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2012 - Review of the Year
Lest we forget
ESPN Staff
December 29, 2012
Wales mourned the death of 'Merv the Swerve' in 2012 © Getty Images
Amid all the festive celebrations and New Year resolutions, there should also be time to reflect on those who we have lost in the past year. ESPNscrum looks back at the lives of some of those that the sport mourned in 2012.
Mervyn 'The Swerve' Davies (December 9, 1946 - March 15, 2012)
One of the game's all-time greats passed away in March of 2012 having lost his battle with cancer. A veteran of both the 1971 and 1974 British & Irish Lions tours, Davies was one of the sport's most formidable back-rows. He won 46 caps for Wales and skippered the team to the Five Nations championship in 1975 and then the Grand Slam the following year. He was widely tipped to skipper the Lions in 1977 but his career was cut short after he suffered a brain haemorrhage playing for Swansea against Pontypool in a Welsh Cup semi-final in 1976.
Tributes poured in for Davies with his former team-mate and friend John Taylor saying: "Merv won his spurs in the southern hemisphere and earned enormous respect from New Zealand and South Africa. He was a very hard man by that time, an old fashioned grafter who did the business at the coalface rather than a flash No.8. He won you ball in all the dark areas and he had these telescopic arms. His tackling ability was phenomenal. Just when you thought someone was through then he would reach out and drag them back."
Jock Hobbs (February 15, 1980 - March 13, 2012)
One of New Zealand's favourite sons, Hobbs lost his battle with cancer in March. A formidable flanker, Hobbs won 21 Test caps for the All Blacks between 1983 and 1986 - with four as captain - and was a constant feature for Canterbury during the 1980s. His playing career was ended prematurely at the age of 26 after suffering one too many concussions. Hobbs then turned his hand to a legal career before joining the New Zealand Rugby Union in 1995. He played a key part in tying down the country's elite players to the NZRU at the turn of professionalism and also helped form Super Rugby.
Twickenham pays tribute to Mervyn Davies and Jock Hobbs © Getty Images
He played an instrumental part in bringing the recent World Cup to New Zealand in 2011 and also presented Richie McCaw and Mils Muliaina with their 100th caps during the tournament. Hobbs had battled leukaemia since 2006 - during which time he was chairman of the NZRU. After complications arose in 2010, Hobbs resigned from his position on the NZRU board to focus on his health.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen paid tribute to Hobbs saying: "There have been a lot of great people involved in New Zealand rugby. But I think this man is the greatest. When you go back through the history of administration, he has been involved in all the big, critical moments."
Dr. Jack Matthews (June 21, 1920 - July 18, 2012)
A matter of three months after Welsh rugby mourned the death of the great 'Merv the Swerve', they had to cope with the passing of Dr. Jack Matthews. Matthews was part of a legendary Welsh midfield partnership alongside Bleddyn Williams during the late 1940s and early 1950s. A General Practitioner by profession, the former Newport and Cardiff star Matthews was also a doctor on the British & Irish Lions' tour of South Africa in 1980. Matthews, who was made an OBE in 2001, played 17 times for Wales and skippered the side against France in Paris in 1951. He was also captain of Cardiff for four seasons. He also shone on the track in the 200 yard sprint and in the boxing ring and was later the medical officer to the Welsh Boxing Association.
Dr. Jack Matthews in action against France © PA Photos
Huw Richards paid tribute to Dr. Matthews saying: "It is exceptionally hard, when your parents have had you christened John, to achieve the supreme Welsh popular tribute of being known purely by your forename. There are just too many of them. But, with the addition of a professional title, Jack Matthews, who has just died at the age of 92, made it. For the last 65 years or so, nobody in Wales has needed any further explanation as to the identity of Dr Jack."
Sir Fred Allen (February 9, 1920 - April 28, 2012)
Former New Zealand coach Sir Fred Allen died in April at the age of 92. Allen, who coached the All Blacks from 1966 until 1968 and was known as The Needle, had been battling ill health for some time and was in full-time care. A fly-half, he played 21 matches for the All Blacks between 1946 and 1949 and captained the side in all of them - but it was as a coach he made a major impression.
