“Babes in ad woods,” Apple launches IAd
Beaten out by Google in the acquisition of AdMob, Apple launched its new IAd product, though CEO Steve Jobs says Apple doesn’t want to be in the ads business. The new mobile advertising platform will be built in the IPhone’s newest operating system, the OS 4.0. Video and game-purchasing options will be part of the advertising offer.
The Huffington Post blogger was at the unveiling, where Jobs talked of IAd key features: Emphasis on emotion and interactivity; and the ability for users to stay in the app they’re using even while viewing ads. Jobs said the latter is important because taking users out of the application they’re using is the reason most don’t click on mobile ads.
Apple will not only host but will also sell the IAd advertisements, and 60 percent of that revenue will return to the developer.
“We have a lot of free or reasonably priced apps,” said the Apple co-founder. “We like that, but our developers have to find ways to make money. So our developers are putting ads into apps, and for lack of a better way to say it, we think most of this kind of advertising sucks.”
Apple, aware the the average smart phone user spends 30 minutes of every day using applications, has set a goal for itself of displaying an ad every three minutes, for a total of 10 ads per mobile user every day. Jobs noted that would mean one billion daily advertising opportunities for Apple’s IAd.
“We do not have plans to be a worldwide ad agency,” Jobs said. “We don’t know a lot about advertising, but we’re learning…We’re babes in the woods.”
For a company that doesn’t want to be in the ad business – or even one that does – one billion daily ads is a bit ambitious.
Here’s the HuffPost article.
iPad: A name without an identity
The tech world worked itself into a frenzy as it anticipated the unveiling of Apple’s new tablet device, and rarely has there been so much fuss over such an incremental change in technology.
At least that’s what it seemed like when I first started reading about the new iPad during and after Steve Jobs’ press event Wednesday. After all, the iPad looks an awful lot like an iPhone or iPod Touch – only bigger – but it doesn’t make phone calls or take pictures. It will surf the Web like a personal computer, but, well, it’s not a PC.
Oh sure, the iPad will be easy to use like an iPhone. And it will do a great job displaying photos, video and other Web or electronic content, but so does any computer with a decent monitor. So the hoopla over the arrival of the iPad has me puzzling about a couple of things. First, why am I going to need (want) one? Second, how the heck is this not-quite-phone-not-quite-computer going to save the news publishing industry?
If you’re a gadget freak, an Apple fanatic or a serial first-adopter, you already want (need) one. But as with its other revolutionary products, Apple isn’t after you. It’s after the rest of us. (For the record, I’m not an early adopter. I never had a personal cell phone until I bought my iPhone in December 2008. I bought a MacBook Pro in June 2009 because my 5-year-old PC just wasn’t fast enough. And just this week I finally replaced my 11-year-old tube TV with an LCD, high def TV).
Honestly, I can’t think of many reasons I’d want to buy an iPad. I love my iPhone and some of cool applications I’ve acquired for free from the Apple App Store. I’m fond of my MacBook, which handles all of my personal and professional needs very well. What would I do with a device that doesn’t quite work as well as my computer or my phone?
I used to wonder why I would need a mobile phone. After all, I’ve always had a landline in my home. Now, however, I wouldn’t go anywhere without my iPhone. And it doesn’t have much to do with calling people. It has more to do with access to maps, e-mail, Facebook, the electronic notepad, weather forecasts, and the camera. It turns out, it’s a handy gadget, and it’s made my life better and easier in ways that I didn’t expect when I bought it.
The iPad will win fans and customers in the same way, especially after software developers start building applications and utilties that some of us can’t yet imagine.
And that leads me to some of things folks are already imagining for the iPad, like, for example the salvation of the newspaper and magazine industries. The logic seems to be that newspapers can once again be paid for content if they push it onto iPads and then charge folks for downloading it, a la music from the iTunes store, or perhaps an app from the App Store.
As a journalist, I fell in love with the World Wide Web because it offers multiple ways to tell stories – words, sounds, pictures, animation and video. But after more than 10 years of exposure to the Internet as a story-telling tool, most newspaper companies are only now beginning to take advantage of the multimedia possibilities of the Web. What makes anybody think that newspapers will suddenly see the light and generate multimedia content that people will PAY for on a tablet device like the iPad?
Granted, there’s a glimmer of hope. If you’ve not seen this demo of an issue of Sports Illustrated issue made for a tablet, you need to check it out. It’s brilliant. But it’s just a demo, and it’s not the kind of thing newspapers are likely to produce day in and day out. There’s not much point in rehashing the arguments about why newspapers are failing in a multimedia world. It’s simply enough to note that they’ve failed.
Really, the future of the iPad doesn’t depend on what content producers – newspapers, magazines, television studios, movie makers and musicians – want to put on it. The future depends on what iPad buyers want to do with it. And that remains to be seen.
What might you want to do with an iPad? Write a comment!
Why Google’s Nexus One is important for publishers
Google’s recent introduction of its Nexus One mobile smartphone is yet another signal to publishers that it’s time to board the “mobile train.”
