Category Archives: digital media

Social Media – What’s Wrong With It

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Nothing is wrong with it.  What?  You expected a different answer?

Well it is different, and that’s what throws many of us for a loop.  Here are some of the laments we hear:  It’s not face-to-face communications and not as effective.  Yes, but how would you get your personal message out instantly to tens, hundreds, if not more?  It’s really only for the young.  If that’s the case, no one over 40 would be using it.  It’s going to break down the way we communicate and hurt society. OK, I do tend to agree with this, but every generation does it different from the one before.  Let’s face it, most of us are uncomfortable with change.

The biggest challenge we all have – regardless of when we were born – is that the changes in communication are occurring at a pace never seen before.  Ten years ago very few of us could envision how ubiquitous the use of texting and smart phones would become, and we’re just starting to see the “tablet” revolution.  What’s it going be like in 2020 when everyone is wearing Google Glasses?

So, before we all mimic Peter Finch’s character in “Network” and “not going to take it anymore,” let’s keep in mind that social media is just another channel of communication.  It will have its success and its failures.  And don’t expect it to be static.  As we are already seeing, sites such as Facebook are becoming passé to the under 18 crowd as they explore other methods and styles of communicating.  And who knows, the typewriter, dial phone and VHS just might make a comeback.

Ban My Phone?

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It seems now that Apple has won their case against Samsung, it’s time to take those evil phones off the market.  On Monday, August 27, Apple asked U.S. District court judge Lucy Koh to ban eight mobile devices which utilize the technologies which were at the heart of the lawsuit recently won by Apple.  Koh has scheduled the hearing for next month.

Meanwhile, I’m wondering how much bad karma I’m creating for using a soon-to-be-banned Samsung S 4G mobile phone?

Best of Times. Worst of Times

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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .”  Thus starts Charles Dickens “Tale of Two Cities,” and this phrase immediately came to me when I heard that Newsweek was contemplating “ending” its printed version of this iconic news magazine.

Since every story has two sides, I immediately searched for information and discovered that it’s highly unlikely that the printed version is going to go away, but it’s going to be different.  To quote IAC/InterActiveCorp Chairman Barry Diller, “I can’t tell you in what ways it will be different, but it will be different.”

So, what does this tell the print industry?  Nothing really new.  The days of mass media consumption as we knew in the last century are going away.  This is not good news for the RR Donnelley’s and Quad Graphics of the world.  This should be good news for the rest of the industry.  In my opinion, magazine production will continue – but runs will be much shorter, targeted and incorporate multi-media.  This will open doors for many who are willing to take advantage of the changing business model in periodicals.

Communications — It's All About Mobile

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Row 11A at 37,000 feet.  It’s a beautiful spring day and I’m off to another meeting.  And thinking.  Forty-one years ago when I first started working for a living, the world was very similar, yet very different. You could travel across the U.S. in hours on a jet aircraft – but the experience was a bit different; the ability to fax a document existed but it took multi-thousand dollar equipment – and six minutes per page; we were still fascinated with autos, but gasoline was about $0.30 a gallon and there were no such vehicles as SUVs with built in GPS and Bluetooth.  Closest vehicle to a SUV was a VW Transporter – and you were more than likely a Hippie and had “turned-on and dropped-out.”  What’s really changed is telecommunications – or should I say mobile communications?

The ability to instantly communicate with anyone at anytime and anywhere in the world is amazing when you think about it.  We are seeing a communication revolution which is similar to what happened when Johann Guttenberg developed print in Europe.  The tsunami of ideas which engulfed the world over the following 150 years was due to an invention which easily allowed ideas to flow to anyone who wanted them.  With today’s mobile media, we are just scratching the surface of possibilities.  Some are fascinating.  Some are down right scary.  Yet, it is truly remarkable how many of us “boomers” have easily made the transition to this new world.  I don’t think I want to go back to the ‘70s, but I’m really curious as to what communication will be like in about 10-15 years.  And yes, print will still be around.  Beam me up Scotty.

The "Other" Joe

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I’m sure he won’t mind be referred to as the “other” Joe, since he’s so extremely well known in the industry.  I’m speaking about Dr. Joe Webb, and I want to share this tidbit from some of his recent commentary in WhatTheyThink.

“Speaking of living beings, the Pew Internet Survey reported a near doubling of U.S. tablet computer owners in about a 4-6 week period: “The share of adults in the United States who own tablet computers nearly doubled from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January and the same surge in growth also applied to e-book readers, which also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same time period.” Pew also stated that 36% of households earning more than $75,000 now have tablet computers, and almost one-third of those with college educations had them. There was a big leap in ownership for consumers under 50 years old. “

According to an analyst interviewed on Bloomberg, Apple’s profits in calendar Q4-2011 were $13.1 billion, which exceeded average analyst projections by 36%, and revenue beat their forecasts by $7.3 billion, with sales in the quarter of $46 billion. Great, Apple had an excellent quarter, and there’s good reason why the stock broke the $500/share level. Except that’s not the interesting story.

