Wally Koval takes a look at the introduction of the iPad and its impact on the publishing industry. Is it just an iPhone on steroids? Or something far more valuable?
“Hi I’m Wally Koval and here’s whats going on Outside my Cube.
The introduction of the iPad earlier this month has brought an air of excitement into the e-reader market. Some have criticized the iPad as just an “iPhone on steroids”, others have praised it as the “Kindle Killer” a new wave of interactive e-readers.
Whichever side you choose, the iPad has brought a rush of development from not only game and entertainment developers but from all facets of publishers
From B2B Industry veterans to former Apple Executives, many view the iPad as a catalyst to propel revenue growth for the B2B industry.
B2B publishers like The Financial Times, Thompson Reuters, and smaller trades such as Creamer’s Mining Weekly have already crossed over successfully into the mobile application space and are enjoying reader engagement specifics way above those for a typical b2b website when it comes to average session lengths and number of sessions per user. Now those publications are in post production development phases to shift their successful apps to the iPad.
While e-readers have been around since 2004, they really gained momentum with the release of the Kindle in 2007. However, this popularity was devoted primarily to affordable best-sellers and consumer magazines published in static “e-ink”.
The introduction of the iPad, however, signals the start of a larger shift away from these “static digital versions of books and magazines” — to more dynamic, interactive and engaging media distribution platforms. Now comes the advent of content with multimedia dimensions. This means that while reading through your digital copy of The Financial Times, you can simply click or tap to watch a video of more in depth commentary. Or pull up an interactive whitepaper directly from the mobile device.
The iPad right now is driving the market in terms of buzz. And as Mitesh Bohra, Co-founder and CEO of Infobeans, an established b2b software solutions provider explains, “this buzz could all be construed as noise to begin with, but if we peel off a layer and start to see through this, an iPad or similar device brings a lot of interesting business propositions to the world”
NOW its just a matter of publishers capitalizing on these opportunities.
Tim Cain, head of research & insight at the Association of Online Publishers agrees that “The growing philosophy {today} is that output should be platform agnostic”.
As b2b publishers, your content is incredibly valuable. Your end-users want to consume your content and in many cases NEED to consume your content. The content holds the same value whether delivered in a printed page, an interactive whitepaper, or as some might say, via a man & a mule.
The key is to know your end user and how they are consuming your content… To improve your end-user experience to make consumption of your media content more engaging, rewarding and relevant.
These days with the growth of mobile applications, and in particular, the advent of the iPad, publishers across the board must adapt to the evolving media landscape — or lose out completely on these emerging and PROVEN high audience engagement opportunities.
Evolution equals opportunity. Opportunity for end-user engagement and expansion… and if managed properly opportunities for revenue and PROFIT growth as well.
I’m Wally Koval and that’s whats going on Outside my Cube.”
Duration : 0:3:34
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