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What we do
Build
great technology for LOCAL publishers to use on their web sites.
Since most news
organizations don’t have the luxury of an R&D department or a
digital innovation laboratory, they could use some ammunition for the
fierce battle they find themselves in during this digital revolution.
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TOWNLUXE
LAUNCHES IN L.A.
 Bargain
Babe Media has partnered with Serra Media and is using its
new TownLuxe platform to power the new Bargain Babe LA site.
It's a
destination for local bargain hunters to share deals and other shopping
insights with local shoppers in the Los Angeles area. Want to learn
more? TownLuxe
details
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And hyperlocal,
independent news sites have even less chance at R&D. But innovation
is still critical.
That’s where we come in.
We have experience building award-winning interactive projects for news
sites, developing leading-edge technology for the world’s largest
software company and working with the top advertising agencies on rich
media campaigns.
NEWSGARDEN
is spreading
Our first product is
called Newsgarden. It is a social news mapping platform that will help
you build community and create new markets online.
Who
gets
it?
We started with a test
version of Newsgarden at the Bellingham Herald,
a 23,000-circulation daily newspaper in Washington state. In its first
10 weeks, Newsgarden drew almost 5,000 unique visitors who viewed more
than 31,000 pages.
Our latest launch occurred
in Bremerton, Wash. at the Scripps-owned Kitsap Sun. The Sun joins The Gazette,
which is using Newsgarden technology to
power Block Talk, a new initiative to build new communities and markets
in Eastern Iowa.
Other partners to be
announced soon!
Introductory
Special! Take a test drive
We’ll build you a fully
functioning demo site to test and give you 90 days to put it through
the paces. If you like it, we’ll ask you to sign a contract to
continue. But don't worry. You won't have to break the bank. Our
monthly rates are affordable for operations of every size.
Newsgarden at
a glance
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Hyperlocal
news builds hyperlocal audiences
Do more with less
and be ready for tomorrow
with this hassle-free web application from Serra Media. Easily
integrate it into any existing web site and watch it power hyperlocal
coverage in a new way that will change the way your reporters – and
your readers – think about local news.
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What others are saying
...
E-Media
Tidbits: Newsgarden named one of 10 Emerging
Technologies
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Breakthrough social
mapping platform creates new markets
Could your web site use
hundreds, perhaps even thousands of additional
readers? Would you like to achieve this and get rid of your two most
nagging problems?
Newsgarden helps you grow
your audience while publishing more
hyperlocal news without hiring any more staff. Plus, you’ll be creating
new markets to tap into for new revenue.
That’s right: better
hyperlocal coverage without any new staff, plus
new revenue.
It's time for a
revolution
Local news operations know
the time for real change in their business is long overdue. Falling ad
revenues, dwindling print circulations, staff cuts and plummeting stock
prices make the notion of doing what you’ve always done, but doing it
better, a strategy for failure. Your busiiness is in danger.
What you really need to
improve your web site and increase your profits is to take a fresh,
objective, completely logical look at what your business needs to serve
readers and advertisers. Then start exploring new and better
approaches.
Which is precisely what Newsgarden delivers. Not only will it give you
powerful new technology to engage and grow your online audience, it
will open up new markets for new revenues without costing a fortune.
It’s designed to easily pay for itself.
 What? We can we make money with
this?
Yes, because
publishing news
is, after all, a business. Our micromarketads
network is a self-service ad placement system
allows local businesses to use the technology for targeting a precise
geographic area. A hyperlocal advertising opportunity will enable small
businesses to reach their micromarkets in a manner that is
cost-effective, highly efficient and scalable.
Adding new technology
to
your site couldn’t be easier
Launch Newsgarden on
your site next week – in your look-and-feel – then spend 10-20 minutes
a day
cultivating the community and highlighting the best content for your
other news products. No web skills required – the launch and management
of this powerful tool can be done by anyone.
It is a force multiplier, allowing you to cover your communities on a
deeper level with less staff. So you can do more with less.
And it will help you prepare your business for the coming surge in
location-aware mobile devices that your audience will be using instead
of the PC very soon. Is your news and advertising ready for the age of
the geoweb?
Newsgarden uniquely
offers the following:
- Social mapping
for
local news and a new platform for local reporting
- Geotargeted
display
for existing news stories
- Easy application
for
users to contribute information
- Integrates
easily into
existing web site, no coding necessary
- Affordable
hosting and
service rates
- A unique "most
newsworthy" algorithm that you will be able to control in order to show
a "broadcast slideshow" of news points around your city. It shows
readers the most popular and most recent items.
- Exact
neighborhood
geography mapping so stories can be searched and sorted powerfully by
where you live, work, and play
- Intuitive neighborhood
navigation, with neighborhoods grouped by region
- Elegant and
simple
photo handling
- Each newsitem has
its
own sub-story page so user submissions are easily viewed and SEO is
enhanced
- Users can set
their
neighborhood so they return directly to that neighborhood upon each
visit
- Users can edit
their
submissions quickly and easily after logging in
- The most popular
headlines and top photo automatically display on the homepage
- Content is both
searchable and sortable, from newest to oldest and most popular to least
- A simple
administrative
control panel means no web skills needed to manage the site
- A "widget" with a
mini-version of the map in "broadcast" mode to place in different
sections of your site
- Also available
with an
integrated geo-targeted text and banner ad system
The technology will
allow
anyone to participate, mixing professional reporting with grass-roots
contributions from bloggers, citizen journalists and anyone else who
wants to play.
Contact: Mark Briggs | mark@serramedia.com
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