A modern media podcast
hosted by Stewart Ritchie
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The Art of Building Startups with Wordpress VIP's CTO, Brian Alvey
Pull up a chair and join us as we navigate the thrilling world of digital and online media with none other than Brian Alvey, the CTO of WordPress VIP. We take an extraordinary trek through Brian's illustrious career, unpacking his groundbreaking work with heavyweights such as TMZ, Business Week, and TV Guide. You’ll get an insider’s look at WordPress VIP, understanding its design for large, high-traffic businesses, and how it provides an unsurpassed platform for companies reaching millions of customers.
Episode 19 3rd Aug 2023 41:10
Content Analytics vs Regular Analytics with Neil Powell
Curious about using specialised content analytics over generic alternatives? How can Content Analytics influence your strategy? Join us as Neil Powell, a solutions engineer at Parsely, highlights the nuances of content versus web analytics and underscores the immense value a dedicated content analytics tool can bring to an editorial team.
Episode 18 20th Jul 2023 50:50
Unlocking publisher monetisation using paywalls with Pete Ericson
Discover the secrets of monetising your readership and mastering paywall strategy with our special guest, Peter Ericson, founder and CEO of Zeen101, the makers of Leaky Paywall for WordPress. Peter shares the fascinating story of how Leaky Paywall was developed to help universities publish content online and how it has evolved into an essential tool for publishers to control content access and profits
Episode 17 6th Jul 2023 45:50
Monetising your Email Newsletters for fun and profit
In today's episode, we discuss various ways to monetize your email newsletter. Learn how these tactics can be applied to other platforms and mediums, like podcasts and video.
Episode 16 22nd Jun 2023 40:55
The Inevitable Impact of Generative AI on SEO and Content Production
Discover the future of AI-driven SEO and its impact on modern media in our eye-opening talk with Josh Bachynski, a seasoned SEO expert and AI enthusiast. We dive deep into Google's latest generative search features and what they mean for content creators across the industry.
Episode 15 8th Jun 2023 38:50
Simplifying web hosting for growing media brands with David Smith of Pagely
Web hosting can be complex and confusing but picking the right hosting partner for your brand is critical. The right host can be the difference between making the most of that viral article and losing a great chance at revenue, audience growth and ultimately, success. In this episode we talk with David Smith, senior DevOps engineer at Pagely about the changing needs of media brands as they grow and how the right web host makes all the difference.
Episode 14 26th May 2023 39:20
Unlocking the Power of Content Syndication: Exploring Apple News and Beyond with Kieran Delaney of FLATPLAN
Discover the fascinating world of content syndication platforms in our engaging conversation with Kieran Delaney, CEO of FlatPlan. We uncover how FlatPlan simplifies the process of delivering content to Apple News without plugins or development resources, drawing on Kieran's vast experience in media and technology.
Episode 13 11th May 2023 35:20
Supporting Local News Startups With Steve Burge
In this podcast episode, join Stewart Richie and Steve Burge as they discuss Publish Press, a WordPress plugin business that provides tools and solutions for publishers. Steve shares his journey from teaching to self-publishing and eventually building software to fill in the gaps he noticed in WordPress for local journalism sites. Stewart and Steve also talk about the popular WordPress plugins from Published Press, including Future, Capabilities, and Authors. They touch upon the importance of tailoring solutions for each publisher and discuss the potential for local news start-ups to reshape the media industry. If you're interested in WordPress and the world of publishing, this is an episode you won't want to miss!
Episode 12 27th Apr 2023 46
Software Development for Media Brands with Jason Agnew from Big Bite
In this week’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jason Agnew, the founder of Big Bite, about the impact of technology on media. Jason shared his experiences working with major media brands and the challenges of larger and more complex projects. We discussed how having a larger team can make difficult tasks more manageable and delved into the differences between smaller and larger sites.
Episode 12 13th Apr 2023 31:12
Revolutionise Your Email Marketing: Insider Tips from Newsletter Glue Co-Founder Lesley Sim
In this episode we talk to Lesley Sim, co-founder of Newsletter Glue, a WordPress plugin that simplifies the process of publishing newsletters. Lesley shares her expertise on how to streamline the newsletter publishing process by connecting to email service providers (ESPs) and leveraging workflow and growth efficiencies. Whether you're a publisher struggling with email management or simply interested in learning more about how to streamline your newsletter process, this episode offers valuable insights and actionable tips for improving your email strategy.
