TAKEAWAY: It’s Thursday and my “interesting news to share” folder is bursting, so let’s get at least four of those items out here today.
Going Out in Minneapolis just got better
The Star Tribune of Minneapolis has launched a local entertainment app, called Going Out, which is available now for free on the Apple iPhone and Android-based smartphones.
It is exactly what smartphones are ideal for, and where a newspaper/magazine can combine its in-house expertise in areas of culture, dining and fashion to capitalize in carrying that type of content to its subscribers.
It is more than news that a majority of publications hold as their biggest assets, and now we have the platforms to make that excellent content available. Subscribers, advertisers and local businesses appreciate it.
Whether users are planning a day at the museum , or a night of theater and dining, it is all in the Going Out guide. And it offers the users the opportunity to take action: read a review, make a restaurant reservation, purchase a theater ticket, etc.
The best part: the location-aware app is curated by local experts and integrates news and reviews from Star Tribune’s arts and entertainment reporters.
And all of it served up in the one platform of the media quartet that is precisely at its best for those uses (as we find out in the next item here today!).
What users expect from Mobile and Tablet
Why You Need to Distinguish Between Mobile and Tablet Audiences to Sell Content
Usually the two platforms—-mobile and tablet—-are mentioned in the same sentence, in one breath. Now we know that users see them and use them quite differently, and perhaps we should pay attention to this recent study that explains what those differences are.
Recent research from the mobile ad firm Flurry provides some fascinating (but not surprising) information concerning how users view their phones as opposed to their tablets.
In a nutshell:
Consumers were more likely to engage with health and fitness, photo and video, and music apps on their iPhone, but education, news, games and reference apps were used more frequently on iPads.
In fact, the lean forward and lean back patterns of behavior that we often mention here are also evident in the findings of this research.
While the iPhone is more often use for navigating between sites and apps, and for immediate information, the iPad was used more for learning and playing—in a more contemplative, relaxed mode.
In Australia: paying and happy (or resigned to it!)
Readers not deterred by metered access
http://panpa.org.au/2013/08/readers-not-deterred-by-metered-access/
I remember thinking that 2013 would be the year when we would see less of the word “free” associated with news content as dispensed by newspapers and magazines. We are two thirds into the year and it is happening, although not as quickly and effectively as we would like.
Here are some good news from Australia.
Online readers have been unfazed by the introduction of digital subscriptions across news sites at both News Corp Australia and Fairfax Media, with unique audiences remaining strong.
The latest Nielsen Online Data for July shows that news.com.au remains the number one news website in Australia with smh.com.au moving up one place to the number two spot.
The ratings confirm there has been little movement in the top 10 over the past few months, despite the two major media companies in Australia introducing metered subscription models.
I am sure these publishers are smiling.
At Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism: promising research projects
The Tow Center Announces First Round of Tow/ Knight Research Projects
http://towcenter.org/blog/the-tow-center-announces-first-round-of-tow-knight-research-projects/
The Tow Center at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism,is announcing some interesting (and needed) research projects, which will take place, in part ,thanks to funding from both The Tow Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The subjects to be explored by the projects that have made the cut are all impressive, ranging from Sensor Journalism, to the Single Subject News Network and Digital Activism and Citizen Journalism, I am quite interested in following up with this one: The Future of Digital Longform.
A project led by Anna Hiatt, it seeks “to define the new format “digital longform,” articulate criteria by which digital longform journalism is judged and valued, and layout and discuss successful models for soliciting, editing, publishing, and disseminating — and, of course, monetizing — longform content in the digital ecosystem.“
Meanwhile, in Vietnam
Tablet sales in Vietnam up 233%
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/08/26/tablet-sales-vietnam-233
Highlight:
The sales of tablet computers in Vietnam has increased by 233% over the same period last year, with a total of 294,000 sold in 12 months.