The Register and Australia-New Zealand As some of you have already noticed, in the last few weeks The Reg has been running more locally-sourced stories in Australia-New Zealand. Our plans here are still in soft launch mode, but we think it's appropriate (possibly even overdue) that we give local readers a head up about them now. For quite a few years now The …
As a SysAdmin in Australia, can I just say TheReg is going from strength to strength. You produce in depth, intelligent and entertaining analysis that is usually right on the money. I have noticed and enjoyed the expanded Aussie coverage re: NBN etc, and look forward to more of it.
Cheers!
... and I read El Reg as a UKian publication.
I've had this argument with Google just recently. If you're going to provide me with "localised content" - fine, I understand why you'd want to do that, but please please PLEASE give me an opt-out - whether it involves just clicking something, or typing a longer URL, whatever, please give me the option.
There are times when I come here for news, sure. But mostly I come here to find what's worth getting riled up about. And from that perspective, there's very little point getting worked up about things that my friends back home have never heard of and care nothing about.
Okay okay, it's your site, your rules, I don't even pay for it. But you asked for feedback, so there it is.
I did wonder if you had a reporter down this way with the stories that have been popping up so it's nice to have that explained.
It's all good news to me. This is a global industry and a global community so global news seems entirely appropriate. Most expats I know still read El Reg years even some years after moving and plenty of locals too.
Might be nice to let us see what the front pages for other regions look like through a menu on the front page.
"So last autumn we decided we'd repay some of that by setting up a small Sydney-based sales and editorial operation, and by delivering a measure of localisation to our readers in Australia and New Zealand."
While you're busy localising and geolocating, you might also notice that up here down-under, its the first day of Autumn today...
I finally got around to registering on the Reg just so I could come in here and say "yay!" for this. I had noticed the increase in Oz-based stories, and I applaud it heartily. Thank you.
/I also vote for the introduction of a "bogan" icon, but this one will do for now
I thought WA was a separate country :P
Seriously now, while it's great that El Reg will now have more of an Aussie angle if one happens to be down under, I hope your filter does not remove stuff from the front page that I remain interested in (i.e. EU news). As one other has suggested, an opt-out option would be welcome.
Heading your way from down under. ;)
Keep up the great work, love reading the Reg and with some Aussie content it makes it feel that bit more personal. Plus most news sources in Australia just don't have the humour we'd like...
Can we get some kind of Aussie themed icon to celebrate? :D
My vote is for a Kangaroo with "wtf, mate?" above it's head, i know it's been done but it would be perfect... mostly because we'd need it for any article involving our government.
Thanks for putting in the effort for we Antipodeans, guys. It's appreciated, all the more so since most UK or US based sites don't even want to know that we exist.
One suggestion - have you thought about having someone at your Sydney operation moderate comments? That way, we don't have to wait until the next day for our comments to appear, which often leads to them going unread and unremarked since people have moved on to the newer stories by then.
Whereas I welcome this extra bit of news sourcing, I hope to god you are not planning to 'localise' the UK feed to promote UK based news in favour of global stories. As everyone knows, the UK has no IT industry to speak of and we'll end up just reading about failed Government IT upgrades day in and day out.
I want an uncensored feed of ALL your stories please, I read initially via RSS and then click through to the main site to read any articles of interest so please keep that feed unadulterated and full content.
Thanks.
So you thought no-one noticed the change? Wrong.
While we appreciate your new focus on things Down Under, one the primary reasons some of us read El Reg is to find out what is going on elsewhere. The last thing we want is the front page to become another insular, syndicated Australian publication. So, don't patronise us, and give us an opt out option, please....
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I want to add my voice to those less than thrilled by the change. Living on the English-speaking side of the Tasman, the sudden cacophony of "All Oz, All the time" on the Reg is about as appealing as the idea of living in the giant penal colony to my west. At least give us the choice, and PLEASE stop pretending there's any real NZ content in the new AusReg.
We're not altogether ruling out some kind of mechanism where you could set your region, but it really would not make a great deal of difference. Today, for example, the only story on The Reg worldwide that's set region-specific is this one. More usually I'd expect there to be two or three for Australia, and that'd be that.
