Job opening: Commission-based, ad-sales rep for Technically Philly

Here’s the next step in creating a sustainable news product to cover the technology and innovation communities of Philadelphia.

A month after announcing we would begin to slowly investigate opportunities to monetize Technically Philly so we can grow our coverage and create a solid foothold in the country’s fourth largest media market, we are seeking a talented, aggressive ad-sales representative to lead our push for profitability.

See our media kit online here.

While that push will likely begin with advertising, we have no intentions of depending on a profit-model that is now greatly diminished. Instead, we ask that the candidate be interested in exploring alternative revenue streams, in addition to display ads.
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Technically Philly makes brief appearance on Fox 29

After the School District of Philadelphia said in a statement to Technically Philly yesterday that it was investigating how one of its computer peripherals ended up in a landfill in Ghana, Fox 29 reports that the City Controller’s office is also looking into the issue.

John Atwater added good reporting to our piece from yesterday concerning the district’s e-waste. Most importantly, and as we suspected though couldn’t confirm, Atwater reports that Regentech, the district’s current technology recycler, wasn’t on the job in 2004, when the shipment that ended up in Ghana appears to have left Philadelphia.

As we tweeted last night, TP reporter Christopher Wink appeared in Fox’s 10 p.m. newscast, discussing with Atwater details of the story. To see the station’s coverage, follow the jump.

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Technically Philly will soon be introducing advertising, other monetization strategies

For four months, we’ve been writing, reporting and researching dutifully the technology and innovation communities in and around Philadelphia.

We want to do more.

To appease our devotion for transparency, we want to be the bearer of the news that in order to continue to grow our coverage, we will now begin pursuing monetization. We’ll continue sharing disclosures and conflicts should they arise and hope you’ll approach us with any concerns you may have.

This is no hobby of ours.

We are three professionally-trained and seriously-driven young journalists who want to develop a sustainable and impactful news coverage source for you, your city and this region.

We’re doing it already. When Google CEO and Princeton University-graduate Eric Schmidt gave the commencement address at the University of Pennsylvania, we asked the question and got his answer about the possibilities he thought Philly had to become a tech corridor. No other news source in this city of 1.5 million people reported when Philadelphia CIO Allan Frank pledged to work with Refresh Philly to reinvigorate Philadelphia’s connection to technology.

We’ll chase big city news when it affects our readers, on the Web or otherwise. Philadelphia Inquirer Publisher Brian Tierney told Fox 29 yesterday that the third-oldest newspaper in the country is going to add a paid content model to its Web site, but, of course, we told you about that three days earlier on Friday.

We want to be able to devote the time to make sure that coverage continues and only expands. We’ll need resources to do that.

So consider this the official declaration of the monetization of Technically Philly — something we hope to do slowly and judiciously to ensure we never deleteriously affect our maturing brand or turn off our growing readership. Still, sometime soon, you should begin to see advertisements, and we want to invite you to participate, as other profit strategies come online.

See our media kit here. For rates and further advertising information, contact us at advertising@technicallyphilly.com.

If you have any thoughts, let us hear them in the comments. Any more sensitive thoughts can be sent our way here.