Call Us Optimists

We’ve blogged here previously about the upcoming Times Reader, which may be a good way to reformat print content for the online community. We’re as eager as anyone to see how this technology could improve what we’re doing here at NXTbook, and this most recent review in Wired seems to indicate that we’ll be impressed:

Most impressive, however, is the Reader’s navigation. Tom Bodkin, The New York Times‘ design director, said the Reader has “a narrative form, more of the feel of a beginning and end.”

Bodkin’s “narrative form” is the result of editorial choices — which articles appear on page one, which bring up the rear. In this way, a good newspaper is itself a story. It’s the essence of newspapering.

This is what the Times Reader does best. Stories are presented clearly and with priority; artwork aids both design and context. Section heads are customizable, and clicking on them feels as natural as thumbing through the paper on the subway.