Dealing with competition

What should a company do when beseiged by competition?

First, is the competition really offering the same thing? Are online news sites and blogs providing the same service as the NY Times? No. If the NY Times prints (or puts it on the digital paper) it, it must be true. And it must be important. No one, with the possible exception of the BBC, can claim that kind of authority.

So the question becomes, Are you focusing on your strengths? If you're the NY Times, why are you trying to be the fastest to publish news about an upcoming book? In that field, you have a million competitors, including the publisher who probably has a blog anyway. Shouldn't you be focusing on publishing an authoritative review of the book? I would definitely spend more time reading that review than I would reading an "article" about the book launch.

Lastly, what else can you do that's unique to you? If the NYTimes offered a list of 20 books to read this month, or plays to watch this week, or countries to visit this year, I'd probably listen. I'd definitely listen if they were able to tell me which charities are actually operating on the ground in Myanmar and would benefit most from my donation. Because they are the only ones who can.