This whole blog originally started as an online marketing blog for Magazines and Newspapers. It’s where I got my start, and it’s what I’m most interested in today. I’ve been following companies like E-Ink for years now, and am fascinated by their new products like the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes and Noble Nook, and (my favorite) the Sony E-Readers. For those of you who love print, I’m sorry, you’re going to have to give up your Luddite predilections and move into the digital age. Yes, it’s sad that books are disappearing, but there is something beautiful about what is coming. It is like something out of Harry Potter. We will get the best approximation of what exists now. Just you wait, there will be something like paper, that you flip through like a book. It will be interactive and it will be portable. The future is coming.
Unfortunately, that future isn’t quite here yet. But media is going to have to do something. Magazines and newspapers are dying faster than the rainforest is disappearing. There is little that can be done, save for attacking the pain points, that being reduced advertising, increased distribution costs, and a shrinking consumer base. And that seems to be exactly what new media is accomplishing.
The most recent development in the battle to profitability was just conceptualized by Time Inc. They released a video displaying a tablet version of Sports Illustrated. The demo looks awesome, and the concept seems to be as intricately imagined as James Cameron’s planet Pandora (it’s a reference to Avatar. If you haven’t seen it yet…DO). It shows interactive ads, interactive tables of contents, and enjoyable browsing. While this isn’t quite like holding this week’s SI in your hand and flipping through it like a seasoned sports fan, I promise, as the future becomes more…well…futuristic, things will become more like your old magazines. But for now, this looks pretty awesome. And the beauty if it is it basically hits on all the pain points. SI can distribute their magazine for next to nothing. Advertisers can get real time stats on their super-targeted ads, and I bet that a move like this even helps SI to develop a more loyal consumer base.
Anyhow, we’ll see. It’s still a few months off.
