I'm in the process of starting a software company. My co-founder and I are targeting the online classifieds marketplace, but for a few months were considering how our technology might serve the struggling newspaper industry. Yesterday, I posted a very long account on the official Invantory blog that discusses why we changed our minds. It's located here:
One reader emailed me after seeing the post and asked what was the biggest lesson I had learned from this experience. My response:
"The biggest lesson in terms of targeting the newspaper industry was how bad the technology picture really is. When we hear about the problems that are bringing down these great companies, there's a lot of talk about demographics, advertising, consolidation, business models, staffing levels, alternate information channels, etc. But I think technology infrastructure is one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated elements that have contributed to the slide. The blog post I sent you talks a little bit about this (lack of standards, integration woes, technology vendors), but there is a great business case or Wired article waiting to be written ..."
If you want to follow the progress of Invantory as we attempt to provide an alternative to Boston Craigslist, please regularly check the company blog (links above) or follow us on Twitter at @invantory.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
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