During his spell in charge of New Zealand, one of the team's greatest eras, all 14 Tests matches played were won. He was knighted in 2010 and had been inducted into the New Zealand and International Rugby Halls of Fame. New Zealand Rugby Union chairman Mike Eagle paid tribute to the former coach saying: "Sir Fred is one of the most treasured legends in rugby. He represented a great era of success for the All Blacks both as a player and as an unbeaten coach during his tenure. His unfailing dedication to rugby and his continuing contribution to the game, well after his own playing and coaching days, secures his place in our history books as one of the great legends of the game."
Nevin Spence (April 26, 1990 - September 15, 2012)
Irish rugby was in shock after promising centre Nevin Spence tragically died in September 2012. The 22-year old, an Irish Wolfhounds international and a member of the Ulster squad that reached the 2012 Heineken Cup final, died after falling into a slurry tank. He passed away alongside his father and brother. Tributes were paid from around the rugby world to Spence with Ulster's Rory Best speaking at his memorial service and skipper Johann Muller also leading the tributes.
Ravenhill remembers Nevin Spence © PA Photos
"Nevin Spence was a highly skilful and gifted rugby player," Muller said. "He was utterly committed to Ulster and was enormously proud to represent his province. He was determined to be the best that he could be and I have no doubt that he would have gone on to play for Ireland on many occasions. He was the kind of player that inspired others with his attitude in training and sheer will to win in matches.
"His positive outlook on life brought a smile to people's faces. He was kind, polite, generous and courageous, and we were blessed to have him in our team. The one comfort for us as a squad is that we have each other for support. It has been a difficult time for the players and coaches but I believe that through this tragic loss, we will have a new sense of togetherness."
Gordon Waddell (April 12, 1937 - August 13, 2012)
Former Scotland and Lions stand-off Gordon Waddell died aged 75. Waddell played 18 times for Scotland between 1957 and 1962 where he captained them five times in the process. He also toured New Zealand with the 1959 Lions.
ESPNscrum historian John Griffiths said of the ex-Lion: "He was Scotland's guiding genius when they beat Wales 8-3 at Cardiff in 1962 - their first win at the Arms Park since 1927. The same year he went on the Lions tour of SA playing in the two opening Tests before giving way to Richard Sharp. His father Herbert Waddell was a Lion in SA in 1924 and also played stand-off for Scotland.
"He settled in South Africa and became prominent in SA Politics as an MP for Helen Suzman's Progressive Party. I remember him as being on the big side for a stand-off but he was a good passer, had a siege-gun kick and a good tactical brain. He was never dropped by Scotland, only missing games through injury."
Wilson Whineray (July 10, 1935 - October 22, 2012)
Former All Blacks skipper Wilson Whineray passed away in October. Sir Wilson made his Test debut for the All Blacks back in May 1957 when he was 21 and took on the captaincy for their 1958 series against Australia. Sir Wilson ended up making 77 appearances for the All Blacks, which included 32 Tests, and captained the famous side on 67 occasions. Sir Wilson received his knighthood in 1994 and was named patron of the New Zealand Rugby Union in 2003. Four years later he became only the fourth person to be inducted into the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame.
Malcolm Thomas (April 25, 1929 - April 9, 2012)
Former Wales skipper Malcolm Thomas died in April aged 82. Thomas, who played centre, wing and fullback, accrued 27 caps for Wales between 1949 and 1959 and was also part of the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 1950 and 1959. Thomas looked set to make the Lions tour in 1955 to South Africa but a broken leg put pay to that prospect.
Thomas took his bow for Wales in 1949 and scored the winning try against Ireland in 1950 to secure Wales' first Triple Crown since their triumph in 1911. Wales obtained the Grand Slam that year and Thomas also played in all four matches of their 1952 Slam.
Bob Scott (February 6, 1921 - November 16, 2012)
Scott was the oldest living All Black when he passed away in November. Regarded as the "complete fullback", according to NZRU chairman Mike Eagle, Wellington-born Scott made his debut for the All Blacks against Australia in Dunedin in 1946 at the age of 25 and went on to wear the black jersey in 52 matches including 17 Tests. He retired in 1954 after playing his last Test against France in Paris.
Bob Scott practises his kicking © PA Photos
Scott was widely regarded as one of the finest players, in any position, to have played for New Zealand. Commentator Winston McCarthy wrote, "For me there will never by anyone as great as Scott." Former South Africa No.8 Hennie Muller described him as: "Altogether, the greatest footballer I've ever played against in any position".
