Marksonland

Kudos to Chris Tolles and the rest of the Topix team for not taking this Google local news thing lying down. It would have been pretty easy to let the "Google is taking over/ Topix is Toast" message proliferate. But instead some quick thinking and good messaging turned this Google product launch into a walking advertisement for Topix.

Chris' smart plan of attack, as told to Valleywag:

1. Analyze the strategy, not just the product.

2. Turn the obituary into an advertisement.

3. Position yourself outside the bullseye.

4. Act quickly to get your story out there and talk to people.

5. Have a sense of humor. At least I'm not at Yahoo.

Seems to have worked. Thanks to Google and Chris and team, Topix today became the dominant, established player in the local news world. The champ that the contenders need to beat. Shhhhh - don't tell your local newspaper. ;) Nice job Topix.