Last month, I won the student contest at Reinventing Classifieds for new ideas to reinvigorate newspaper classifieds. The gist of my Soundslides audio slideshow (embedded below the fold), is that most newspaper classifieds are too boring and don’t appeal to a broad enough section of newspaper readers.
Because they’re boring, they only attract people who are already committed to buying something. My idea–Laughs & Facts–offers incentives for sellers to create more entertaining ads, thereby creating more value for the paper.
In the pro side of the contest, the New York Times’ David Kiessling won with an idea about using consignment in classifieds. As a former consignment store employee, I heartily approve. It was awesome to have my work judged by Reinventing Classifieds’ founder Steve Outing, whose blog and Editor & Publisher columns I’ve enjoyed for a while.
Check out my entry, after the fold
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I'm Will Sommer, a student reporter excited about journalism's transition to the internet, new ways to tell stories online, and how to make it all profitable.
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