John Brain (June 7, 1960 - May 27, 2012)
A Gloucester legend, Brain died in late May, 2012. Brain made nearly 300 appearances for Gloucester as a player and also worked as assistant coach at Kingsholm under Philippe Saint-Andre before taking charge at Worcester. He guided Worcester into the Premiership and coached the forwards at Bristol before returning to Gloucester in 2010 in a scouting capacity.
Gloucester's Ryan Walkinshaw said of Brain's death: "When Ken [Nottage] told me the news I could barely believe what I was hearing. We are all incredibly saddened by his passing, and it is far too young an age to pass away. It's been a massive shock. John was a true legend of the Gloucester club, not just for his outstanding time as a player, but also for his two stints at coaching the club. He was a very switched-on character, he loved the club and cared deeply about it."
Selorm Kuadey (May 5, 1987 - January, 2012)
Sale mourned the death of former England U20s wing Selorm Kuadey back in January. Kuadey, who also earned international honours for England Sevens and U19s, was forced to retire from rugby in 2010 on medical advice having struggled with a succession of injuries. After leaving Sale he had gained a first class honours degree in human biology & infectious diseases at the University of Manchester, and was appointed as a business manager for an orthodontics company. He passed away in January, 2012, with reports claiming that he took his own life.
Richard 'Tiny' White (June 11, 1925 - March 10, 2012)
Richard 'Tiny' White, the legendary All Black, died aged 86 in Gisborne after a short illness. The lock played 23 consecutive Tests for New Zealand between 1949 and 1956, when he was part of the side that recorded a first series win over South Africa in ferocious circumstances - scoring tries in the first and third Tests.
White played a further 32 tour games for the All Blacks, after initially impressing selectors while on army duty, and was a committed servant of Poverty Bay domestically. Noted rugby scribe Terry McLean wrote of White: "He played with matchless vigour, especially in the lineout."
David Tait (July 5, 1987 - December 13, 2012)
Ex-Sale flanker David Tait tragically died in December with reports suggesting that he fell from an apartment block in Hong Kong. During his playing days, Tait spent five years with Sale, who signed him as a teenager, and he made 28 Premiership appearances for them. He was part of England's training squad for the 2008-09 IRB World Sevens Series, but did not play. He later played for Scotland at the 2009 Dubai Sevens but his career was cut short due to injury and he became a corporate finance manager for multinational firm KPMG.
Former Sale and England captain Jason Robinson said on Twitter: "Holding back the tears thinking about the loss of David Tait. Lovely young man who will be greatly missed. Thoughts & prayers to his family".
Mitchell Todd (March 15, 1991 - August 16, 2012)
Scotland U20 international Mitchell Todd was the victim of a car accident near Normanton-on-the-Wolds earlier this year. He had just finished a degree in sports therapy at Coventry University and turned out for Nottingham in the British & Irish Cup last term. They said in a statement: "He was an exceptional talent and a highly-valued member of the squad, and he will be missed by all of those that knew him."
Todd won 10 Scotland U20 caps and also played in the IRB Junior World Championship. Rob Brierley, the Scottish Rugby Union's performance development manager for Exiles, said: "Mitch was a quiet, sensitive bloke with a real steely determination never more evident than on the rugby pitch. He was a real athlete, somebody who was late to the game and was developing all the time."
Maleli Kunavore (November 13, 1983 - November 15, 2012)
Former Fiji international Maleli Kunavore has died in Suva in November aged just 29. A member of the Fiji squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he saw his playing career cut short by a heart condition in 2010 and reports suggested he passed away in hospital having undergone a further operation.
The versatile back spent five seasons with French giants Toulouse and shared in their Top 14 final victory over Clermont Auvergne in 2008 and was a member of the side that was beaten by Munster in the final of the Heineken Cup the same year. On behalf of the Fiji Rugby Union, development manager Sale Sorovaki said: "It is so sad to lose a fellow rugby player and at such a young age. Kunavore was a very gifted and talented player and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, may he rest in peace."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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The Story of Electronics
Annie Leonard explains why "designed for the dump" electronics are toxic to people and the planet … and what to do about it.
Hard to upgrade, easy to break, and impractical to repair, most of the electronic products we use are "designed for the dump"—made to be perpetually replaced, not to last.
