The Future of Mobile and Tablet Publishing
Posted on Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 12:22 PM
The future is bright for mobile and tablet publishing, but don't be
blinded by hype.
By Meredith L. Dias
With
smartphones poised to become the
primary Internet browsing device within the next ten years, it seems
logical to consider what a tablet edition or smartphone app might do for
your publication. In all probability, at least some of your readers have
already hopped aboard the portable reading bandwagon in some capacity
(whether via laptops or netbooks, iPad, Android, iTouch, Kindle, iPhone,
Nook, Sony Reader, etc.). Some are likely smartphone or tablet users.
Personal
computing, suffice it to say, is changing. It is becoming increasingly
portable -- in many cases, even pocket-sized. Consequently, magazine
publishers must consider a host of devices when making content delivery
and platform decisions. Should you offer an iPhone edition? An iPad
edition? A mobile digest of your print content?
Our Survey
We
recently surveyed publishers regarding mobile and tablet publishing.
Some had already developed iPhone editions. Some had no plans to pursue
mobile or tablet publishing at all. What was most noteworthy about the
response, however, was the lack of response. For whatever reason, the
topic didn't appear to resonate with our list of publishing executives.
With
smartphone and tablet use on the rise, why is this? Perhaps the
publishers were simply too swamped to respond -- with the industry
changing so rapidly, this is a real possibility. Perhaps some publishers
haven't given the idea much thought yet -- after all, the iPad has only
been on the market six months. Either way, our response rate was quite
low compared with past surveys.
What Publishers Said
There
were, however, some interesting responses from our list worthy of
mention. Terry O'Neill, editor of Powder and Bulk Engineering,
tells us, "We do publish an email newsletter which we expect to be
available soon in mobile format (for smartphones). Our regular print and
digital magazines aren't considering smartphone or tablet apps at this
time and probably won't for quite some time, if ever." A few other
publishers told us that they have no smartphone- or tablet-friendly
content at all.
There were, on the other hand, publishers
charging ahead with smartphone and/or tablet editions. Lucy Collin,
publisher of Marketing magazine, says, "We have developed a
mobile app for our daily news and we are working on iPad now. Our daily
newsletter app has two banner ad positions." About revenue, she says,
"We see it as a growth area. Most indications are that mobile Internet
use is going to increase over the next five years, so however important
the Web has been to a given publication over the last decade, it will
become doubly so when mobile sites, apps, and online video/audio content
becomes a regular part of the editorial and production process."
Paul
Westervelt, vice president and group publisher of Oil and Gas Journal,
shares Collin's vision of mobile publishing's future: "We believe mobile
devices are an essential part of our publishing future." He said that
his journal will offer both smartphone and tablet apps starting on
October 12.
Other publishers were just beginning to discuss
smartphone and tablet publishing.
The Current Mobile/Tablet
Publishing Landscape
The varied responses reflect the
industry as a whole. It is only recently that mobile and tablet
publishing have gained significant momentum, particularly with the
release of the iPad and mounting popularity of the iPhone and Android.
Some cutting-edge publications are ahead of the curve, with apps and
tablet editions that already border on established. Others --
particularly association publications where print is still the hot
commodity, or publications with limited online presence -- have no real
use for smartphones or tablets right now. Still others, bruised and
battered by the recent hard times, are approaching this new wave with
caution.
A recent
Harrison Group/Zinio survey forecasts that "tablet-based devices and
e-readers together will exceed 20 million units in the next year and
they may well be the Christmas gift of 2010."
The
Harrison Group/Zinio Survey
While the survey reveals some
interesting statistics about the reading habits of tablet and e-reader
users, the press release about it is not without hype and causal
assumptions. For instance, "Tablet and e-reader owners spend 50 percent
more time reading magazines and magazines articles." This is, upon first
glance, a stunning statistic. However, we must pay attention to what it
actually tells us: simply that tablet/e-reader users spend more time
reading magazines. It doesn't specify that they are reading the
magazines on their portable devices, and it doesn't necessarily mean
that they are reading more magazine content than before. It simply tells
us that these device users read more than non-users.
Similarly,
although the press release states that 33 percent "are spending more
money on buying things to read," we don't know from the information
given whether these device users are actually buying digital content or
even reading what they buy.
Perhaps most important to note:
According to the press release, "28 percent are now reading digital
magazines or books." While this constitutes nearly one-third of the
survey respondents, it means that over two-thirds are not consuming
digital content. What's more, those 28 percent of digital content
consumers may be reading on a desktop computer. (Note: The survey
involved "1,816 Americans, ages 18-64").
Beyond the
Buzz
With so many misleading statistics out there, it can be
difficult to make smart decisions for your publication. Most important,
as mentioned above, is to filter out the hype from the hard numbers and
rational analysis. There is no question that digital reading and
portable digital reader (or PDR, our blanket term for all portable
devices that enable digital content consumption, including
laptops/netbooks, smartphones, PDAs, e-readers, and tablets) ownership
are on a meteoric rise. However, allowing ourselves to become blinded by
hype could prove disastrous to our bottom line.
So be careful
when doing the math, and take care not to taint your statistical
analysis with unsupported assumptions. Just because something worked for
your competitor or a major national magazine doesn't mean it will work
for you. A splashy iPad app may seem like a foolproof idea, but if you
can't get your readers to purchase it or advertisers to invest in it,
all that expensive design will become an eyesore.
The technology
may be changing, but the rules of engagement haven't. Never dive
headfirst into new technology without the proper research and strategy,
no matter what headline-worthy statistics and forecasts you've read.
Meredith
L. Dias is research editor of STRAT.
Add
your comment.