The Daily Mail launches in Stokey 10
There’s a new website for N16, and eagle-eyed surfers will note something of a similarity with a Dalston neighbour. That’s because they are from the same stable: the Daily Mail group has extended its hyperlocal network to Stoke Newington.
The initiative is is part of Associated Northcliffe Digital’s strategy to develop a network of local sites, managed centrally and given the same, cloned design template. Each site has a “community publisher” – Rosie Watts is the woman in the hotseat in stokenewingtonpeople – but receives technical and commercial support from Associated Northcliffe Digital group HQ. There are now 62 sites around England – including Dalston and Finsbury Park in our area.
It means there’s a plethora of different websites in Stoke Newington: but this is clearly the best-resourced so far, and the first with a commercial focus. Good luck to Rosie.
My observations are these. The centrally designed template means it’s hard for each site to develop its own character. The sunny blue-and-yellow outlook doesn’t quite seem to fit with the grit of Dalston; neither does it reflect the bohemian individuality of Stoke Newington. The template is fixed, and doesn’t seem to allow for much innovation on the part of the site editors. The websites don’t seem to link out much to their online neighbours: there are no external links on the Stoke Newington site yet, and even the links on the Dalston version are a bit thin.
The sites’ commercial focus means there’s an emphasis on job and car ads (powered by other parts of the Mail group business) over community news. They look rather like a cross between Yell.com and the Thompson Local, and for my taste, the design is far too busy. The car ads are not exactly local: when I clicked on a “local motors” ad, it pointed me to a dealership in Epson. And what will famously liberal and anti-corporate Stoke Newington make of the Mail descending on its patch?
On the plus side, there’s an emphasis on community, and an attempt to build something of a social network. And one of Rosie’s first stories is a good one: the tale behind the fantastic new mural on Kyverdale Road. Let’s see how it develops. Any thoughts?
You’re right: a horrible looking site, over-busy, no local look/feel, internal nav links which take you to external sites etc, but i guess it’s early days, so maybe we should reserve judgement for a month or two to see if the local news is a good service. If they get a really good regular supply of accurate local stories with good links, it could prove a useful addition to sites about N16
Stokey Talk, you guys are bang on in your analysis. I’m not impressed, crappy looking site. The irony is that for a neighbourhood with a section of it’s community that prides it’s self on their individuality, “hippness”, a history of bohemians and non conformists residents, they chose to go this way – being part of a franchise of a large conglomerate?…Hmmm I have a feeling the natives are not going too be impressed.
Word is that there is another site that will represent all sections and areas of Hackney Borough and is being started up by a long time local which will not have ties to any national companies. I’m waiting to hear more and will help promote them via twitter my blog and will let y’all know.
Besides Northcliffs tentacles, the big mistake those behind the local franchise is that they cater to just a small niche of their little area…they don’t see it as a business…to them it’ just an extension of a blog with what I imagine to be tiny financial compensation compared to what they – Northcliffe make, which isn’t that much from what I have read. Stoke Newington is more than trendy drinking dens, clubs, restaurants and other aspects of the. At least that’s what I see from Dalston People and based on the marketing style ‘designed’ for these lot in Stokie, I see no different….they are limited in what they can do.
Time to shut my big mouth
eh?
Oh, and the biggest pile of bull crap I’ve read?
“—Grassroots blogging partnerships The burgeoning local, grassroots, amateur blogging scene is in need of some big backing to give it mainstream traction—and Bryan is happy for AND to do just that. He admits there have been no real partnerships so far— “that’s more than anything a resource constraint”—but says the company is about to go and meet these local bloggers and site owners and talk about how they would like us to interact with them: “There’s a whole load of things we can do to support them”
I don’t care – and have to laugh when people or companies presume to “speak” for Stoke Newington.
I don’t speak for Stoke Newington – I speak for me. Some people like it, other people find it irritating. So what?
The difference between Dalston and Stoke Newington is there are many people, simple, individual bloggers in Stoke Newington – and none that I know of in Dalston. I don’t see the Mail Stoke Newington site therefore enjoying the same success as its Dalston sister.
yawn
Hi Matt
Thanks for your comments (and the link!). I’m part of the localpeople team and following your point that we launched on Friday without any external links we’ve just added some links out to what I think are the main Stoke Newington blogs and sites. Thanks for spotting the oversight, and if I’ve missed anyone off do let me know.
Ms Fit – we’ve only just launched in Stoke Newington a couple of days ago so we’ve not started trying to contact local bloggers yet, but we’ll be meeting up with local bloggers, flickrers, twittererererers etc in some of the locations where we’ve been running for longer over the next couple of months. If you’re interested in having a chat about the new SN site sooner than that I’d be delighted to come over and say hello. Let me know.
(It is an amazing mural isn’t it? I still think the best thing in Stoke Newington is Abney Park though – I’ve been back twice since I first stumbled on it three weeks ago when I was checking out the area for the launch. It’s so beautifully quiet and atmospheric, especially for London.)
Hi Matt
Thanks for highlighting the fact we have just launched a Stoke Newington site. As you described above I am the new publisher and I am trying to contact as many local bloggers as possible to get them involved with the site.
I have read all the comments above with interest. I am in the process of trying to pull together all the different Stoke Newington information and link it with all the bloggers and social networkers. This is no easy task to begin with and I hope you and your followers on this site can get involved as a way to promote your own blogs. As mentioned above Stoke Newington already has a whole load of great community bloggers and it would be great to hear from you all. I think one of the good things about this site is that you can become a member and share all your own news/blogs/links whilst still attracting people to your own sites.
Any questions or suggestions please feel free to contact me on stokenewington@thelocalpeople.co.uk or follow the twitter site @stokeypeople
Kind regards
Rosie Watts
Sure, dude
I’m always happy to help the MSM expand its business in the community.
Surely they don’t need little old me’s help in “promoting” their blog.
To Rosie a big welcome and good luck! To the bossman at @ the Daily Mail company thanks….I find myself nodding at everything Kris has said. Still it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.
The Mail group’s e-move into Stokey and elsewhere is a threat to local news outlets, as I point out in my article “Associated takes on local papers”, at
http://lovingdalston.blogspot.com/p/associated-sets-itself-to-topple-local.html
– David
– David
David Altheer is absolutely right, although frankly the idea that this might wipe out the weekly trickle of bad news and massage parlour ads that is the Hackney Gazette probably counts in its favour (and I can’t see this troubling the excellent if somewhat irregular Hackney Citizen). But if they were honest about where the site and their money came from how well do they think they would be doing in this area then? “The Daily Mail’s Stoke Newington Friendly Touchy-Feely Web 2.0 Local Community etc etc Site” anyone? I don’t think so.