Friday, February 4, 2011

Why The Daily will work

Newscorp launched the first iPad specific media property, The Daily. It's the first major news publication to be designed from the ground up specifically for the iPad, and while its success or failure will be determined in the marketplace, I think it will work. Because it is designed from the start to present information the way the reader/viewer wants it, with video, pictures, text, and interactive elements seemlessly woven together, it will be more engaging than a series of articles. While the business model matches the offline world (dual revenue stream from subscriptions and advertising), the design isn't linear. It was built to move where your interest takes you, and you can drill down into stories and images for more detailed information (see the video at http://www.thedaily.com/). The only thing that needs to be enchanced are the social media aspects (you can post to Facebook and Twitter, but I'd like to see reader comments added), but that is a nit.

Bottom line - The Daily is the start of a new wave in publishing, and I applaud Newscorp for making the investment and taking the risk.

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