The Man Behind the WIRED App

Here’s a very interesting profile on Scott Dadich, the man behind the design of the WIRED app. To be fair, it’s a bit over the top (one quote refers to him as "some sort of combination of Jesus and Pele," whatever that means), but it’s an interesting read.

For my money, my favorite quote wasn’t about Dadich, but about digital magazines, and was given by Mr. LongTail-FREE Chris Anderson, who said:

"You’re talking about finding a way to make digital magazines in parallel with printed magazines without going crazy… There are so many moving pieces with digital magazines. There are thousands of individual elements with portraits and landscapes and interactive elements and all that. You need to think like a spreadsheet to ensure that you get the product out the door." 

I honestly don’t know if you need an app with that.

For the past few years, we’ve been relatively anti-native app, feeling that the web app offers more benefits than the native app option. But, giving way to pressure, we’ve added the native app to the GoMobile plan.

Will it matter? I dunno. A recent commenter on our youtube video about our web app was aghast that we didn’t have a native app (we didn’t when the video was shot), yet this detailed reviewer of WIRED’s app doesn’t feel he needs an app. Who’s right? Quite frankly, I don’t know, but here’s the good news: We are one of the few digital publishers to give our customers both, with detailed metrics cooked into all versions. Within months, we’ll finally know which option is best for you.

To Stay in the Game, Move Forward

Sometimes, when tasked with doing something new, it’s easy to say, "That’s not how we’ve done things in the past." The trick is choosing to set that sentiment aside, to pursue the new and judge its worth. The reality of today’s technology completely changes the playing field; to stay in the game, you’ve got to keep moving forward.

For instance, if someone said, "I’d like to put an interactive game into my digital edition," it might be enticing to discard the idea because it seems impossible. But in fact, Nxtbook Media’s been able to put a game into digital editions since 2006. Click here to play!

(My high score is 500. You’ll have to email me to get my embarrassing lowest score: jcurtis@nxtbookmedia.com)

Adding a game might not fit your content and digital edition strategy. But it is proof publishers can do some creative thinking to enhance their digital editions.

Case in point, the editor of Connections magazine tied readers to one issue by using click-able surveys which showed live results. (Try it out here.) This technology encouraged an entire – albeit short – conversation between the content and the reader: the content provided information, the reader responded, and a return reply was given.

And did you notice the ad on page 10 with scrollable content?

Whether adding a game or an interactive survey, the point is to keep thinking about how you can make today’s technology work for you. Nxtbook Media offers digital solutions to make publishers’ editions far more than a digital copy of a printed issue. It’s time to do a little creative thinking and decide how you will use your digital edition to keep in the game.

 

The App Has Arrived

Nxtbook Media is proud to announce the approval and release of the Nxtbook newsstand app in the Apple iTunes store. Click here to download the app now! The app is free. Include this link in e-blasts and alert your readers to the new feature.

With the app, we are paving the way for our publishers to reach new readers in a dynamic reading environment. Nxtbook can now syndicate your content to both web-apps and native apps.

To celebrate the new addition, we have developed a ground-breaking plan which we’re calling "GoMobile!"

"GoMobile represents the most comprehensive platform offering available in the market today," says Nxtbook Media Owner Michael Biggerstaff. "It includes more devices, plus a branded native app for the iPhone, iPad and a Kindle version as well."

Customers who choose GoMobile receive the following:

1. Web-app versions for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android and BlackBerry
2. Nxtbook newsstand native app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
3. Branded native app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
4. Kindle version suitable for uploading in the Amazon store
5. Accessible version for the visually impaired

GoMobile! is the culmination of Nxtbook’s long-stated goal to deliver content to as many devices as possible. "We believe many digital publishing companies are making the mistake of choosing to hitch their wagon to one or two platforms," says Biggerstaff. "While this is easier, it ignores the fact that readers are fracturing into a myriad of devices. GoMobile! is our way of making sure you can reach readers on their terms with a minimum of effort."

So celebrate with us! Native apps are a great gadget for getting your digital content to Apple devices. With the new GoMobile! plan, publishers can be fully equipped to get their content to readers everywhere.

The Web is (Un)Dead: Just Another Vampire Story

Yesterday I read the shocking news that someone has killed the Web. What was more, people were debating whether users killed it, or if corporations and media moguls were to blame.

The crux of the argument, however, depended upon what is arguably a very misleading graph:

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/

At first glance, it’s easy to see where Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff of Wired concluded that the Web is headed for the grave. Truly, it looks like the Web peaked in 2000 and has fallen downhill ever since.

The key is to note this is a share graph, not a traffic graph. What this image actually conveys is in proportion to the total traffic between 2000 and 2010, more internet users were found using peer-to-peer, video, and other platforms. It does not show the actual number of users to use any particular platform.

Because in reality, the total number of Internet users has increased drastically during this same ten year time frame. Rob Beschizza points out in his article on the topic, "According to Cisco, the same source Wired used for its projections, total internet traffic rose then from 1 exabyte to 7 exabytes between 2005 and 2010."

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/08/17/is-the-web-really-de.html

Cisco also projects that global Internet traffic will quadruple by 2014. Such stats denote a very un-dead Web.

So what is the graph really saying?

Proportionally, Internet users are changing how they approach the Web. Though traffic is increasing exponentially, visitors are using multiple platforms – Web browser, email, peer-to-peer, video and other – to get their information.

Publishers, your audience is fractured, and this trend isn’t about to change. To get content to readers, you need to have a plan to reach them across a broad spectrum of platforms. Including the Web.

See You Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, the Florida Magazine Association Annual Publishing Conference and Expo ignites.

