I stumbled upon a blog entry by Alexander Blom that grabbed my attention. It was entitled, The iPad will not save publishing. He referred to the failure of magazines as websites, and the, so far, poor implementation of magazines on the iPad, as proof of magazines not working in a digital world. He then stated two main reasons why he thinks the iPad won’t save magazines – both points that I completely disagree with.
Moving to the internet made sense not just to reduce distribution costs but because publishers could still collect the demographic information necessary to tailor content and provide relevant advertising. The problem with the iPad is Jobs et. al. are very unwilling to share this information and in many ways prohibit a publications relationship with its readers, the real essence to success.
Someone will eventually get the magazine subscription model down (probably as an app, instead of via iBooks), and once that happens, every other publisher will follow suit. I also think that an application, versus a website, will provide much more user data than site analytics. Just because it doesn’t exist now, doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t exist very soon. Apple will either provide the necessary calls, or someone will develop a workaround.
The core issue is that we are a still a tangible society. We like to see and feel things. Why do you think so many web magazines fail? Yes many made that transition with music but magazines are different. Most magazines sit on a coffee table and we browse through them when we have a few minutes (the same can not be said for news consumption). Not only is the iPad trying to change distribution but the fundamental way in which we consume magazine content. I’m not sure if the masses are ready for this change and, even if they are, publishers will have lost that relationship and lose either way.
Tangible is what we know, it’s what we’re familiar with. It’s only a matter of time, not a matter of “it won’t happen” when digital magazines replace physical magazines. iPads (and iPad alternatives) will replace paper. It may take a generation before it fully happens, but it will happen. Even paper companies know this, which is why they’re expanding into different areas, like trying to convince other countries that don’t use toilet paper, to use toilet paper (I’m not kidding).
The iPad is a game changer. Once a company gets digital magazine subscriptions right – the right pricing, interactivity, and delivery – digital magazines will be the obvious choice for consuming that type of media. Also, although it’s not the perfect example, vinyl records and CDs with artwork, provide an example of users changing over to a digital medium. It took a generation to make the conversion from tangible to digital music, just like I’m predicting will happen with magazines (if not much sooner). The majority of music lovers are perfectly content with digital artwork and having their songs exist in an intangible and highly portable space.
Digital magazines will remain unique enough from websites, mainly because of their linear structure. Unlike a typical website that is designed for task oriented navigation, magazines have a start and finish. Digital magazines will continue to walk the user through a carefully woven experience. I can only imagine that this linear path will be even more enhanced when publishers include interactive experiences along the way.