Annie Leonard, the creator of The Story of Stuff, The Story of Cap & Trade, The Story of Cosmetics, and The Story of Bottled Water, is at it again, explaining why this cycle creates unnecessary consumerism and pollutes our Earth with toxic chemicals. Annie has partnered with the Electronics TakeBack Coalition to show us how we can get electronics corporations to stop externalizing the costs of toxins and accept responsibility for their e-waste.
See more of Annie Leonard's videos:
- : The Story of Stuff will take you on a provocative tour of our consumer-driven culture—from resource extraction to iPod incineration—exposing the real costs of our use-it and lose-it approach to stuff.
- : Asking tough questions about who cap and trade really benefits—and whether it will make a difference in averting catastrophic climate change.
- : Should you be worried about your tap water? Yes, but not for the reason you expected.
- : What's in your shampoo, anyway? Annie Leonard explores the toxins in our bathrooms, and what to do about them.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hello Everyone! I just arrived in Iceland!!! Yeehaw! There is a lot of information in this Newsletter - there's so much I want to talk about. So much fun stuff happened during my recent stay in NYC. First off, I did an interview on Tribeca Radio, which I HIGHLY enjoyed and would recommend listening to. The hosts are Mike Perrine and Donna Perrone. You'll see Mike's name popping up throughout this newsletter, as he was the colon hydrotherapist of the session I recently experienced and wrote about below. Mike also features in the 'Shining the Spotlight' section below (Blood Gases discussed - must read Shining the Spotlight).
In this interview, we went DEEP... REAL DEEP!. They practically had me tearing up, as I went into my emotional past in relation to transitioning to a 100% Raw Food Diet. I also talked about 'eye gazing' meditation technique, seeing energy and so much more. When you click the link HERE, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click 'Vitality Radio' on the right hand side. Then you can just scroll down to my interview at the very top of the page.
We got Raw Sprouted Chia Flour into the store!!! Talk about a Nutrition POWERHOUSE. You can learn more about this amazing new item in the 'New Products' Section. I am also very excited about ALL the MULBERRY MADNESS going on in this Newsletter!!! In addition to carrying those amazing dried Turkish Mulberries, we got Dried PURPLE MULBERRIES too!!! Also, we will be adding the white dried mulberries to the 'At Cost' specials list, which still includes Goji Berries from earlier this month.
I had intended to talk about my opinions on water in this newsletter, but due to the amount of info here, I will actually save that for my next Newsletter in August.
The information below is for education only and is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, or treat illness. It is valuable to seek the advice of an alternative health care professional before making any changes. I would love for you to make an appointment with Dr. Fred Bisci at 718-979-7950, for the most accurate information possible.
I know that Raw Cacao gets a lot of flack from a lot of people. I generally have a positive outlook on Raw Chocolate and I am beginning to see my views lighten up on it even more... If someone is 'down' a lot and generally has a lack of energy, a moderate amount of cacao may be beneficial for them. We all know that having energy is an important aspect to the happiness of an individual. I feel that as long as it is done occasionally and not 'abused', it could be a great thing... Well... It's all relative... For example, if a cocaine addict were going to quit cocaine and replace it by 'overdoing' Raw Cacao, then that would be a major improvement in my opinion and I would love to see that.
Anonymous Wrote:
Dear Matt:
I enjoy your newsletters very much, thank you! I just want to ask you do you know of any successes with permanently clearing viruses, i.e.; herpes from the body by doing raw. And if so, in what manner was the diet done and were any other modalities used, like superfoods, herbs, etc?
Thank you in advance for your answer.
First off, I am so sorry that this is a concern for you. I can only imagine how this affects your life. I have met numerous people with Genital Herpes, and it seems to CONSUME their entire being. I feel drawn to suggest that ultimately it is all going to work out well for you and it !DOES NOT! matter that you have Genital Herpes!!! This can be resolved. If you can get into your center and relax into being your normal self, without feeling TOTALLY consumed by this, it need not affect your Love Life. If a woman TRULY falls in Love with you for who you are, THE HERPES WILL NOT MATTER!!! I promise you that!!! As for handling the physical side of this matter, please read on for more suggestions?
All disease is the SAME. It is waste trying to leave the body and a lot of the time it will leave via the place of least resistance. For example, for someone with Psoriasis, it will come out of the skin as Psoriasis patches, for someone with acne, it will release out of the face and for someone with Herpes, it will come out in blisters on the genitals.