Apple is in the S&P 500 index, which had a gain in profits for calendar Q4-2011 of +4.4%. But if you drop Apple out of the calculation, the remaining “S&P 499” shows a decline of -4.2%. Now that’s a story. So Apple’s $13 billion in profits, more than 25% of its revenues, is distorting the rest of the stock market. The disparity in performance is so large that investors are worried about diversification in exchange traded funds (ETFs); Apple’s value now represents 16% of the value of the NASDAQ 100 index.”

What I find of interest — and what Joe calls to our attention — is that Apple is the 800# gorilla of the digital and financial world.  And this commentary was written nearly a month ago — prior to Apple announcing what they were going to do with the $100 billion in cash they were sitting on and before the introduction of the iPad3.

South By Southwest

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I’m often surprised by how many people have never heard of this annual event held in Austin Texas, which started over the past weekend.  One of the reasons may be because its historical focus has been on leading-edge music and film.  With thousands of young hipsters visiting over 1,500 live acts and moving screenings over nine days, it doesn’t seem like a place for most folks in our industry.  Yet, ignore this event at your own peril.

Since its creation, SXSW (short hand for the event) has included dozens of seminars on interactive topics and has grown to the point that last year over 20,000 attended the interactive portion of the conference.  I spoke to PIA’s Julie Shaffer last year right after she had attended the conference for the first time.  She was ecstatic about the topics being discussed and the discussions of  interactive technology.  The only downside was that she admitted that the average age of the attendee was a bit closer to her children than many of her peers.

If you are serious about becoming a provider of interactive/mobile services, or wish to better understand how they will affect the world of print, you should attend SXSW.  It’s too late this year, because you probably won’t find an open hotel room anywhere within a 60 mile radius of Austin, but put it on your calendar for next year – it will be worth the experience.

More Thoughts On The iPad

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It’s been a little over 30 days since I’ve had my iPad, but I’m truly beginning to realize how much of a game changer this product is/will be.  I have a high speed connection at home and 3G on the road and the ability to connect while mobile is as good if not better than my 4G Android.  And there is no comparing a screen that measures 8 square inches vs. 48.  But here’s the real difference, the apps that mimic a magazine or a book along with a move to influence the world of education.

With Apple’s aggressive move in January to whole-heartedly enter the education world, this is going to reverberate in many sectors.  Granted expense is a big issue as Dr. Jerry Waite, University of Houston, stated at a recent meeting.  He observed that he sees very few iPads on campus because of the expense.  Yet, 10 years ago that was the identical comment we heard about laptops, and they are now everywhere on campus (secondary and post-secondary).

I can readily see the ubiquitous use of this device to compliment (maybe supplant with younger people) printed information (magazines/newspapers).  I presently subscribe to print versions of the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, The Dallas Morning News, and Golf Digest.  I also have the online versions.  Although I gravitate to my printed versions (could be my roots – and age), I find the digital versions extremely easy to use when I’m short on time, and in some instances (Golf Digest) preferable.

Et Tu Pomum?

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And You Too Apple?  As of this morning, Apple has joined the fray in the world of digitizing textbooks.  For the publishing industry, does this hasten the demise of the printed page, or is it just another company (is Apple “another” company?) trying to position itself for a piece of the pie?  Regardless, there is no ignoring this player who has historically been very much a part of the education community.  More importantly is that the world of print is being affected by sources who were once considered suppliers (Apple, Adobe, etc.) and are now both partners and competitors.

For those of us who make a living in the world of commercial printing and say, “but I don’t print books,” don’t forget that the quicker people get used to using digital tablets for communication, that the day-to-day uses of print become threatened.  And for many in our industry, that will create business opportunities.  Content may be king, but those who can format content sit at the right hand of the king.

The Darkside

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I purchased an iPad2 over the Holidays.  Mea culpa.  Why did I do it?  Supposedly it was to better understand the competition — and make my mobile communication easier.  Or that’s what I told myself.

Getting set up was a bit tricky, but that’s what tekkie sons are for.  James had recently purchased  his iPad and helped his old man get setup and introduced to a variety of applications — and games — of course.

Although I’ve carried a laptop for years and a smart phone for the past two, this device takes it to a new level.  NO, it doesn’t replace the smart phone, but once I get the right apps setup it will replace the laptop.  More importantly I am starting to see why it’s a game changer for the publishing industry.  And in turn it will affect many of the ways print will be used in the future.

I challenge you to make the investment (it’s not small) because it’s important for us in the world of print to understand the different ways people use to visually communicate.  If we are going to succeed in our business, we need to understand this technology rather than condemn it.  It’s the old adage — “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.”  And while you’re thinking about that line, check out this recent WSJ article on Eastman Kodak.

OK, it’s now time to check out how my Angry Birds are doing.