iPad – Content, Marketing & Comics
Steve Jobs presents the iPad
If you’re a Macintosh fan or a Steve Jobs zombie (Jobzie?) today was like Christmas. Maybe even better. Today, as if you didn’t know already, Apple finally announced the long-awaited tablet device “iPad.”
If you follow this blog, you know that I primarily talk about content, interactive media, and marketing. Oh yeah, and occasionally comic books. So let’s talk about what the iPad means for each of my favorite topics:
- Content: Well, as I’ve said before, it all comes down to content. The best device in the world will only go so far on mediocre content. Touch screens are cool, but they need to be worth the extra cost.
Positive: As usual, Apple fully delivers on the iPad. Right out of the gate, you’ll be able to tap into the iTunes store for eBooks, videos, games, and music. Plus there’s probably a lot more content on the way. You can buy the iPad knowing that Apple will provide plenty of content in full, brilliant multimedia and color.
Negative: It’s hard not to compare the iPad to the Kindle when it comes to reading ebooks. At this point, it looks like Kindle’s e-ink has an advantage over the iPad’s screen. It’s just nicer to read books on a reflective surface, as opposed to an active matrix display. Sorry, color just isn’t that important for the enjoyment of text, particularly long-form prose.
- Interactive media: We’re now in a society where we fully expect to be able to interact with a certain amount of media. And Apple doesn’t disappoint here. The iPad is packed with nifty new tech that will allow us to touch, drag, scale, and game. We are at the tip of the creative iceberg, and it’s exciting to just dream about the amazing applications that will take advantage of the iPad platform.
Positive: What’s not to like? It’s going to revolutionize gaming and allow you to take your fun wherever you go. As a parent, I love portable movies and games. Apps are what made the iPhone special, and the same tech will work on the iPad. Nice.
Negative: It looks like I may have to re-purchase movies that I have on DVD so they play on the iPad. Something tells me I will be buying a lot of stuff to feed my iPad.
- Marketing: At the core, Apple is an electronics manufacturer, but somehow they have managed to position themselves miles above the rest of the industry. Their brand is huge. No other manufacturer can launch a product quite like Apple. Plus Steve Jobs knows how to give a presentation. If you’re a marketer, take a close look at your lame PowerPoint decks and ask yourself if you can somehow do better. (You can.) Apple’s marketing is a brilliant mix of art, science, and magic. This is what they should study in universities.
Positive: Apple breaks many marketing rules, but somehow they make it work. We can all learn from them when it comes to branding and event marketing. Apple makes it look easy, even though they are probably working like mad in the days leading up to the event.
Negative: What they do as marketers isn’t really taught in school. And try as they may, very few marketers can match their magic formula for generating excitement around product launches. But is this really a negative? Nah, it gives us marketers an achievement goal.
- Comics: It’s hard to say how this will affect the comic book business. Comics are already being pirated and distributed through torrents. Up until now, people had to buy printed comics to get a decent experience. Sure, you could read a pirated comic on your computer monitor, but the mechanics were wrong. Monitors are horizontal, while comics are vertical. Marvel’s Digital Comics actually give a pretty good experience, but it still required you to be sitting in front of your computer. I work in front of a computer all day, so sitting at my desk to read is a bit unappealing. Printed comics are still my favorite way to read full-color comic books. But for how long?
Positive: The iPad could make reading comics really exciting. I would love to read my monthly titles on a nice, clear tablet. I could store them on the device (as opposed to reading them in the cloud), that would free up a lot of space in my house. Set the right price, and I will pay for a digital subscription to my favorite comics. I’m ready, let’s go.
Negative: The pirates are already killing comics the way they nearly killed music and movies. If piracy doesn’t stop, it won’t make economic sense to create comics. Easy file sharing and torrents could kill mainstream comics as we know them today. The iPad just gives the pirates a better platform for sharing files.
