Ms. Fiori was sort of my first boss out of college, when American Express ran D Magazine in 1990. I suckled at the AmEx teat of inspiration when she headed up a few editorial meetings with suggestions like “I just want to know where I can get a good pizza in this town.” So I feel like I’m qualified to respond to some of the things she said about the current state of media, according to SweetCharity:
Fiori on print vs. online: “So many women tell me how they like holding paper in their hands when they read.” Chatroulette.com has attracted 1.5 million users in four months, triple the circulation of Town & Country. What people like to hold in their hands doesn’t have much to do with how today’s multimedia consumer prefers to receive information.
On advertising: “Advertisers are so eager to think they can cut costs by advertising on the web. But a little ad online just cannot compare to a wonderfully produced ad in a magazine.” No, advertisers are tired of having no metrics by which they can measure the success of an ad campaign. Web, mobile, and social media campaigns enable them to do this, if only to help set strategy for larger, more expensive communication efforts (like magazine advertisements).
On social media trends: “We’re going through a period when people are flirting with things like Facebook.” Yes, 500 million people are “flirting with Facebook.”
On blogging: “Someone just recently told me about blogging and that it can be fun.” I really don’t have a response to that statement.
