If any newspapers have shown an ability to thrive in a changing industry, the Guardian is surely one of them. The Guardian recently celebrated the 10 year anniversary of MediaGuardian.co.uk and its determination to stay ahead of the technology curve. The paper reports its difficulties over the last decade, along with its plans for the future.

When MediaGuardian was first launched on the internet, there were fears about how the site would succeed in an industry that was starting to turn downward. The site had little online competition concerning media news, although conversely in the current industry there are less influential newspapers who support a media news section. In general the website was a success, with Guardian reporter Emily Bell noting "its audience figures and page impressions took off at a trajectory and speed that would not have shamed Concorde. As with every website at the time, audience estimates were dramatically under-forecasted and revenue modeling was wildly over-optimistic." Putting up a paywall was considered in 2001, although the experiment was brief as it dramatically impacted traffic and generated a plethora complaints. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

To celebrate its 10 year anniversary, MediaGuadian has updated its front page to focus on the important trends in news consumption: the latest news and social media. "There will be a 'latest' column on the lefthand side of the relaunched site that will provide a constantly updated stream of every piece of content we and our colleagues at the Guardian News & Media-owned PaidContent:UK publish," writes Guardian journalist Jason Deans. "In the middle of the new look site will be 'top stories' which will showcase what we believe to be the best content, be it news, a blog comment, an interview or video." The updates also includes more opportunities for interaction with micro-blogs, Twitter, and more flexibility with different links.

As an expert source of information on the changing news industry, MediaGuardian's redesign is particularly interesting. Recently Al Jazeera redesigned its website, but its lack of fully optimizing social media may put them at a disadvantage. But MediaGuardian's new layout encourages the website to be bold with engaging its audience. "This is an evolving process with more changes to come," Deans comments.

Sources: The Guardian