So that’s it. The ‘Net and the pundits are already buzzing about the iPad. I’m going to immerse myself in the excitement and optimism.
Merry Christmas, Apple fans.
Good Content in New Channels
Win the blue ribbon for creating good content.
As the tech world breathlessly awaits the new technological wonder by Apple, it’s worth taking a step back and recognizing what this is all about. Y’know, deep down.
It’s about Content. Content with a capital C. The kind of content that will make the Apple iPad tablet device worth buying.
Superior hardware is great. But without content, it’s going to get dull fast. And with faster processors and cheap RAM, dull happens at mind-boggling speed.
There is a tablet PC and ebook ereader war brimming on the horizon. Cheap laptop versus Netbook
But the excitement isn’t really about the hardware. It’s about the content experience the technology will bring. And here’s the really important point: We all know that this type of content already exists. We can close our eyes and imagine how cool it will actually be when we can buy it. It’s a Jetsons fantasy.
Every week Hollywood releases a new action-packed thriller dripping with special effects. Of course, these movies find a core audience, but they usually come and go fairly quickly. Many people avoid these movies because the plots simply string together the special effects. And yet, audiences came out in droves to watch Avatar. It had enough story to make the special effects relevant and necessary.
IMax, 3D, and special effects existed long before Avatar. It’s just that people heard that the story was good (it was) and the special effects were awesome (they were). So people not ordinarily inclined to run out to the theater and wear 3D glasses went to see Avatar.
So what’s this mean to you?
Well, if you’re a content creator, it could mean a lot. If you create good content, some of it may find life on another device. People with a tablet will be looking for content, so you and your target audience have another opportunity to discover each other. Think of it as Content Meets Opportunity.
If you’re a marketer, then you gain a new channel for sharing your brand benefits. People want to discover new products and services that make their lives better, easier, or more fulfilling. If you have a brand that does that, your audience will want to know more about it. They may even want to try it before they buy it. New channels mean new ways to connect with your target audience.
The iPod changed the way we interacted with music. And the iPhone changed the way we thought of applications. These devices became personal lifestyle extensions. So, yes, there’s good reason to be excited about Apple’s “big announcement.”
However. If you create lazy, uninspired content or you hype mediocre brands, please don’t bring it to this new device. Let’s not clutter brand new screens with irrelevant content or messaging. Nobody wants it or needs it.
And now, let the tablet wars begin!
5 Reasons You’ll Be Using an EReader in 2 Years
Sony Reader PRS-505
Do you look at ereaders and ebooks and wonder “what’s the big deal?” Then you’re probably like a lot of people who understand the technology, but figure that printed books, laptops, and iPhones are good enough.
Yeah, hate to break it to you, but in about two years, you’ll be using an ereader. It won’t look like today’s Kindle or Nook, but it won’t be that different either. Ereaders are an inevitable next-step technology.
The W+P=W Top 5 Reasons You Will Be Using an EReader in Two Years
1. Prices will drop.
Paying $200 for a device like a Sony eReader when you can read a book for free? Crazy, right? Well, not so fast. Is the book you’re reading actually free or did someone pay for it already? That’s right, someone paid for the media, even if it’s in a public library. As for the device, let’s not judge future prices by today’s prices. If that were the case, nobody could afford a plasma or LCD television in their home. Early home entertainment systems are always expensive, until manufacturers can figure out a way to drive down costs.
Today’s ereaders are relatively cheap for new technology. Expect cheaper prices, starting this year. In two years, they’ll be selling them at garage sales. Tech always starts high and comes down.
2. eBook exclusives.
Why read a digitial book when a perfectly good print version is there on the shelf? Well, just wait until the book you really, really want to read is only available in ebook format. Or the book that you have to read for work or school. Yeah, it’s going to happen, and sooner than you want it to. As you may know, I have published comics in the past. Nothing big, but I did enough to realize that more than 50% of my costs were going to printing and shipping. It’s the same for mainstream publishers as well.