Having peeked ahead at what’s coming, I’m excited to see important topics on the agenda, such as enhancing digital editions to fit new platforms, designing magazines for digital, leveraging social media to promote your editorial, selling your digital magazine, and the realities of new technology. These types of conversations are linchpins for success in digital publishing.

As such, there are certain things you can expect of Nxtbook Media. For one, you can expect to see Chris Gentri standing by at the FMA show to answer your questions about how you can get your publication on the best platforms, with the best design, and selling to the best of your ability. However, while the FMA show ends on Friday, Nxtbook can continue to answer your questions through our sales team, our account managers, and our success manager. Go ahead and challenge us on our e-Reader platform strategies or our digital optimization policies. These are the conversations of today’s publishing world, and we’re ready to talk it out with you.

Attack of the Droids

Well, we saw this one coming: Android is now the top selling smart phone OS in the US.

Should you trash those iPhone plans you’ve been working on? Not necessarily, as it will take some time for Android market share to catch up to Apple (or Blackberry for that matter), but this certainly underscores the need for you to think about what your plan for Android will be. At the same time, it appears more and more like the new Blackberry browser will be a valiant attempt to make surfing on the Blackberry tolerable, perhaps even pleasant, so don’t count them out yet, either.

And if you want to see what our plan is to get content on all of these devices, be sure to view the 2010 Nxtbook Media eReader Guide.

Entry in the Next Generation Requires Participation in This One

It turns out the Que will not be dead on arrival. Instead, it shall be euthanized before it ever ships. Sayeth Plastic Logic, makers of… uh, nothing really:

"We plan to take the necessary time needed to re-enter the market as we refocus, redesign and retool for our next generation ProReader product. We continue to perfect our core plastic electronic technology and manufacturing processes that are central to our product’s unique value proposition."

In a later paragraph, they refer to themselves as a "leader," which may be the first time I’ve seen a company with no product call itself a leader. One would think you’d have to enter the race to actually place in it.

This is for You

Attention Nxtbook Media clients: your nxtbooks are solid. Trust me, I know the technology you employ, and the platform is slick. Increased reader engagement times proves a focus on reader experience, and it is compatible with mobile phones, tablets, and e-Readers. (Click here to see how) With it, your content can spread across facebook and twitter to let your readers become your marketers. And, Nxtbook customers, you have account managers standing by to show you how to drive your digital campaign.

So really, it should be a no-brainer to enter for this award: the 2010 Nichee Digital Awards.

The awards have a Best Digital Edition category that any of you could enter. The winner will be announced during the 2010 Niche Digital Conference which Nxtbook Media will be attending.

So go ahead; click here to enter.

Hot Tubs, Velociraptors, and Custom Media Day

This post was written by Eric Gervase, a Sales Director at Nxtbook Media. Eric attended Custom Media Day to be a part of the thriving conversation regarding the competitive strategy of custom media.

At first glance, the only thing those three things have in common are… well… nothing, really. That said, they were all a part of the enthusiastic presentations at Custom Media Day in NYC yesterday. Custom Media Day is an event put on by the Custom Media Council of American Business Media. It was also MC’d by our good buddy Joe Pulizzi from Junta42, which is always a good place to start.

The day started with our very own Spencer Ewald on a panel speaking about "new media devices" and the opportunities that they present for publishers. The focus of Spencer’s speech was ROI for these devices. At Nxtbook, we offer cost effective solutions for a wide variety of e-Reader, tablet and mobile devices. With those offerings, we hope to allow our publishers the opportunity to "dip their toe in the water," as Spencer explained it. He then went on to talk about the correlation between Hot Tub Time Machine (movie trailer here) and the leap forward in technology over the last twenty years… Yep, he went there…

That panel was followed by Dan Blank of We Grow Media. Though there were no references to hot tubs, Dan’s presentation was equally thought-provoking. He talked about Demand Media and the controversy around their business model. He also had one of my favorite quotes of the day: "Social Media is not a campaign, it’s a commitment."

Lunch time was a blast. Literally. The crowd was treated to lunch-time speaker Jim Hopkinson of Wired. His self-dubbed "audible caffeine" was just what the doctor ordered to keep the day flowing. He talked about finding your voice, exploding plates and free shoes. But, most of all, he extolled the benefits of not being afraid to fail. He also introduced me to the quiz "How Long Could You Survive Chained to a Bunk Bed with a Velociraptor." I’d last 50 seconds, if you’re curious…

Jeannine Rossignol of Xerox Global Services was a nice change of pace. She was the first speaker from the client side, and she offered examples of content creation for internal communications. Definitely a refreshing different point of view. She also showed off Xerox’s Competipedia. Competipedia is a sales support tool that Xerox built to allow up-to-date information to be shared among the sales staff about competitors. Great collaborative tool, and it really seems to work.

The day was capped by a speech by Ian Alexander of Eat Media, followed by Sean De Winter of PWC. Ian talked about content design, and he did a great job giving everyone some basic how-to’s onhow to critique your own website content. My favorite was tweaking the 404 error page on your website. It says a lot about you and sets a tone for your business. He also thinks that most websites have way too much content. If it doesn’t match your goals, get rid of it. Sean De Winter presented a report by PWC about, among other things (a lot of other things – that report was HUGE), the future of magazine publishing. Nobody was surprised when he said that mobile growth was a significant positive opportunity. But he also said that it still represents a very small part of the revenues. So don’t put all your eggs in that basket. Don’t forget about the other models that are already working.

After a long day, I was left thinking that there is an overwhelming amount of content needed to drive all of the initiatives that were talked about. That’s great news for custom media, in my opinion. If you feel the same way and are looking for custom content solutions, let us know. Our partner company, Talefoundry, has the ability to offer a wide range of solutions (from webinars to social media support, to case studies, to optimized digital magazines and more).

All in all, it was a great event. I’m looking forward to attending again next year if I get the chance.

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