Flipping Google go for magazines and books

Google has announced the launch of Fast Flip - its' take on a digital viewer for magazines and newspapers. The interesting thing is that it will inevitably soften the stance of print publishers, worried about Google's use of their content - given that Google is actually looking to share revenues with them around a contextual advertising model.

Just how much of that revenue they are willing to share... well thats another story.

Tyra Banks on digital magazine success

You see what I did there ? Tyra Banks...? Oh never mind..

She's launching an online - only magazine, which gives me a chance not only to mention it, but to put a gratuitous picture on there.

Have a look at the news story

New digital magazine store launches

But are there enough readers out there ? Menzies store launched with a massive fanfare last year but has yet to see a profit - and they've gone very quiet on visitor numbers...

Turning magazines into iPhone apps

A new service that brings magazines, newspapers, books, catalogs, and brochures easily to the iPhone and iPod Touch through the iTunes store has launched in the US.

Called Pixel Mags, the service aims to help publishers get their products converted into products that can be accessed from the iTunes App Store and used on the iPod Touch or iPhone.

Why free is a very good price

Alex Pham in the LA Times blogs on Chris Anderson's new book. What's interesting is the numbers - Anderson is giving away a free version (non downloadable) on Scribd, and Pham writes 

"As of 1 p.m. today, less than 24 hours after it was released online, his book has been viewed for free by more than 22,800 readers on Scribd." Like wow! If that number can be extrapolated there could be a real business model there..

MyEBook aims to democratise digital magazines

Another player in the "DIY Digimags" arena - MyEbook - has launched, aiming to make it possible for anyone to upload, or create from scratch; beautifully simple or adventurously complex page designs and covers online, in no time. 

The system allows you to embed or link to videos, audio, documents, images and flash files to make your books or magazines fully interactive, and they've cited a few examples for users to show what the product can do.

These include issue 2 of - MIX IT UP 

'USA Today' to Launch Digital (Paid) Edition

'USA Today' to Launch Digital (Paid) Edition

USA Today is counting on new digital reading devices and mobile applications more than an online paid content strategy.

USA Today Publisher David Hunke said the national newspaper is being "extraordinarily bullish" on the move to wireless devices and mobile apps. "You will hear us talk about hybrid solutions as the key to us moving forward," he said.

Hunke was speaking in New York today along with USA Today Editor John Hillkirk during a breakfast to introduce the newly appointed executives to press.

When asked about the possibility of USA Today charging for some online content -- specifically whether the newspaper was in talks with Attributor's Fair Syndication Consortium and Journalism Online -- Hunke indicated that paid content is probably not the path for USA Today.

"I'm not absolutely convinced it works for us," he said, adding that USA Today has had conversations with both the Fair Syndication Consortium and Journalism Online. "I do know this, we need to find a way to get paid for this. ... I don't believe there is an easy day coming where everything flips to micropayments or subscriptions."

Instead, the newspaper plans to focus on mobile applications like the app for iPhone -- "We were stunned by how quickly that spread," Hunke said -- and e-readers.

Hunke also announced the newspaper would roll out a paid e-edition on Aug. 3.

USA Today is actively involved with e-reader developers Plastic Logic. Hunke previously served as CEO of the Detroit Media Partnership and still has oversight of the agency, which plans to test a Plastic Logic e-reader in the market sometime in 2010. However, he asserted that USA Today is talking with all e-reader manufactures. "We will not be associated with one brand," he said, adding that he expects the market for e-readers to "explode."

One thing that Hunke won't bring over from his days in Detroit is a cut in USA Today's frequency. When asked about the prospect he said, "No. One difference is our readers are constantly moving," adding that Detroit is a unique market given its JOA status and the foundering local economy. "The fundamental principal of our circulation plan is we are going to be where you are."

Indeed, Hunke said there would be no changes to circulation strategy given the decline in travel and hotel stays. "We love that space," he said. "We are going to get into that more with an aggressive stance."

The Wall Street Journal has recently moved in on what traditionally has been USA Today's turf of hotel copies. The Journal recently announced a program with Hyatt Hotels. "The Wall Street Journal is very serious competition to us," added Hunke.

Monkey travels to Scandinavia

Interesting news. Dennis are licensing their digital magazines to Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

A sign of things to come...

The future of electronic reading

Computer says no

Almost inevitably, Time's new baby, Mine magazine, hits some teething problems. Good idea, but as Felix Dennis says, its all about the execution.