Soon, publishers will release certain books only in digital formats. It’s probably going to start with textbooks, since there are 37 million kids in US schools alone. And they don’t get to choose what they read, right?
3. Free channels will fade.
When was the last time you went to a music store to buy new music? Yeah, same here. If you have an iPod, you’ve probably used Apple’s iTunes store. I love the Amazon store for new music. Every other strip mall in America used to have a record shop. Not anymore.
Now, with bookstores fading into the sunset, you’re going to be forced to do some shopping online. But print books, still need to be shipped. If you buy from Amazon, that price is fixed at $3.99 (before free shipping incentives). And the costs of shipping keep going up, up, up. One day, the cost of shipping a book will be prohibitively high. So high, that it will not make sense to buy a print book over the Net. Meanwhile, the delivery cost of an ebook will tend to remain fairly constant at $0.
Oh, and one more thing about “channels.” You know, when I was a young one, nobody could imagine paying for television. People scoffed at the idea of paying for cable TV, especially when you could just pull up the antenna and get reception. And yet, now paying for cable television is just another bill. In the future an ebook reader will be another device that you keep around the house for your basic reading needs.
4. Picture better pictures.
Right now, the graphics on Kindle are perfect for text. Pictures? Nah-so-good. The images are barely passable and sometimes downright unreadable. Lame.
In fact, the ebook reader of tomorrow probably looks a lot like your laptop of today. Except the ereader of the future will almost certainly have a touch display. Better pictures, movie watching, and web browsing will all eventually be included in high-end ereaders. Asus today announced the DR-570, a color ereader. Brilliant color pictures and 122 hours of battery life, at least that’s what they are claiming.
5. Content creators will want ereaders.
You may not pay for content, including pictures, words, and videos. Radio is free. Television is free (even though you pay for the wire into your house). But someone, somewhere is paying for it. Writers and editors and production people all need to get paid.
So the people who actually create content, like publishers, and the people who pay them (the advertisers) are already lining up behind new technology. Content creators will push hard for ereaders, especially since it will give them a new way to aggregate their content. Yes, piracy will run rampant, but enough people are willing to pay for good content that it will drive down the cost of the devices.
More importantly, content creators will gain access to incredibly detailed statistical reports. Old media is saddled with old-style reporting. New media advertisers want details about user behavior. eReaders will bridge that gap and make the medium instantly useful and credible in the eyes of advertisers. They will bring their dollars to this new medium, making it possible for content publishers to pay the people who create the content.
So, yeah, those are my Top 5 reasons why you’ll be reading from an ebook reader in under two years. There are probably more, but I’ve got a hot date with my Kindle and my favorite blogs. (Yes, I read blogs on my Kindle.)
5 Reasons Disney Digital Matters
Disney Digital Publishing Interface
It’s unlikely that kids entering elementary school today will graduate with a backpack full of books. eBooks are quickly becoming a more cost-effective way for schools to distribute educational materials to students. Books and kids? That’s history.
Disney recently launched the Disney Digital Books service, making a portion of their back catalog available online. Disney, which is associated primarily with movies and theme parks, also has a pretty active publishing division.
Here at Words + Pictures = Web, we’ve listed five reasons that the Disney Digital Publishing portal is going to be pretty darn important for consumers, marketers, and content creators:
1. Tiny steps to a world of paid content.
Like most content creators, Disney wants to get paid for their content. This is a tough concept for many people, since we’ve grown accustomed to getting everything free online. At $8.95 per month, this subscription feels a little high for a new launch, but many parents are willing to plunk down serious cash for anything that seems to have some educational value. This subscription model is retraining people’s expectation for free content.
2. Traditional media begins to strike back.
Disney has a huge backlog of content. They’ve done a pretty good job of getting movies out of “the Vault,” but they haven’t done as much with the publishing division. They are launching with 500 title with a promise that there’s more to come. For the past dozen or so years, new media companies have enjoyed a pretty competition-free environment. Now that Disney and traditional media companies are getting smarter about their backlog of content a lot more content will be moved out of the archives.
