So, it’s been about a week since the launch of Murdoch’s Daily- an iPad-only (for now) paid application for news and original content. In their words, “Daily is a category first: a tablet-native national news brand built from the ground up to publish original content exclusively for the iPad.”
It follows on the footsteps, and some success, of Flipboard- another iPad application built for consuming content. FlipBoard and the Daily both use the iPad to present content in a visually stunning way. But FlipBoard simply repurposes the content, the Daily creates it’s OWN content – a risky step for the publishing industry, already on shaky ground. We’ve all heard about declining circulations in newspapers, and publishers trying to figure out how to make money as more content moves online.
Well, here’s why I like it.
- Someone has to have the guts to try something new in the fast- changing publishing environment. The world is being turned upside down by this new media thing, and if anyone is gonna make a run at it, it should be a guy with deep pockets and plenty of resources. If he screws up, so what? We’ll learn what worked, make tweaks and move on.
- It’s fresh, but polished and credible. It’s sort of a cross between Twitter and the NYTimes. If breaking news happens- we’ll get the fresh news online somewhere (Twitter?) then read an in-depth article about it the following day. Twitter=fresh but not necessarily accurate. NYT- still have to go through the long editorial/publishing process. The Daily is somewhere in between. The recent breaking news in Egypt is a perfect example of how The Daily was able to quickly adapt to changing stories…
- Interactive. This is an obvious one. (check out the video below to see it in action). You get everything in a nice tidy package. Well written articles, video, polls, social sharing, ability to leave “voice” comments and more. And, the ads didn’t feel like ads. If I liked them I clicked on them (some with video). If not, just a swipe to ignore and keep reading.
- Local customization: It obviously knows that I’m from Boston, and naturally picked my weather forecast and sports teams so I could get custom news (and tweets) which mattered to me. Too bad I’m not a Boston-sports fan… :-)
- It’s short and sweet. Let’s face it, our attention spans continue to decline. This content is written for that commute on the train, something to quickly read on the couch, or, my favorite, something to read before I go to bed.
Video below will give you a feel for what I’m talking about. What do you think? Have you tried it? Would you try it?Worth it?
Ok, Interview #10 of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” series. Today’s interview is with Paul Gillin, author of the
New Influencers and Social Media Speaker, Trainer, and Content Marketing Consultant. One of my favorite “products” that Paul Gillin produces is his website “Newspaper Death Watch“. As a journalist with 25+ years of experience, he is especially tuned in to the evolving space around journalism and publishing.
1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
I suppose I have a knack for seeing where the puck is going, at least as far as media is concerned. I was trained as a journalist but quickly got out of general assignment work and into specialization in information technology, which was a pretty geeky field of the time. The timing turned out to be good, because in the early 1980s the technology went mainstream and I went along with it.
I got my first demonstration of the Internet in 1993, before there was even such a thing as a web browser. I knew immediately that this was the future of publishing and moved my interest and career in that direction years before that became fashionable. I also caught on to the idea that social media was going to revolutionize not just publishing but the way people communicate and was able to get a book into the market on that subject before the feeding frenzy began.
2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
I have a carefully tended list of RSS feeds from sources I respect on subjects relating to new media. I try to spend one or two hours at the beginning of each day browsing through new entries. I tweet a lot of those recommendations, which generates other conversations and awareness on Twitter. I also bookmark a great deal of stuff that may be useful to me later. It’s difficult for me to start a day without knowing what my most trusted sources are saying about my field.
3. What makes you efficient with your day?
I use the Google suite of applications for mail, calendaring and many of my documents. This means that nearly everything I write is searchable, which saves me from fumbling around for stuff. I also reuse a great deal of content so that letter writing is more a matter of assembling than creating new content.
My most productive tool, however, is Dragon NaturallySpeaking. It’s a voice recognition program that enables me to speak rather than type. I probably work two to three times faster and am able to write considerably more by speaking than I would if I had to type everything.
4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen
5. 3 things on your desk right now/ 3 things you can’t live without
Two of them are computers. I flip back and forth between them so I am constantly working even while waiting for a website to load. The third most useful item is the microphone I use to dictate into Dragon.
6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
Well, I would sure like to make it through the year without a cigarette, but I’ve already blown that one. From a business perspective, it’s a tendency to take on more than I can handle and then having to work 16-hour days to meet my obligations.
7. Habit you want to form for 2010
Doing a better job of following up and staying in contact with people. I value relationships but I’m so busy that I tend to let them lie fallow until I have a reason to contact someone. I would also like to get back into playing the trombone regularly. I was an avid musician through high school and college but put the instrument aside many years ago. It beckons to me but my ability has deteriorated so badly that it’s frustrating even to try.
I recently redeemed some leftover frequent flier miles for a year long print subscription to the Wall Street Journal. This cost me about 2,800 points. So, some immediate reactions and a suggestion to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
This is a GREAT deal. The Newsstand price would have a value of at least a couple hundred dollars. If you were to go online today and order a year-long print subscription to the WSJ, it would cost you $110.
So, for 2,800 airline miles you are getting a year full of great WSJ content ($110) for a value of about .04 per mile. Let’s compare that to some other things you can get for roughly the same amount of miles…
A $25 GAP gift card from American Express’s Membership Rewards= 2500 points or .01 per mile
A $17 bottle of Oreck Pet Stain Remover = 2400 points or .007 cents per mile
Dirt from Fenway Park (home of the Boston Red Sox) = 2400 points or .007 cents per mile
Now, we can have fun answering the following questions…
- Isn’t DIRT from Fenway Park worth more than a bottle of Pet Cleaner? (Yankees/Red Sox fans will have fun with this one)
- A 4 year subscription to the WSJ is worth 100 bucks at the Gap.
- And my personal favorite , some dirt from Fenway Park is less valuable than a year long subscription to the WSJ..
And, ask ourselves the following questions….
How do we value the offline (print only) edition of the Wall Street Journal? And for that matter, the value of any other newspaper/publication struggling with their business model now?
And my favorite question
The Mags for Miles program currently only allows print subscriptions to the WSJ and select magazines. With the WSJ and now the NYT soon charging for online content, why isn’t an online subscription available? It’s a terrific opportunity to engage a new audience and use us some of those leftover points…