By itself, the Nexus One isn’t a huge advancement in mobile device technology, but Google’s entry into the phone market with both Nexus One and with the Android operating system last year are more indicators that mobile Internet is going mainstream in America. Publishers, if you haven’t figured out mobile, it’s time.
It’s been at least six years since I started hearing from mobile service providers and interactive media prophets that “this is the year that it will be important to have a mobile strategy.” At the time, honestly, I just didn’t see it. It might have been my own lack of vision, but at the same time, the prophets had a difficult time selling the return on investment for purchasing short codes, setting up text alerts, etc.
I know that I wasn’t alone in not seeing the future of mobile. Even the AIM Group’s most recent report on the automotive advertising industry quotes at least one executive: “I have heard people saying ‘this is the year of mobile’ for a decade now. I don’t dispute that mobile is going to be increasingly important. That being said, I don’t see anything that tells me that 2010 is going to be the year. Would it surprise me if we were having this same conversation in 2015? Absolutely not.”
With all due respect to the author of that quotation, Greg Connor, chairman of Boost Motor Group in Canada, 2010 IS the year to devote resources to mobile. I’m not suggesting that Google’s Nexus One phone is the tipping point. In fact, we’re long past the tipping point, which was likely the introduction of 3G mobile service. No, the Nexus One is just another advance in the rolling tide of mobile phones that can access the Internet from pretty much anywhere.
Web access is the key. By the end of 2010, 46 percent of North American mobile device users will have access to a 3G network, that’s up from 29 percent at the end of 2008. In other words, more and more Americans will carry with them a device that gets them online. And, whatever online services they get at their desktop computers, they’re sure to want on their mobile devices, too.
For example, they’ll want to get directions; confirm hotel and dinner reservations; check e-mail; update their Facebook pages and blogs; read classified ads; play games; compare prices at other stores while they’re standing in front of merchandise they want to buy; check real-time game scores. And those are just the things I do on my iPhone.
So it’s time for publishers to push news to mobile devices — accompanied by advertising. They need to think about “apps,” those nifty little tools that help mobile device users get directions, play music, check stocks and play games on their mobile devices. There are all kinds of possibilities, from apps that provide real time high school sports scores to tools that map local garage sales and list the items for sale at each.
The Nexus One is just another signpost on the road to technological change. The mobile innovations will continue to come quickly, and publishers who continue to either mobilizing their exisiting or creating new mobile content will miss yet another train.
Why the iPod Nano is not a game changer after all
With the much rumored and insanely anticipated Apple iSlate, due to be announced later this month, being referred to as a potential “game changer,” as momentous as the original iPod and its big cousin the iPhone, I thought I’d take a look back at a post I wrote in September in which I called the new iPod Nano a game changer itself.
At the time, I hadn’t actually gotten my hands on one. That finally happened last week. And I’m sorry to report that my prediction now seems premature.
My enthusiasm for the Nano was that it was the absolute smallest, decent quality video camcorder on the market, and it had a built in iPod to boot (or maybe it’s the other way around). It would be a boon to bloggers and media publishers of all sizes, not to mention consumers shooting silly cat tricks, I wrote.
And indeed, that potential is readily apparent for media publishers along with classified advertising practioners who can use the device to more easily take quick on-the-spot videos of products, vehicles and properties. I’m working with a client that works with communities in far flung places such as India, China and Burma. Why not arm its constituents with Nanos to document lifecycle events and send them back to us to edit and post on YouTube or Facebook, I suggeted.
When I finally tried out the Nano itself – at a rock concert of all places – I was not disappointed. The Nano neatly delivered on its promise: the device is so tiny I was able to keep it stowed safely in my shirt pocket, and it warms up fast so I was ready at the beginning of each song to grab the shots I wanted. The video quality was entirely acceptable; the audio less so.
So what’s the problem? It doesn’t have a camera; it’s just video. That might seem a bit nit picky, but the market today is all about convergence – reducing the number of devices you need to carry. The iPhone does this perfectly: it packs a phone, camera, video recorder, MP3 player and web browser all-in-one shiny black package.
But the iPhone (like most smart phones) is relatively hefty. It doesn’t fit into a pocket, it’s too bulky to wear on an armband while exercising and, frankly, it does more – and costs more – than many people need.
The Nano has the price and form factor I want, but without a camera for stills, if I want to be ready at any time and any place to shoot a photo and a video, I have to carry both my Nano and my digital camera. My cell phone doesn’t take pictures at high enough quality to make it a worthy alternative.
Why didn’t Apple include a camera in the iPod Nano? Probably to prevent cannibalization of sales of its higher end i-products (although the official rumored reason is that they couldn’t get the optics small enough to work). Perhaps the camera will be a part of the package in the future – along with a tiny wireless receiver, now wouldn’t that be cool! – but before then, the business buzz will have already moved on to the iSlate as the next game changer.
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In case you were wondering how that video I shot at the rock concert came out, here’s a short clip I took with the iPod Nano. The audio is a bit muffled, but I think that’s more due to where we were sitting (in the front row, where the instrument amps were closer) than the iPod’s functionality.
Brian Blum heads Blum Interactive Media, a consulting firm that creates quality content for social media: blogs, podcasts, video, eBooks, research and more.