3. EReader technology inches forward.
Disney is acknowledging the inevitable future of ereader technology. Even though this is launching on the browser, the digitized assets will probably be reformatted for the next generation of ereader devices. Disney’s relentless quest for customer experience will push the boundaries of ebooks and influence improvements in ereader technology. Disney’s branded content will expose more people to digital books. When the right ereader is available, Disney will modify their content for that platform. With Disney’s connection to Apple, we’d expect to see a content deal through the iTunes store, especially if Apple releases the mysterious iTablet.
4. Story extras are no longer extra.
Disney’s digital books are multimedia enhanced, offering more than a flat, linear experience. Kids today expect to interact with their content. These books offer interesting features, including an integrated dictionary. That’s the kind of minimum experience it’s going to take to engage the next generation of readers.
5. Traditional media wants you back.
Disney’s purchase of Marvel Comics opens them up to a gigantic library of titles and characters. It’s unlikely that Disney will put many Marvel properties on the Disney Digital Books site, but they will probably share technical expertise. Last year Marvel launched the Marvel Digital service with thousands of back issues of Marvel comics titles. Disney isn’t satisfied with the silver screen and the TV screen. They want your computer monitor and your mobile devices too. And for the younger audience, they’ve got stuff for boys, girls, parents, and young-at-heart adults. Traditional media companies want you back, and they are going to work hard to win back your attention.
So, even if you don’t watch Disney movies or plan to read Disney ebooks, the Disney Digital Books portal will probably have some impact on your content-consumption habits. Not today, of course. But this business initiative opens the doors for other content companies to get more aggressive online, particularly with their formerly printed materials.
Depending on how you look at it, this may be the next generation of The Wonderful World of Disney. But if you’re Disney’s competitor, it may be the scariest story you’ve read in a long time.
Blog Traffic Tip #1 Be Controversial
So you’re thinking about a blog to promote yourself? Awesome. As your personal self-appointed blog expert, I will offer useful traffic-driving tips (that I may or may not use myself).
First: Content is king. Wow, I know, deep. But it was true when we used to slay trees to share information, and it’s true now. If you have the right content, people want to read, see, experience it.
So if you’re planning your blog, you may be interested in:
Blog Traffic Tip #1: Be Controversial
So, you want traffic, but you don’t want to resort to posting naughty pictures of celebrities. Fine, me neither. So today’s blog traffic tip is to Be Controversial. Stir the pot. Give ‘em somethin’ to talk about.
Example: Kurt Sutter is a successful Hollywood producer who worked on The Shield and is the creator of Sons of Anarchy. The guy is credible. So when he talks, people listen.
Boy does he talk. His blog SutterInk is an eye opener, especially when you consider Sutter is talking about people who pay (or may someday pay) his salary. It’s a bare-knuckled critique of the television industry. Even for people not working in Hollywood, it is a startlingly brutal blog.
And, if you just judge it by comments, people read Sutter’s blog. A lot. His recent blog post “NBC’s Act of Contrition” has already netted 65+ posts in under two days.
I loved the Shield, and now I plan to check out Sons of Anarchy. Yes, because of Sutter’s blog, I want to see what kind of television this guy produces.
So…back to Tip #1. If you want to drive traffic to your website, consider a little bit of controversy. Note: it may help if you already have a good contract and a few Emmys to back up your talent. If you’re just a regular shlub, you could end up unemployed. Blog about that.
Book-o-Tweets
Give a TweetBookz for a gift. Or not.
Just when you thought you’d seen it all…there’s TweetBookz. Yes, now you can take your funniest, most compelling Twitter posts and bind them into a handsome coffee table book.
Roll that around for a moment: A. Book. Of. Tweets.
