This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and will be updated as needed. As I am taking the first of my three short summer vacations starting now, blog will cease publication until Monday, June 22. See you then!
Lufthansa's new Entertainment feature: read a variety of e papers in various languages while above the clouds.
It’s not quite an Internet connection, but Lufthansa Airlines’ new Entertainment allows passengers to access a variety of newspapers and magazines in various languages.
One can browse through a sort of news kiosk, pick the title one wishes to read, then it is a straight forward e-paper edition at its most basic: simply scroll down from page to page and read the articles as if on a printed edition. There is no click and see the story, nor any multimedia enhancements here.
However, I found the Entertainment feature useful and hope that more airlines take a page from this Lufthansa initiative.
It is also worth noting that, while the Entertainment feature is available, Lufthansa still makes printed editions of newspapers and magazines available to passengers as they board its flights.
WSJ’s new app: the ultimate navigator
At one of my visits during the redesign of The Wall Street Journal, I remember a copy editor telling me that the What’s News feature of WSJ’s front page was the first thing a large majority of readers read. Overall, about 89% of readers would start their journey with What’s News, which normally appears as a two-column vertical element on the front page (it has been moved to a skinny one-column item, sometimes on Page 2, in the tabloid European and Asian editions).
It makes sense that What’s News is so popular. It is the ultimate navigator providing short summaries for the top business and world/nation news. I have always concluded that when one reads the What’s News, one is totally informed of what is important on any given day. And to think that What’s News was created about 80 years ago by an editor who believed that business readers were busy and needed summaries of stories. Call him a visionary.
Now, according to Capital, the WSJ has plans to unveil an app---actually its first mobile-only product--- devoted exclusively to What’s News. It will be produced by a team of journalists and offered as an add-on for subscribers. This should please WSJ subscribers very much. Count me among them.
Read all about it here:
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/media/2015/06/8569812/emjournalem-roll-out-paid-mobile-app
Headlines we like
While discussing The Wall Street Journal, here is a headline from this past week that I liked a lot:
WSJ: The Chinese have your numbers
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/14dd2f034fdee57a
For your weekend lean back reading
The Hillary 2016 logo: gets kudos for its flexibility. It also seem to adapt well to different geographic modes.
Bloomberg interested in buying Newsweek
http://http://nypost.com/2015/06/09/bloomberg-interested-in-buying-newsweek/
Highlight:
“Has anyone read Newsweek lately?” Bloomberg is said to have asked. He said he picked up the current issue — with a cover story on why ISIS is winning — and that he read eight of the 10 articles and found them to be “great.”
Romenesko announces retirement
http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/350353/jim-romenesko-is-retiring-but-hell-still-be-posting/
Highlight:
Via email, Romenesko tells Poynter that he intends to remain active on Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels and that he will post “when I see something that interests me.”
Is Hillary 2016 logo perfect?
http://qz.com/423037/its-official-hillary-clintons-logo-is-actually-perfect/
Highlight:
Besides being bold, the one-letter logo is exceptionally social media friendly—no small thing given how ubiquitous social media channels have become, compared to 2008 (and to an extent even 2012).