My good friend from NYC has a pretty bad case of psoriasis and she has been on a 100% Raw Food Diet for a good amount of time. Remember, when you go on a 100% Raw Food diet, you are going to pour out acidic toxins on a cellular level. If you don't keep up with these endogenous poisons by doing colon hydrotherapy, there may even be a greater chance that a Psoriasis or Herpes Outbreak may happen.
Although it is not yet documented, I believe there is a way to get rid of any virus COMPLETELY... However, it can be a very 'dangerous' method (which I am not going to talk about here) and you would have to become so clean on a cellular level that it could kill you if you don't know what you are doing.
We will take a gentler approach here. In my opinion, the key to limiting Herpes Outbreaks to nothing or almost nothing is as follows.
For well over a year now I have been using a 6 quart enema bag for colon cleansing, thinking that I personally could do as good of a job as going to get a colonic. Although enemas are certainly still beneficial, a recent colonic experience BLEW MY MIND! While I was in NYC, I did a colonic with Mike Perrine (see the Shining the Spotlight Section below for more info), who in my opinion is the Top Gravity Colon Therapist out there. This colonic CHANGED MY LIFE!!!
Ok, this might be a little TMI for some people, but I could not believe the acid that POURED out of me towards the end of my session. As soon as I finished this colonic, I could feel masses of oxygen flowing through my entire body. It gave my hands a feeling of more sensitivity as I used them and touched things. I could not believe it. I looked in the mirror and my face had 'become younger'. Oxygen had spread throughout my entire body. My tissue quality improved and my muscles were bulging out of my skin. I thought my throat and sinuses were already clear before this colonic, but afterwards I could not believe the clearing that took place. Acid just poured out of me!!!! My entire sinus cavity was completely vacant of mucus and the vibration in my body was insane.
As Mike and I were walking around the city after the colonic, I told him that I feel this is the way we were ABSOLUTELY meant to feel. It felt impossible to not just fall into deep meditation and see the 'psychedelic' WORLD around me. Doing Colon Hydrotherapy in conjunction with a TRUE & Simple 100% Raw Food Diet has the potential to result in absolute bliss. I just WISH that YOU could have jumped into my body at that time and felt this experience for yourself... I am CONVINCED that waste in the system harbours negative energies and emotions within the body. I was void of all waste and filled with absolute LOVE. There were no 'negative' feelings in my being. It was absolute BLISS! My strength and confidence skyrocketed. My digestion has never felt better, small raw cravings were diminished, and it is even easier now than ever to control my appetite. My brain became SHARPER and just so C L E A R... I had so much energy, that I felt like running to Brooklyn and then over to Staten Island!
Why would I have so much acid and waste in my system? IT IS BECAUSE I AM 100% RAW!!!!!!!!!!!!! Most people seem to expect the exact opposite - that a 100% Raw Food Eater would not need to do colonics, because they only eat Raw Foods. The waste and acidity in my system is due to how cleansing the 100% Raw Food Diet is, as stated in my article entitled, The Missing Link on the 100% Raw Food Diet. In my opinion, it is key to do colon hydrotherapy on a periodic basis, in order to succeed in the long-run on a 100% Raw Food Diet. I know of many 100% Raw Food Eaters who are not doing well. On the other hand, there are many people who are trying to go 100% Raw and "cheat" every once in awhile. They may paradoxically seem to be doing better with their health than a 100% Raw Food Eater, ESPECIALLY if they practice Colon Hydrotherapy. There are a few reasons for this.
When you 'cheat' on the 100% Raw Food Diet, you are holding yourself back from becoming more sensitive. Additionally, you are holding back your body from throwing off more acid endogenous poisons into the blood stream. That acid can be extremely uncomfortable, like a drug addict going through withdrawals. No wonder why some people don't stay 100% Raw. So... As a 100% Raw Food Eater you cleanse more on a cellular level and more endogenous poisons are entering the bloodstream. In essence, you become more sensitive to toxins and there are more toxins inside the body at the SAME TIME! Although a person may not feel the ultimate physical vibrational bliss that they could experience with a balanced 100% Raw Diet, a high % Raw Diet may be better for most people.