In a world of temporary ‘Net culture, it’s ironoclastic that you can now bind your Twitter posts into a book. New media now migrates back over to dead tree media.
Publish an ebook of your tweets? Nah, forget that. You deserve the slaying of a tree.
And you know what? Don’t even correct your bad grammar, misspellings, or emoticons. You need to be you. Be real.
Your every fleeting 140-character thought can now live on in a grand library, enshrined forever in print. Bill Shakespeare has nothing on you.
- Tired of standing online at K-Mart? Publish it.
- Feeling itchy and hungry at the same time? Get that in hardback.
- Feel like sharing an inside joke, retweet, or just an LOL? Wow, call Gutenberg and tell him to preflight the manuscript. You, my friend, were born to be published.
For extra irony points, include your your favorite rants about how old media and print are dying a slow death. You ironic icon, you.
Too Socially Networked?
So this morning I checked my email and discovered that someone had subscribed to my FriendFeed. Huh? I have a FriendFeed account? Turns out, I do.
Started going through some of my bookmarks, which helped me remember some of the other sites where I’m registered.
Get this. I’m registered at Facebook and Flickr and Picasa and Twitter and MySpace and Yahoo and AOL and Mahalo and Google and YouTube and Shelfari and Amazon and eBay and CNet and New York Times and Technorati and Eons and Wikipedia and LinkedIn. And…and…and…hoo boy.
And that’s just the stuff I can remember off the top of my head! I’d forgotten about FriendFeed up until today. Last week Squidoo emailed me that they updated their site. Great. Um, do I have an account there? Oh yeah, I do. Thanks for reminding me.
Turns out, I am registered to everything under the sun. (Well, except actually at Sun.com.)
It’s not like it makes me cool or special or smarter, since it’s free to register at all of these sites. In a way, it’s a little…weird and slightly addictive. And since I rarely check most of them anymore, a bit of a waste.
Is there a social network for people who register for too many things? Is that Posterous? I may have to join that. Nevermind, I just did.
Facebook Status Off Video
Y’know, sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself. This video captures the geeky goodness of our obsession with Facebook status updates.
Lots of us in this age online celebrity are obsessed with self-marketing and Brand You to the point of silliness. I’m certainly guilty of trying too hard to be entertaining in my posts.
Anyway, watch this little viral video and have a laugh.
Of course, I’ll be posting this video to Twitter and Facebook.
10 Marketing Tech Predictions for 2010
I’m a total nut for tech predictions. Love ‘em. Not only does it get me excited about the future of technology, it warms my marketer’s heart. Every new tech channel represents a new way for marketers to communicate with their target audience. And for people to discover brands and solutions that they actually want.
Since I primarily write about tech trends that affect marketers, here are my:
The Words + Pictures = Web
10 Marketing | Tech Predictions for 2010
1. Widgets and Apps Will Explode
Yes, we saw a pretty big year for Apps, thanks to the iTunes store servicing the iPhone and iTouch. But with Android and Kindle and even HP having stores, we’re going to see a big, fast expansion of useful apps. And people will want these apps to synchronize across devices and platforms.
What it means for marketers: A lot. Brands that create useful apps will see adoption rates soar. It doesn’t matter if it’s branded. If people need something, they will use it. If it happens to keep your brand top of mind, well, then good for you.
2. Web Analytics Will Improve
Every marketing initiative needs to have some sort of measurable ROI. Without a strong analytic package, you can’t tell what works and what doesn’t. The tools that we use are probably (hopefully) going to get better now that Adobe owns Omniture. Even free packages like Google Analytics are getting better, which pushes paid solutions like WebTrend and Omniture to innovate to remain competitive. Expect to see better tools for measuring Flash.
What it means for marketers: Good news for marketers who like numbers. Now, you will have even more numbers.
3. Microsoft Will Strike Back
Signs of life are bubbling up again from Redmond. Microsoft took a beating from Google, which has reinvigorated their competitive spirit. Bing is turning out to be a pretty decent search engine, which is encouraging for search marketers.
