Peter Hyman - Editor, Netted
12/17/2009
By Sarah Hetland
Peter Hyman has taken the editorial reins of the new online venture Netted, a free daily e-mail newsletter launched last month by the team who created the Webby Awards.
“I’ve been interested in the digital culture for a long time and in terms of the subject area, it was a natural fit,” he said.
Netted shares the latest tools the Internet has to offer and features a digital tip sheet that recommends a single Web site, application or service picked by the site's editors.
“We’re very much broadly focused and consumer oriented, it’s not about enterprise tools, it’s not BtoB, it’s something that an individual person would find useful,” said Hyman. “It’s not so much about finding cool things or funny things…the question we’re asking is how does this make someone’s life a little bit better and a little bit easier?”
The digital outlet is officially launching early next month, along with its Web site, under the slogan “Better Living Through the Internet.” Currently the Beta version of the e-newsletter already has a growing list of subscribers. The Web site will feature an archive of all past coverage. Hyman said the idea grew out of the Webby Award community, with its desire to see this type of digital outlet created from a group of experts.
“There was a tremendous amount of intelligence already built into the company based on what they’re doing, which is assessing and analyzing the Internet. So doing a daily e-mail that laid out one new and very useful Web site service or digital application that could make one’s life a little bit easier, was sort of a natural thing,” he said.
Taking the editor position was a natural step for Hyman, as he comes from a diverse journalism background comprised of both print and digital outlets. His most recent position was editor at the now defunct Men.style.com. He was also a staffer at Vanity Fair, and senior editor for the folded men's magazine Drill. His freelance work has been featured in various publications including The New York Times, The New York Observer, Details, Spin, Slate.com, NPR, and Radar. He also spent time as an Internet consultant for several media companies before the dot-com crash.
Though he was originally drawn to magazine environment, he developed a love for the rush of a daily newspaper and enjoys that aspect with this newsletter.
“I’ve been an editor and a writer,” he said. “One thing I’ve gotten good at is sort of doing things quickly, getting it done right but quickly, having worked consistently in places that have that kind of pressure.”
And despite his deep respect for print media, Hyman delved into digital journalism as, he said, he is not naïve to the changes taking place in the media industry.
“I sort of have mixed views on this. Personally I love print and I think some of the realities of what’s occurring are necessary, but it’s also a little bit sad to think that print, newspapers and some of this is going away,” he said.
Hyman has concerns about the subpar or under-edited content sometimes found online, but he understands the necessity to conform and build new skills.
“It’s an interesting and important set of skills to have. One who only has print skills at a certain point, for better or worse, those are going to not be enough,” he said. “But it’s very important to apply some of the discipline, the reporting and the editorial sort of depth that is more in line with print. And it’s important to already have those skills and to apply them to the online or digital world.”
He explained, “With Netted, I’m trying to bring a lot of the skills and principals of a print publication -- just with the speed and utility that’s delivered digitally.”
As for Netted’s future, “The goal for us is to build an organic audience that really cares about and wants to read this on a daily basis,” he said.
They will continue to utilize social media, like Twitter, to help grow and interact with their readers.
“I don’t think there’s anybody that works in online media now who doesn’t use it, it’s just part of the job and it’s expected and understood.”
He continued, “It’s also a good way to find out if you’re doing something right or doing something wrong. We’re certainly taking feedback that way. You’re now able to communicate directly with your audience in an ongoing way and have these conversations that you really never were before.”
Pitching Tips
When it comes to pitching Hyman has several criteria.
“It has to be a Web site or a digital application that is consumer oriented,” he said.
The pitching parties should keep in mind: What problem is your site or service solving?
Netted covers topics such as phone applications, new video services, services involving travel, shopping, online bill paying and other digital or Web-based services.
They are not looking for comedy sites or funny Internet videos. Hyman said that while they can be interesting items, they aren’t necessarily useful.
“It’s really more applications and services that are going to help someone get through their life, make it a little bit easier and more efficient,” he explained.
He also mentioned it’s ok to send pitches for new services, but he needs to know a timeline and launch date for the service immediately.
“We don’t want to do something six months or a year before if there’s no [item] to be driven to by the e-mail. It needs to be timely or have an honest time frame of what the launch is like,” he said.
They will not write about existing products or well-known sites unless there’s a new feature, utility or aspect to them.
“We are not a news site or covering news, but knowing something new or a new angle on an existing brand is a good thing to have,” Hyman said.
Finally he mentioned that though they don’t want items related strictly to enterprise types and BtoB, they won’t shy away from something that has a business utility as long as a consumer would be interested in it.
Hyman prefers to receive pitches through the Web site and by e-mail.