I feel the main concern for the TRULY 100% Raw Food Eater is their health in the Long-Run. If I hadn't done this colonic and instead sat with that acid in my system for another 20 years, I am convinced that I would age just as fast or even faster than others, as my body is so sensitive now. Additionally, the longer you live on a 100% Raw Food Diet, the more you detoxify poisons at a cellular level, the cleaner you become, and the more sensitive you become to ALL toxins. The unparalleled sensitivity of a 100% Raw Food Eater in the Long-Run should, I feel, be the utmost concern. Not only are you more sensitive to toxins, but also you are more 'locked in' to your consistent diet and veering away from that can cause harm to your system. Some people run into problems on the Raw Diet 40 years down the line. They may be thinking their Raw Diet is the 'cause' of the problem (whereas it is in fact most likely acidic toxins continually circulating in the body, which are not being efficiently released). Such people sometimes then go 'backwards', by eating cooked food, which has the potential to result in a Long-Term Raw Food Eater's demise. Someone who has been raw for 40 years is highly sensitive, and jumping out of a long-term consistent routine that their body has adapted to can be very shocking to the system. If you are truly 100% Raw, I recommend you try doing a colonic once a month and see the difference it makes to your overall health and vitality.
Don't mistake not feeling well after a colonic as an indication that they are not good for you. Most people are very clogged with gas, acid and other toxins, when they do a colonic. It is like unclogging the sink and a NECESSARY deep outpouring of waste from the body may give you bad breath or maybe even result in you feeling sick. This can actually be considered a good thing and if this happens, it may indeed be advisable to do another colonic. When you don't feel well, it generally means that you are becoming cleaner and 'evolving' to the next level - it is a necessary part of the process and not something to be afraid about.
There is no doubt in my mind that when you enjoy a Balanced 100% Raw Food Diet in conjunction with colon hydrotherapy, this it is the ultimate in terms of health, for the human organism. It is understandable that if you choose to do this, you will do a lot of cleansing as a result and you will also have many ups and downs. However, when you want to rise to the occasion when you are around others, you will flourish with flying colors, as your energy and aura reveal an unfathomable light. You will notice that you are actually feeling better than ever before and seem to be enjoying much more vibrant health than most others around you.
After being in NYC, I stopped being consistent about not eating food after 2pm daily. I found I felt more 'pressured' to eat at certain times. I feel that in the future, when I am settled somewhere again, I may begin to eat that way once more, as I was very much enjoying it. I learned a lot from this experience and it has also trained me to eat my heavier meal earlier in the day and eat lighter in the evening time.


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Seek and Find: Proven Strategy and Future Trends in SEO
By: Gretchen A. Peck
With so much attention being given to the "paid vs. free" content debate, one important factor is often lost in all the noise: Neither advertisers nor readers will be inclined to pay to support your product if they can't find it online.
Search engine optimization — the process of using relevant keywords, links, headlines, and metadata to boost your site's likelihood of being found in a Google search — remains a top priority for publishers seeking to distribute content online. But as search engine algorithms are constantly changing, your website's SEO strategy must also continuously evolve to meet the new demands and expectations that come up daily.
Diane Thieke, president of Simply Talk Media (simplytalkmedia.com), has been on the front lines of publishing's digital-media odyssey. She began her career in the mid-1980s with Dow Jones & Co., and had the responsibility then of putting The Wall Street Journal's content online. Later, she edited the Dow's first online service — now known as Factiva — and launched its first online community initiatives.
Today, Thieke serves as president of the company she founded, Simply Talk Media — a New Jersey-based public relations and marketing firm that leverages both traditional and social media channels for its clients, representing startups, nonprofits, and corporations.
Newspapers may have stumbled in the fledgling days of publishing on the Web, but they were not a unique case, according to Thieke. "It's pretty much the way it went for every business. If you remember back to the early days of the Web, businesses just took their brochures and put them online, exactly as they were. There was no such thing as writing copy for the Web," she said. "Big brands were basically taking offline marketing copy and putting it online.
"And that's true for newspapers," she continued. "Early on, I think we all thought that online would be a supplement to printed editions. And that's the same way that brands thought about it. Brands thought about online as supplemental to their other marketing efforts. Back in the mid-90s, I don't think anyone thought that, in such a quick time, this would all become the preferred way for people to communicate with businesses, and to get information."
Newspapers' early ventures on the Web did get off to "kind of a bad start," said Brandon Mitchener, director of newspaper sales and business development at Dirxion (dirxion.com). The Fenton, Mo.-based developer produces digital publishing software, including a solution that enables publishers to create digital editions.
"The Internet offers different interactivity, different ways to serve the news," Mitchener said. "A printed newspaper is like a snapshot of the news, while a website is more like a never-ending movie; it's alive."