So this is the future of magazines ?

Much vaunted free magazine Sport, looks like its ceased publication, following the collapse of its parent company.

C'est la guerre.

Time experiments with "made to order" magazine

Not strictly "digital" but interesting nonetheless....

Time is experimenting with a "made to order" print magazine that readers control.

Here's Fast Company's take..

Australia & New Zealand Magazine goes digital

Now here's a subject close to my heart. Evolve Digital Publishing is my new baby and part of that family is the UK's number one migration and travel magazine, Australia & New Zealand.

I'm delighted to say that we are making it available in a digital format through Exact Editions, and the even better news is that you can check out an issue absolutely free.

Subscriptions are only £19.00 apiece. Enjoy!

Updated digital magazine reader

Paperator have just brought out the latest version of their digital magazine reader. It seems speedier and I like the fullscreen mode.

Let me know what you think.

Hearst to develop an emagazine reader

Wired reports that Hearst, the parent company of UK magazine giant NatMags, is planning to launch a digital reader similar to the Kindle.

Timely, as they have just announced they are laying off 10% of employees in the UK.

Digital News Weekly Magazine

From portfolio..

There's been a lot of talk lately about the decline and fall of newsweeklies, some of it fueled by the shift of U.S. News & World Report to biweekly, and then monthly, publication. But U.S. News hasn't given up on the idea of the weekly news digest. In fact, later today, in a soft launch, it will rolling out a new product: a "digital newsweekly" that reproduces, in pixels, what the magazine once did in ink and paper.

"We're creating a tailored product for readers that does what the old newsweeklies did, which was to stop time for people and say 'What the heck happened over the last week?' and make sense of it," says editor Brian Kelly. U.S. News Weekly, as the new publication is called ("It sounds ironic," acknowledges Kelly) will be produced and delivered as a downloadable PDF file, laid out in the form of a magazine, complete with a cover and table of contents. For years, publishers have been offering such digital editions of their magazines with the help of vendors such as Zinio, but U.S. News Weekly is a whole new, albeit related, publication, edited for a somewhat different audience than U.S. News & World Report.

Whereas the parent title has gravitated toward advertiser-friendly topics like health and education, the digital weekly will be "very Washington-centric," says Kelly, with a tighter focus on politics and policy. Since there's less ad support for that type of content, U.S. News Weekly will be a premium product: A one-year subscription will cost $19.95 (although subscribers to U.S. News & World Report will be able to download it for free). "This is what every editor's trying to figure out right now -- how can I pay my reporters to do reporting?" says Kelly. "You've got to figure out a way where, on some level, the consumer is going to pay for some type of content."

(Of The New York Times's much-maligned premium-content program, Times Select, Kelly says, "I always thought that was an experiment they never should have abandoned. If you can get 200,000 people to pay for a product, you're doing very well.") The upside for the readers, he notes, is that they're only paying for content -- and not for the expense of shipping and printing.

And because there's no need to budget time for those processes, U.S. News Weekly will have near-instantaneous turnaround: The magazine will close on Thursday night and be made available at noon on Friday. "I don't think the newsweekly concept's outdated," says Kelly. "I think it's the delivery method that's outdated. To produce a great report, close the magazine on Thursday night and then readers don't get it until Monday -- that's insane."

New digital tennis magazine

Using the Ceros engine, have a look at the new

ezine called Tennis Head from Advantage Publishing. Its run by ex Future MD Mike Frey and follows them losing the LTA's magazine "Ace" to Seven Squared.

8020 is no more

This is a shame. Not only a brave venture, I feel it was a neccessary experiment and at the very least, showed that a model with the web at the core really could thrive with reader involvement. As Samir says, its pretty much a candle in the wind, and a lot of other publishers should have the courage to follow suit...

Yet again, its all about the ads..

(More) 2009 predictions

This time on ebooks.

A digital magazine renaissance ?

As we head into the uncharted waters of 2009, Josh Gordon has a think piece on how to unlock value in digital magazines.


Unfortunately, you only have to read the last line - "I challenge the digital magazine industry to from an association and do the research. I’d love to help do it." to grasp that the whole piece is really about everyone forming a committee to convince advertisers and readers alike that they are serious.

With respect, Josh, the LAST thing we need is another committee. What we need is some blazingly successful products....