What it means for marketers: Microsoft is serious about making money in search, so they are actively courting search marketers. We’re already seeing them push Google to release new features, which is good for everyone. If you are using search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns, you can expect more options from Bing. And from Google, who will continue to maintain their lead.
4. Tech Will Move Off the Desktop
In recent years, everything has been focused on the desktop. But powerful mobile tools have changed the way we interact with websites. The traditional desktop will survive 2010, but it won’t be the only way people interact with the web.
What it means for marketers: It means that every new device — from the Kindle to the television — is now a new channel to communicate with customers. Smart marketers will be putting messages everywhere.
5. Newspapers Will Slip Further
Okay, this one is almost a little mean. Like teasing the short fat kid in school for being, well, short and fat. But newspapers are going to slip even more rapidly than they did in 2009. In the end, it’s likely that we’ll end up with a few national papers (like USA Today), a few regional papers (like New York Times), and maybe a few weekly local papers.
What it means for marketers: It’s a mixed bag. If you have a good PR team, you can get a story on the wires and have it syndicate to a lot of readers. That’s very encouraging. But with fewer reporters and papers, it’s going to get harder to get some ink. With less print out there, it will get a little more challenging to communicate with older demographics.
6. Mobile Marketing Will Get Sophisticated
We’ve been marketing to mobile devices for years now. Some agencies are quite good at it, but sadly, many more are not. Most mobile marketing is pretty lame. This year we’ll see the good agencies roll out marketing campaigns that make full use of mobile devices. Right now, mobile marketing is still rather simple. Look for more sophisticated and personalized applications.
What it means to marketers: It means that mobile content and incentives will need to be formatted for multiple screens. Don’t expect users to wait for your massive homepage to load.
7. Electronic Coupons Will Become Location Aware
Everybody loves a good discount. But if you forget your coupon at home, you may wait until the next trip to the store before you make a purchase. That’s a missed opportunity for brands. Many new devices have location-based software, so more marketers will figure out how to use this for offering coupons and incentives at just the right moment….like when they’re in close proximity to a store.
What it means for marketers: More sales and happier customers. Also, brick and mortar stores will star to win back customers from online shoppers.
8. Content Marketing Will Matter Again
Traditional media is slipping fast. That doesn’t mean people don’t need content. People want to know more about the product you sell, but also about how your product compares in the category. Content marketing will mean that your content must be fresh and vital for your target. Set it and forget it? Forget that. Write more content and make sure it’s formatted properly for the channel.
What it means for marketers: Make friends with a good copywriter. Try to tap them for ideas on how to update websites and other resources, so that your are providing proactive content for your audience.
9. Social Media Marketing Will Mature
Over the last few years, social media channels have become an effective way to connect people and products. But as the audience grows and diversifies, Facebook (and other social channels) will offer more mature and measurable ways to talk to targets. Banner ads? Sure, for certain awareness campaigns. But also look for more powerful fan-page types of services that give more flexibility and power to the brand.
What it means for marketers: Social media is probably going to get more expensive, but you’ll get more for your dollars.
10. New Hardware Will Change Brand Messaging
Kindles, iPhones, and the eagerly anticipated Apple tablet will give us new and interesting ways to tell people about our brands. But as the hardware becomes more powerful, it takes longer to figure out how to truly use it effectively. Initially, we just mash up existing technologies with new technologies (look it’s video…and now it’s on an iPhone!). New hardware will give us some immediate and measurable ways to deliver messages. But this year we’re going to peel back another layer to these devices, and discover new applications and opportunities.
What it means for marketers: Figure out how your message scales to new hardware before the competition figures it out first.
So there you go. Those are some of the tech trends that I believe will affect marketers in 2010. I’m sure I’ve missed a few things, but now you know what sort of stuff I’ll be working on this year.
Did I miss anything? Let me know your thoughts.
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