mobile magazine publishing
DESCRIPTION
With the arrival of iPad, Kobo and Kindle, and an array of new tablets or e-reading devices on the horizon, we’re on the cusp of a mobile electronic publishing revolution. Digital media specialist HAIG ARMEN provides a hands-on introduction to these mobile media technologies, providing insight into how they work, design implications and business opportunities associated with present and future mobile publishing platforms.TRANSCRIPT
Most magazines have terrible ratings in the App Store(few rank higher than 2 stars)
a little bit about me
What happens when you mixan architect with a jazz musician?
1. The Reading ExperienceContext & Behaviours
2. The Numbers Are OutMobile Usage Statistics
3. The Hardware The devices we love to hate
4. The SoftwareThe good, the bad & the unusable
5. The businessDigital options & business models?
Understanding
Context(Why Mobile?)
We readas a ritual
We wantour magazineson the go
Reading when we can...
We readwhere we can
Sometimeswe like to read alone
or we read socially
To create the best reading experiencewe must understand
how peopleare reading Here are some behaviourswe should think about
We scan& browse
we are drawnto imagery
jump from publication to publication
& cross-referencing
we take notes
we highlight
and we bookmark
Defining Digital?
Are readers ready for digital content?
The Numbers Are Out Mobile Usage Statsistics
The Hardwarea look at mobile devices
iPhone
Android phone
iPad
kobo
Kobo
kindle
Kindle
Where and when are these devices being used?
Kindle
Is Apple the silver bulletthat publishers have been
waiting for?
The iPad is a game-changerbut not for the reasons you’ve been told
NativeApplications
ProprietaryPlatform dependentProgrammed in:Apple: Objective -CAndroid: JavaWindows: Visual BasicRegulated Marketplace?
Mobile Web Applications
Standard Web technologyPlatform agnosticProgrammed in: HTMLCSS & Javascript Free press
Native App Benefits:pay per downloadbetter access to hardware(camera, sensors, microphone)access of user datatraditional control over designprocessor performancemulti-touch functionality
Native App Disadvantages:Expensive Development costsApple's inconsistent App Store ApprovalApple's 30% cut of salesCost of Upgrade maintenancePlatform dependent
Magazines as paid apps don’t seem to be panning out
Numbers are down.
http://gizmodo.com/5720597/magazines-doomed-once-again-as-ipad-sales-slump
Magazine September 2010
November 2010
Wired
Vanity Fair
Glamour
GQ
31,000
10,500
4,301
unavailable
23,000
8,700
2,775
11,000
AppStore Observations
Major complaints mentioned in the reviews section are: • slow downloading • unintuitive or annoying navigation • you’re just getting scans of the printed book.
Unreasonable Downloads
Downloading issues over 200mgs are a major obstacle. "I waited an absolutely deadeningly long time for the Kayaking magazine to download all its page spreads, AND it forced me to download a product guide edition before I got to see the real content."
Lost in Translation
Many high-profile magazines are built using Adobe’s Digitial Publishing Suite, which takes InDesign layouts as PDFs and wraps them up as an App, providing a standardized swiping navigation.
Let’s look at some examples of the App approach:
Case Study:
Time Magazine
Page-turning digital editions systems leave something to be
desired in terms of UX
User Experiencea user-centered design approach
is crucial part of this equation
Periodicals approach publishing like Website producers -
responsive and agile
Publications are SocialHow are you encouraging that?
What about the Web? Let’s look at some examples...
Geist Magazinefollowing web standards &
appropriate design decisions
Case Study:
Flipboard: a hybrid approach
think strategicallyin these directions:
What would mobile reading look like for my magazine? How can I use web as platform to achieve that? How do I manage digital and print at same time? Does going digital mean selling/delivering your content on a digital platform? Why does a digital workflow make sense?even if you’re not publishing to the web
Where's the Business Model?
