many newspapers do you sell at the newsstand vs. those regular subscribers?"

The newspaper, he said, is "always there at 5 a.m.," letting people build a habit of waking up in the morning and reaching for the newspaper.

"It's hard to build a habit from a bookmark," he said.

-- D.G.

From THE COLE PAPERS, April 1997, Copyright © 1997, All Rights Reserved.