Mobile Internet to bring sweeping changes
Access to the Internet by mobile devices will transform the world more quickly and both destroy and generate more wealth than any previous cycle in computing development, according to a report issued last week by Morgan Stanley Research.
From what I’ve looked at so far (It’s 442 pages long), it’s a fascinating document that suggests, among other things, that in five years more people will be accessing the Internet from mobile devices than from desktop computers.
According to the report, Apple’s iPhone, iTouch, iTunes and App Store have supplied the impetus to kick the mobile Internet into high gear hear in the U.S. and in many other places around the world. And, the report said, if you want to see where we’ll be in a few years, look to Japan, where the mobile Internet has been a way of life for most of the century’s first decade.
The report covers eight key themes. Of most interest to publishers and content producers:
⁃ Mobile is ramping up faster than the desktop Internet did and will be bigger than most people think;
⁃ Apple will continue to lead mobile innovation in the near term, but other competitors are already emerging;
⁃ Game-changing communications / commerce platforms are emerging rapidly, led by Apple and Facebook.
The most important lesson from the report is this: If you’ve been waiting for “mobile” to turn the corner, don’t wait anymore. Among the reports conclusions: “The rapid ramp of the mobile Internet, in short, will be a boon for consumers and some nimble incumbents and attackers, while other companies will simply wonder what just happened.”
The key change is mobile access to the Internet. We’re not just talking and texting on our cell phones anymore. We’re downloading books to our Kindles, getting on-the-fly directions from our GPS devices, buying and playing music with our MP3 players, and letting our cars notify OnStar when they crash.
Add a social networking site like Facebook to the mix, and now mobile access to the Internet allows you to play games, share photos, videos and stories and post messages — from anywhere.
It’s clear that publishers of all types will need to think in terms of apps, not just advertising. According to the report, advertising and e-commerce (paid for by vendors and advertisers) dominate the desktop Internet. However, premium content revenue (paid for by users) dominates the mobile Internet so far. As of this year, just 5 percent of mobile Internet revenue comes from advertising.
In fact, in Japan, where mobile Internet use is years ahead of the rest of the world, just 2 percent of mobile Internet revenue comes from advertising. The rest comes from commerce (21 percent); paid services (11 percent); and data access (66 percent).
Technology is continuing to drive rapid changes through the publishing industry, and the pace of change isn’t going to slow. It’s time to embrace mobile.
The full Morgan Stanley report is available here.
Writing and the future of the book
I’ve written before about how I believe the physical nature of books will change…much sooner than most of us can imagine. Within 10 years, 20 years tops, if my predictions come true, there will be virtually no print books being published – we’ll be consuming content exclusively on portable reading devices. Newspapers will fall even sooner.
But how about the creation of books? Bob Stein of the Institute of the Future of the Book suggests that the same phenomena of “crowdsourcing” that forms the backbone of content creation on social media – from blogs to Facebook – and that has made Wikipedia the world’s largest and most popular reference source, will be applied next to novels, biographies and all sorts of non-fiction.
The initial reaction of traditional authors – myself included – has been a quick harrumph. You can’t displace a well-trained and experienced writer with the power of isolated individuals across the Internet.
Or can you?
Stein gives the example of a well-known biographer who receives a $2 million advance, goes off for 10 years to research and write, and returns with his latest best-seller. Crowdsource me? says the writer. Not going to happen.
But at the same time, there is undoubtedly a newly minted PhD in Creative Writing who grew up on Facebook who has no problem writing in public and letting her thousands of friends and followers contribute. It may seem improbable today, but then so does the total demise of a hard cover book you can hold in your hand.
You can already see companies exploring this space. WeBook is probably the best known. Founded by Israeli serial entrepreneur Itai Kohavi and backed by some of the biggest names in venture capital, the site allows anyone to start a book topic and solicit submissions from other WeBook members who can also collaboratively edit the book in real time for all the world to see. WeBook runs periodic votes where members determine which books WeBook should actually publish (gasp) in print.
The startup Vook is more traditional in that most of what this company publishes is written by a single author, but it breaks the traditional mold by including video as an integral part of the storytelling process. “Vooks,” of course, are digital only.
Group written books are actually not that new. Take a look at the Talmud, the massive work of Jewish law, folklore and history. The original source material for the Talmud was oral, written by multiple authors and handed down from generation to generation until it was finally written down.
So what does an established, traditional author (or an electronic publisher of any type, for that matter) do in such turbulent times? I think that individual authors have to begin thinking of themselves as hybrid writers and managers. It’s not enough to lock yourself in a room with just a typewriter (boy, that really dates me!) Rather you have to view your work as a “product” that needs leadership.
Writers of the future will be need to be cheerleaders, evangelists and social media experts, as well as dedicated craftsmen.
Ultimately, writers won’t go the way of the dinosaur. Indeed they’ll be as valuable as ever: a single person will still need to put it all together. But the process that leads up to that is about to change forever.
Brian Blum heads Blum Interactive Media, a consulting firm that creates quality content for social media: blogs, podcasts, video, research and more.
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