In the timeline of contemporary publishing, the newspaper industry's chart through digital territories is short, but a lot has been learned about the new platform in that short span of time.
Marshall Simmonds, founder and chief executive officer of Define Media Group, Inc., said that while there are a few tried-and-true strategies for website development, there remains no secret recipe for "blowing the doors off traffic."
Define Media Group (definemg.com) is a consultancy that specializes in audience development, search engine optimization, investment advisory services, and social media. Prior to founding Define Media, Simmonds acted as chief search strategist for The New York Times Co.'s About.com property. Simmonds has also worked as a consultant with The Boston Globe, Gannett, USA Today, Hearst Digital Publications, Time Inc., and others. Despite that lack of a "secret recipe," Simmonds said there are some general questions that all publishers should consider.
"How will you build your site map? How will you build into the content-creation process the necessary fields for SEO? The necessary fields for sharing? How will you manage image tagging? What about video?" Simmonds asked. "All of these elements that the engines are really paying attention to, how do you make sure that you quickly — as quickly as Google releases new tools and functionality — integrate those into your content management system?"
Getting noticed
"Looking at the issue from the perspective of Google and SEO, I think most newspapers have done a good job at quantity and freshness," said Jason McDonald, senior SEO director at JM Internet Group (jm-seo.org), which provides online courses and training materials to publishers and businesspeople interested in developing their SEO marketing strategy.
But simply flooding Web pages with content isn't enough to ensure search engine attention.
"Newspapers — and especially their writers — could do a much better job at defining the types of keywords that people search, and including those search terms strategically in their articles and blog content," McDonald said.
Define Media's Simmonds concurred. "You can have the best article in the world, and if it's not optimized, it's like yelling into the wind," he said.
As an example of the evolving challenges in the race for search engine attention, Simmonds points to sites that leverage Microsoft's Ajax feature.
"Ajax is like Google Maps from the user's perspective. So they can grab a map and move it around without the page having to reload," he said. "The problem with Ajax is that the engines can't index it, because the content is there but it's not really there. It's built on the fly, just like the map is … It's very efficient; it's fast. It has a good user experience, but it has terrible SEO implications."
Fortunately, the very nature of newspaper publishing gives publishers an SEO advantage.
"I think that newspapers have an inherent advantage at SEO, because they are constantly creating new pages on their websites," Dirxion's Mitchener said. "A typical daily newspaper probably creates 30 to 40 new pages every day, especially if they're publishing wire content under their URLs. That obviously enhances their SEO performance."
Of course, creating lots of content is only the beginning of an effective SEO strategy.
"Become data-driven, and look at trends," Thieke advised. "Regular evaluation of what's working, and what's not, is a staple activity for marketing pros, and journalists should do it, too. Also, PR pros have long hooked into big news stories as a way to get coverage for their organization. Newspapers can do that, as well, to drive traffic by looking at crowdsourced data from social networks and Web analytics. Resources like Google Trends and Twitter trending topics can be useful for identifying phrases and hashtags that people are using to share stories. Incorporate these into the distribution of your content."
Vigorously viral
It's not just about eyeballs anymore; Web initiatives must also consider how best to give content legs. It needs to be easy to share, and share-worthy. It needs to be compelling and provocative to rise above the noise.
YouTube's trends manager Kevin Allocca offers the perfect perspective to determine just what makes content share-worthy.
In his TED talk, "Why videos go viral" (tinyurl.com/6sybk2u), Allocca began by offering a reality check about the challenges of new media: On YouTube alone, 48 hours worth of video is uploaded every minute. Only a very small percentage of those videos will ever go viral.
So what are the ingredients for a viral video? Allocca cited three: tastemakers, communities of participation, and unexpectedness.
"In a world where over two days of video gets uploaded every minute, only that which is truly unique can stand out," Allocca said. "We don't just enjoy now; we participate."
Tastemakers, according to Allocca, are those who introduce us to something new. They help publishers of content — in this case, videos — create a broader audience. As the audience grows, a community forms, and as the community participates — either by sharing the content or doing something new with the content — it elevates it to cultural-phenomenon status.
Because readers desire this active role in digital publishing — as partners, really, when it relates to sharing — publishers must be keen about creating content that is "ready to travel."