Episode 10 30th Mar 2023 37:01
Exploring the technology bridge between media business and journalism
Modern technology is forming a permanent but ever-changing bridge between media business and journalism. From subscriber strategy to design, there are many facets to keep up with. Thankfully, this week we have the insightful owner and founder of Culture Foundry, Hans Bjordahl, who talks us through how that bridge was paved and how it continues to expand with new developments and solutions.
Episode 09 16th Mar 2023 50:16
Is there a future for independent news media?
The answer is yes, but you need to get yourself in front of your readers. We're joined this week by Thomas Barlow who heads Operations at the Independent Media Association, a.k.a. the IMA. In this week's episode, Thomas opens us up to his fountain of independent media knowledge and years of experience to guide us through the history of independent media organisations, and why right now is the best time to find new readers.
Episode 08 2nd Mar 2023
Can ad placement and user experience permanently damage your publishing brand?
When it comes to programmatic and AdOps for publishers, Integrum is the team that comes to mind. And luckily for us, Jamie Walters and Ollie Clamp, founders of Integrum, were more than happy to jump on a call to dive into the world of programmatic for publishers and answer one of our top questions (plus many more): Can poor ad placement and user experience damage your publishing brand?
Episode 07 16th Feb 2023 42:33
How you can influence online standards by thinking like an end user
How can you influence online standards? Heather Flanagan invites us into the world of internet standards, talking us through the realities of cookie changes, data privacy, and how we can influence online standards by thinking like an end user.
Episode 06 26th Jan 2023 32:00
Bonus Episode: Google AMP for publishers in 2023 - Useful tool or ongoing headache?
This week we're bringing your our first-ever bonus episode! Recorded on 11th January 2023, Stewart spoke with Barry Adams, Polemic Digital founder and SEO expert, about AMP in 2023. Google AMP has long been recommended as a way of getting included in Google News and in the search engine’s rich snippets but is that still the case in 2023? Google says AMP isn’t a ranking factor so what benefit does it provide in 2023? Should publishers remove the overhead or if there is still value to be found?
Episode 05 19th Jan 2023 45:43
Getting started with SEO for Publishers
You don't need us to tell you how important SEO is to any organisation. But for publishers, as this week's guest Vahe Arabian will tell you, it's more of a fine art. When grappling with breaking news stories and competing live with multiple other media outlets, he shares his insights into how to win on the publishing SEO battlefield. Vahe is the founder of State of Digital Publishing, a veteran SEO & Content strategist for publishers and an explorer of digital media and technology trends.
Episode 04 5th Jan 2023 46:49
The evolution and opportunity in Ad-Ops
This week, I'm talking to veteran AdOps pro, Mat Bennett. The conversation starts with AdOps, before taking twists and turns in all sorts of directions. It's one of my favourite, and insightful, chats so far, and I hope you enjoy it too.
Episode 03 15th Dec 2022
Managing reader and subscriber access with smart user authentication
How has the process of managing user authorisation and management changed for publishers in recent years? And what should publishers be looking for when selecting the right tool for them? Joining us for episode three is our friend Dan Moore from FusionAuth. An expert on all things authorisation, he talks us through his tool, FusionAuth, and how the process of authorising users has developed, changed, and become significantly more intelligent over time.
Episode 02 30th Nov 2022 36 minutes
How publishers are telling stories with no-code design Tools
How can publishers accelerate content development and deployment with no-code designs? Hannah Springett of HLabs talks Stewart through the world of no-code designs and just how her team has created design-led, rich no-code designs. Considering their first client was Conde Nast, you won't want to miss Hannah's invaluable insights in our latest episode of Scale: The Modern Media podcast.
Episode 01 17th Nov 2022 48 minutes
Building an open-source CRM of public officials for publishers
What role can plugins play for publishers when it comes to the ever-changing world of politics? Joining us for episode one is our friend and client, Fernando Diaz.
Episode 00 17th Nov 2022 36 seconds
Introducing Scale: The Modern Media Podcast
Hi there, and welcome to Scale, a podcast for Modern Media. I'm your host, Stewart Ritchie, the founder and lead developer at Powered by Coffee. Powered by Coffee is a web and software development team focusing on technology issues facing the media Today. Scale is a podcast about how technology impacts the media and how the media impacts technology in return, everything from ad tech and privacy to hosting and content management. We're interested in where we are today. Where we'll be tomorrow and where we might end up in the future.
