The Straits Times Stomp

The Straits Times just launched a new initiative on 14 Jun, Stomp - short for Straits Times Online Mobile Print - that will engage readers through forums, video and audio clips, and other interactive platforms.

It appears that The Straits Times is really trying to make Stomp a success dangling an Opel Astra 1.6 and other attractive prizes that can be won in seven ways:

  • By sending an SMS.
  • By MMSing a picture.
  • By posting a question on Ask ST on the Stomp website.
  • By posting a question or comment on a Stomp blog.
  • By posting a question or comment on Stomp's forum.
  • By submitting a photograph for Stomp's photo gallery.
  • By taking part in any online petition on Stomp.

Why is The Straits Times so keen on this new platform of involving citizen reporters? The answer perhaps is a response that I heard a speaker give during a recent event. With proliferating digital (video) cameras, anyone could potentially become a reporter, picking up an instant news scoop. Through Stomp, The Straits Times now is able to tap upon these resources and gain cheap/instant access to potentially groundbreaking news.

How successful will Stomp be? My guess is that it will be quite successful with the reason being that there are many people who may not really understand how the media works. If one truly has a sensational and newsworthy picture or video, instead of uploading for free to sites such as The Straits Times' Stomp website, it is actually possible to contact news agencies and get them to pay for it. The price of a good piece of material will definitely be far higher in value than any prizes which Stomp is offering... How many people truly realised that?

Comments

Anonymous said…
User generated content is overrated. I do not believe Stomp is worth the news lead alone.

SPH has incentive to push for an online channel for ads. Online ads is getting bigger and bigger. So far SPH do not have a publication that reaches the young with strong buying power. A group that many advertisers are trying to reach.

With the media muscle of SPH, launching such a site and generating the reach is so much cheaper.

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