"(When sharing,) people want to be able to add their own commentary," Thieke said. "That's another behavioral aspect of social media, which I think journalists and marketers alike have to take into consideration. How is somebody going to behave with this content? What will they want to do with it? If they want to share it, they'll likely want to add their own commentary to it. If they're going to Tweet it, they're bound by so many characters, so you'd want to have a headline that's short, punchy, and leaves them some room to add their own commentary."
Structure and design
What newspapers and their advertisers covet online is no different than what they've always sought to earn with their print properties: loyal followers. How does that happen online? What keeps readers coming back?
David Rodecker, founder and chief technology officer of Relevant Ads, Inc., suggested that newspaper publishers concentrate on developing their brand identities and leveraging their greatest assets, which of course are their writers, editors, and creative professionals. Relevant Ads (relevantads.com) is the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based developer of the Local Splash product line of tools and services for search-driven online advertising and marketing.
Rodecker said a website's very design should facilitate the relationship between readers and their favorite writers, contributors, cartoonists, and columnists.
"People are looking to follow … brands and individuals, and when you couple those together, it represents the best of opportunities," he said. Headlines matter as another critical element, but there are differing schools of thought about the best model.
"They need a headline that's serviceable to search engines," Dirxion's Mitchener said. "The title needs to be SEO friendly. It doesn't have to be clever. Instead, the headline should be straightforward and include a lot of proper nouns."
Nouns in headlines may facilitate SEO, but Simply Talk Media's Thieke argued that "clever" does matter. Headlines that challenge conventional thinking have a far better record of going viral than the more traditional who-what-when-where-why-how model, she said.
"Raise the percentage of visual content. On the Web, newspapers are no longer confined to text and images, and … readers are very much visually oriented," Thieke said. "In Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm, which determines what shows up in each individual's newsfeed, both images and video are weighted more heavily than text status updates. Articles can be augmented with maps, video, audio, slideshows, diagrams, and more." Simply put: If you don't already have multimedia capabilities, make this your top priority.
"I would hope that most newspapers have some level of multimedia staff by now, because you should be able to serve video and audio stories," Dirxion's Mitchener said.
On deck
In many ways, Web publishing is fluid and unpredictable. A blend of strategies that works well to drive traffic to large enterprise-level publishers won't necessarily work for small community papers.
To complicate matters, life doesn't stand still on the Web. Technologies, trends, and user expectations are all constantly evolving. Though it may be difficult to see one's own hand for the fog, there may be a few indicators about what Web publishing may be like in the coming years.
"I have a very strong belief that the future of journalism may not be a question of whether the advertising-supported or the subscription model is better. I think it's going to be all about syndicating content to brands, and this ties into search engine optimization," Thieke said, citing Pepsi's PULSE Web venture as an example.
"What they're doing is licensing entertainment content to appear on the site … If, for example, someone searches for 'Beyoncé,' they may get a link to the PULSE page, which has information about her concerts. So the person gets information about Beyoncé but is also messaged about Pepsi. It's brilliant," Thieke said. "I think newspapers are going to have to think about how they're going to slice and dice their information, and sell it off to brands as the brands build these online experiences. It's a little like advertising in reverse."
JM's McDonald believes that newspapers need to focus on their social media basics before attempting to embark on grand profit-driven optimization ventures.
"Newspapers have not yet caught the social-media wave," he said. "For example, most have high-profile editors and writers who — if they would just enable Google+ authorship — could get their pictures to show on Google searches and begin to build a better audience on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter … For many readers, reading starts at Google."
Publishers should shake off the sting of change and embrace SEO, McDonald said. "SEO presents media with a true opportunity to learn what sorts of articles people like and respond to that by feeding people more of what they like and read, versus what they do not like and do not read," he said. "And the emerging relationship between SEO and social media allows media companies to build personal brands around authors to whom readers turn for novel insights. Paul Krugman and Nate Silver of The New York Times have done a great job at becoming personal brands that help them both as columnists, and the paper as the go-to source for new ideas."
Define Media's Simmonds said he believes there needs to be a sea change in newspapers' approach to Web publishing. "People need to talk about SEO in morning editorial meetings. They need to ask: How will this play in search; how will this play in social media? These kinds of points have to be considered in every content-planning meeting," he said.
"The editorial calendar has to take this into account. What has played well this time last year? And for what reasons?" Simmonds asked. "That's the first thing we need to do: get the SEO process into the day-to-day workflow."


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