I will proudly disagree and debate with you any day and twice on Sunday. And I hope people pick up on the fact that there can be debate online without it devolving into instant name calling. (Not yet, anyway.) Folks should know Kirk gave me the courtesy of letting me know he had written this piece.

One of the articles about my presentation sorely misrepresented what I said. I did *not* – and have not said – “Drop your call letters online!” What I have said is “build new brands beyond the call letters.” So, if call letters mean something to an existing audience, that’s your brand extension site.

But local media companies need to build lots of sites. And those deserve to have their own brands. NewHavenBikers.com and the like. First – very searchable. Second – easy to remember. Third – and here’s where we’ll part ways – call letters limit you to the existing audience. What about the large percentage of people who watch, fervently, the other guys?

There is a media backlash online, too. The younger crowd reflexively goes away from the establishment. Why force our old brand on them?

Coca-Cola has one of the best-known brands in the world. And it has the beverage equivalent of market verticals. But, despite having this wonderful brand, it does not insist its products be called “Coca-Cola Sprite,” “Coca-Cola Root Beer,” and “Coca-Cola Orange Juice.” Instead, they’re Sprite, A&W and Minute Maid, brands that stand for themselves and mean something.

And this isn’t new – Boston.com started pre-2000, giving a different brand than the Boston Globe. It’s the biggest city site in the country. I can go back to blog entries I write circa 2003/2004 or so on the topic.

Futher, I “found” this concept before I met Gordon. But yes – his numbers certainly back it up. If Gordon were my religion, I would need serious medical attention.

I will disagree that video on the web isn’t out of the gate, given the amount of video people are watching, but will allow that it’s small compared to the amount of text. Still, we’re video people and that’s where we can lead.

My condolences on not owning KIRK. You’ll get there some day, big fella. And it won’t require a Powerball ticket.

Most respectfully yours in the Great Debate,
Steve

And by the way, still one of my favorites: WSFA Montgomery, Alabama…We Stand For America! back when, well, uh, Montgomery wasn’t exactly the center of America’s civil rights conscience.