I absolutely love this article.
Here are the five lessons your station (and your website) can learn from the vast success of YouTube and Flickr:
1. Do Something Better: Find a way or a better way for people to do something they want to do- in both these cases- it’s sharing digital assets
2. Believe in What You Do: It’s not about a money making/get rich quick scheme. You believe there’s a better way and you are going to work it out. Success is a by-product of doing good.
3. Community is Everything: Listen to your community. This is not a one way conversation- there’s on-going dialog relating to “policing”, standards and ideas
4. Be Soulful: Even if you sell, like Flickr, don’t sell your soul. The honest, no frills approach is right. Interestingly, while many thought the Yahoo purchase would lead to the the demise of Flickr, instead, they turned out to be much more of an influence on Yahoo than could have ever been predicted.
5. Be Authentic: These companies look like they have banned or never even heard of the phrases “brand strategy” and “marketing plan?. The lack of corporate polish adds to the feeling that there are real people behind the idea.
You should have these points printed over your desk – or over your CEO’s desk.