Updated Monday, Feb. 1, 07:31 EST
TAKEAWAY: The iPad continue to captivate the imagination of journalists in a variety of publications during the weekend. Some like it a lot, others not as much, but all agree that the iPad is one device that is likely to change the game. My favorite: The Economist’s cover with Apple’s Steve Jobs as saint.
It was a snowy weekend through most of Europe. I spent mine in scenic Stockholm and, after doing a nice run through the quiet and serene Djurgarden in the center of the city, retrieved to read a variety of iPad related stories. In fact, it was necessary reading as I prepare a presentation tomorrow in Bucharest, Romania, at the US Embassy, where local journalists and bloggers are invited to spend an hour discussing the future of the media.
Any discussion of the future and the media can’t take place with some reference to the iPad.
Highlights of my iPad weekend readings
The Economist devoted its cover story to the iPad, putting Steve Jobs on its cover, complete with halo and a headline that reads: The Book of Jobs: Hope, hype and Apple’s iPad.
In a nutshell, The Economist piece describes the iPad as “…. set to revolutionise the way in which digital media are consumed in homes, schools and offices.”
The flood of devices is likely to have a profound impact on parts of the media business that are already being turned upside-down by the internet. The move from print to digital has not been easy for newspaper or magazine publishers. Readers have proved reluctant to pay for content on the web. Companies are unwilling to pay as much for online advertisements as for paper ones—hardly surprising, given the amount of space on offer. The iPad will probably accelerate the shift away from printed matter towards digital content, which could worsen the industry’s pain in the short term. Yet publishers hope that tablets will turn out to be the 21st-century equivalent of the printed page, offering them compelling new ways to present their content and to charge for it.
Spain’s El Pais had my favorite headline Amarás el iPad sobre todas las cosas, which translates something like “You shall love the iPad over all things”, and the author of the piece starts by saying that “miracles are expected” from the new iPad..
It adds that many who have seen the iPad think it will become the iPod of the baby boomers (those born between 1945 and 1965—-which incliudes me) as we are used to big television screen, and, more important, to reading books, magazines and newspapers in print. So the author adds that perhaps this device will be just perfect, as we cannot read so well on the smaller iPhone screen.
Even the popular German daily, Bild, carried half a page devoted to the iPad, giving it rave reviews and superimposing its own pages and brand on the iPad, to prepare readers for what may yet be to come. Similar stories appeared in other European dailies: Corriere Della Sera, Wall Street Journal Europe, Le Monde, The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Times, Liberation and DeMorgen.. In each case, the iPad was presented, and some type of commentary described it as the one technological advance that may truly change how we read.
The No-Flash Disappointment
Many of the designers and artists that I speak with about the iPad all have same basic lament: why can’t the iPad support Flash?
One such contact, Prof. Jennifer Palilonis,George & Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Multimedia Journalism…
Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana) puts it best:
The problem I see immediately is that although not all of the New York Times interactives (and most other newspapers who do those) are Flash-based, most are. So, how is Apple going to resolve this mounting issue? It would be a HUGE blow to newspapers who want to develop iPad apps if none of the work they do in Flash can be featured there. And even worse, I think this one controversy alone could really limit what we are able to do!
At the same time, Jennifer sees the great possibilities ahead:
I also think that the iPad challenges us to think more about how interactive information graphics, such as data visualizations, narrative animations and journalistic/serious games (an area I have been exploring quite a bit lately) can really take center stage on a device like this. Because of its size, I think people will be more drawn to interactives. The device itself “feels” more like a gaming device, and that type of content, I think, will “feel” more natural for users on a tablet than on a later computer screen.
Jennifer feels that many newspaper newsrooms aren’t devoting resources to interactive graphics because they are very time consuming and the payoff hasn’t been that high.” However” she writes, “the huge benefit is that may interactive topics have the potential for great shelf life and rich data visualizations can be constantly updated over time. So, I just think there’s huge potential here.”
Tabletize.
Here is title slide for the opening of my presentation tomorrow at the US Embassy: Bucharest, Romania
As for my presentation tomorrow here in Romania. I have titled it: Survival in the times of the iPad and beyond. Whether it is the iPad or another similar device, I have no question that we will be using some form of tablet as part of the many platforms we will use to dispense information. This will be a theme of my discussion with Romanian journalists and bloggers tomorrow. Will update you.
Tabletizing is definitely the topic, which is why I am not surprised to hear from my colleague and friend, Roger Fidler (University of Missouri), and the one pioneer experimenter with tablets aimed at newspaper reading. Roger writes me today that he has been swamped with requests for interviews, plus congratulatory messages. I remember Roger telling us about tablets in 1986, and many times after that.
“I’m obviously thrilled about the Apple iPad and the other e-reading devices that are coming on the market.”
By the way, Roger has committed to giving a keynote and moderating a panel at the SND Denver 2010in September. He is also, hosting an E-Reader Symposium at Reynolds Journalism Institute(Columbia, Missouri) on March 7-9. For more information, call
(573) 884-0175.
Mario Garcia Jr., of Garcia Interactive, asks the question:
The iPad: A game changer for newspapers?
http://garciainteractive.com/blog/view/53/
For more on the iPad not supporting Flash, follow the controversy here:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/188210/apple_pulls_flash_content_from_ipad_promos.html/
Is the Day of Tiny Ads Finally Here?
Maybe Apple’s iPad will tip the balance toward the perenially next big thing on the small screen.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/technology/01cache.html?th&emc=th
– E-Readers Fall Short for News, Study Says
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/01/29/e-readers-fall-short-for-news-study-says/?mod=rss_WSJBlog&mod=
– Apple’s iPad has wow factor but is no rescue act for newspapers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/31/apple-ipad-newspapers
– Taking A Deeper Look At Media’s Appetite For The iPad
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-taking-a-deeper-look-at-medias-appetite-for-the-ipad/
– To Deliver, iPad Needs Media Deals
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/business/media/01carr.html?ref=media
– How Do E-Readers Stack Up With iPad In The Mix? Use Our Chart As A Guide
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-how-do-e-readers-stack-up-with-ipad-in-the-mix-use-our-chart-as-a-guide/
– Will Apple’s iPad save the news industry?
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/people/robert/201001/1817/
TheMarioBlog post #470