Even though Vanity Fair let loose the identity of the former FBI official known as ‘Deep Throat’ first thing Tuesday morning, the story didn’t appear on the magazine’s web site until close to 4:00 p.m. that day – an abysmal information lag by Internet standards.
Robert MacMillan of The Washington Post wonders why in this article called All the News That’s Fit for Print. In it is an interview with David Friend, in charge of creative development for the web site and editor of the story. Friend doles out this little bit of comedy gold on why the story wasn’t pushed out online the same time it hit the news stands:
“Getting the magazine out is what’s important. …I was more interested in getting the magazine out than [getting] the Web out.”
A few questions for David Friend and the higher-ups at Vanity Fair: Do the words “cross-promotion” mean anything to you? Is it at all conceivable that someone might read part of your story on your web site and then go out and buy the magazine? Do you find it disturbing that a Google search for “Mark Felt” links to ads for one of your competitors while a similar search for “Deep Throat” is shilling for eBay?
Probably not, since the rest of your web presence is still in the dot.com Dark Ages. Your cheekily-worded FAQ Page may be cute and we’re sure Ms. Poenisch had fun writing questions like these:
“I’m the publicist for Glom Altoidov, the Uzbek sausage king. How can I get him into the Vanity Fair party the night of the Oscars-along with his Afghan hound, Follicula?” [TRANSLATION: How can I contact the Publicity Department?]
but if I were an advertiser looking to spend money on your site I’m not so sure I’d be amused. Instead of a link in the site’s nav (Advertise with Us) or even somewhere on the “Contact Us” page, marketers have to hunt around for a few lines of tiny text hidden well below the fold. Not good.
The reporting and photography are still amazing, but it’s time for Vanity Fair to develop a more effective online strategy or risk losing out.
(link via PaidContent.org)