It's "Australia-New Zealand" for the same reason foreigners always consider Canada part of the USA: we're too small a market for anyone to invest in caring that we are quite distinct. Such things are never intentional insults, no more than it is when we lump the British, French, German etc. communities together as “European” and treat them as one market, one community, one culture. (Though to be fair, the creation of the European Union to unify not only trade but harmonise laws amongst member nations does give a certain level of credibility to the concept that Europe is rapidly becoming a single culture by choice.)
Remember how smaller outfits like El Reg work, however. European operations for El Reg operate out of London; they have a central office there, however they have staff across the UK, in Spain and (IIRC) have at times had staffs in other European countries as well. This gives them a bit more of a pan-European presence without having to actually put an office (with the attendant costs and staff) in each country.
They have a separate US office because, well, the US is fripping huge, has Silicon Valley and is populated by a number of great hacks that churn out good pieces. Now that they have an Australian office, they may one day attach a NZ hack to that office, without actually maintaining a distinct office presence.
You should in fact be a little bit happy about this. When they talk about their Australian office, they talk about “Australia and New Zealand.” This at least acknowledges that you exist, that your market has value. It carries with it the implications that you are a separate culture (distinct from Australia,) that they will report on things that make matter to New Zealanders and potentially one day that you will have marketing targets at you that is indeed distinct from that which is targeted at Australians. (Isn’t it always fun to get ‘targeted advertisements’ for products and services that you really would like to be able to buy, but which aren’t even available to your country?)
In short: quit your bitching. It could be far worse; you could be Canadian. El Reg (like pretty much every other foreign organisation out there) doesn’t even acknowledge we exist. The US office of El Reg isn’t “US-Canada,” or “North America,” it’s “the US office.” There is no reporting on events that matter to Canadians, and no targeted marketing. Even the Irish (despite El Reg’s UK office being “UK” instead of “UK-Ireland” or “UK-and-Europe”) at least get the occasional article about Eircom doing something stupid. If I want to keep abreast of exactly how CIRA, the Telcos and the CRTC are conspiring to slap Canadians across the face with a rotting fish then I have to go to Ars Technica.
So please, no complaining. El Reg did not intend New Zealand any insult. Quite the opposite, I think. Local readership levels in New Zealand are high enough to have honour of actually existing in the eyes of Vulture Central. That’s kind of cool. Actually, not “kind of.” That’s really, really cool.
One day, I hope Canada makes it to that point. We don’t have a good Tech journal of our own. Ars is the closest there is, but they are American, they think like Americans, they write largely about things from an American perspective. Canada is still far more British than it is American, and I would much prefer to source my tech news here. (If only I could convince El Reg to get Michael Geist to write articles for Canada!)
So stand proud, New Zealand. Enjoy that you actually exist! Even if it is as part of “Australia-New Zealand.”
Welcome aboard mates!
So long as nothing ever gets hidden I'm all for it, I HATE localised content.
I like reading what happens in the UK for a good laugh, although I have a sinking feeling that every time you poms mess something up were only 2 years away from doing it all over again.
1. I don't come here via the home page, I come here via the daily news letter - will it change too ?
2. Just as long as I don't lose access to items from elsewhere
3. Why not just have sections for Australian, New Zealand, Indian etc news, I don't like localisation either, its a denial of globalisation, believe me its real.
4. Appoint a Sydney staff member a moderator
+1 for an Aussie Icon, love the idea of a 'roo with "WTF Mate?" above his head. And we better acknowlege our little brothers across the Tasman, maybe they can have a Kiwi bird with "sweet as, bro" or something.
An opt-out of local stories would be a good option too, we have a very amateurish, overhyping local commercial media (Channels 7, 9, 10, Fairfax and News Corp) who pander to the somebody-think-of-the-children brigade rather than objective and balanced news reporting. So we hear enough about our clueless pollies and their mad policies.
Our Government doesn't have a clue about ecommerce, the internet, law enforcement or anything such like. Probably because our PM is Welsh and our "Minister for IT" Chief Censor Conroy is a nutter from Oxford. Because we make them live in Canberra, it plays with their heads and sends them nuts.
Oh and to the commenter from Little England ... erm I mean Perth, here in Queensland we don't have any problems with Sydney. As long as its stays as far away as possible. (Except of course when we whip them again at State of Origin).
:-)
I too am glad you're increasing Australian reporting. Your reporters aren't having any trouble finding stories, are they?
The one jarring thing is how long Australian stories are sticking on the Top Stories, when they are several days old and I've already read them. Local news good, local stale news bad. Maybe put a two-day timeout on them?
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