It seems like a perfect marriage, the iPhone and news offerings: the race is on to get the two together
At Ball State University, a class that combines telecommunications (broadcast news), journalism graphics and computer science departments has designed and developed an interactive news and advertising application for the iPhone.
Ball State journalism professor Jennifer George Palilonis, tells us that this week they are conducting usability tests, and starting next week, will engage in a four-week study during which they are going to push weekly campus news updates to people’s iPhones! Then, the users will take surveys about the content and experience.
The cool thing is that the content isn’t just text and photos. We’re doing a total multimedia news update with text, photos, slideshows, video, animations and even interactive graphics!
Jenn reminds us that the content that’s up right now is filler content for usability tests. Next week and every week following for four weeks, there will be updated, timely news, entertainment, weather and sports information.
Those who would like more information about this course and the project outlined above, can contact Professor Palilonis directly at
jageorge2@bsu.edu
I know that several other universities in the United States are currently conducting research about the iPhone, and I do welcome information about those projects here.
By the way, we promise to stay in touch with Professor Palilonis in the weeks ahead to bring you updates about this much needed and fascinating study.
Here’s the link to the site.
http://www.cs.bsu.edu/homepages/tanksale/imedia
Report from India #2 : Pushing that little cheap car—the Tata Nano
Double page newspaper advertising today for the new Tata Nano car
Will these cyclists in the busy Delhi streets rush out to the show room to buy the affordable Tata Nano?
It is new and it is here.
Tata Motor’s Nano, the so called “The People’s Car” has arrived this week in India. It is a car the world has been waiting for, indeed. The little Nano sells for under $2000 dollars, and, if its makers are right, it will become the car of choice for millions of Indians who cannot afford an automobile now, and who ride their bycicles or motorbikes to get around.
Ironically, the four-seater car, the world’s cheapest, is produced by the the owners of Britain’s luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands . Tata Motors is hoping that their new, inexpensive car will revive the automobile industry—-at least in this part of the world, but hopefully everywhere else as the car begins to move out of India.
In India this week, as Rattan Tata himself unveiled the Nano, there was hope that this car will revive the economy and offer a sign of optimism for all Indians who will now be able to drive a car.
In one of the newspapers yesterday, a man in his 50s, who has been a private driver for richer clients was quoted saying: “I have spent my entire working life driving people around. But, at the end of the day, I would take my bike to go home. I have now bought a Nano, and I will be very proud to be able to drive my family for an outing as opposed to taking the bus.”
These are the stories that Tata Motors’ execs want to hear more about. This morning, as I travelled by car to the office in Delhi, I wondered how many of the many bikes and motorbikes snaking around us in traffic will be a thing of the past soon, as more Nanos take to the congested streets of the big metropolitan cities of India.
For the newspapers, a bonanza of double page ads promoting the new Nano. Not bad.
Mario Garcia Jr. asks the question: How much should you listen to your audience after a redesign?
Here is his first paragraph for that posting:
One of my favorite stories that I repeat often to redesign clients is one my father told me after his redesign of the Des Moines Register newspaper. Four days after the paper launched the redesign, a frantic editor called him extremely concerned about the three hundred or so calls they received from readers who hated the redesign. My father instructed the editor to run out to the nearest liquor store and get a bottle of champagne. When the editor asked why my father told him that only getting three hundred “hate it” calls from a circulation of over 150,000 was cause to celebrate.
For complete post, go here:
http://garciainteractive.com/blog/view/40/
The Monocle Weekly: Mario in the Tyler Brulé radio show
Sunday’s The Monocle Weekly radio show was devoted to the future of news; Tyler Brulé‘s guests discuss the end of the Seattle P-I, the future of network news
On the heels of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s final printed edition, Tyler Brulé devotes his weekly Monocle Radio show to the future of newspapers. I was honored to be one of the guests.
For those interested to listen: the program aired live Sunday, March 22, at 12:00 CET and is downloadable on iTunes as The Monocle Weekly and is available to listen to on Monocle’s website, www.monocle.com.
From www.monocle.com:
This week Tyler Brûlé anchors the show from New York and takes a special look at the current state of the media industry. Newspaper design guru and consultant Mario García shares his insights about where print media is heading and Kate O’Brian, senior vice president for news at ABC, is in the studio to talk about the future of the network nightly newscast. In the face of financial cutbacks across the board we also take a look at how the US market is treating the design community, with Jenna Lyons, creative director of J.Crew, and architect Deborah Berke. Monocle’s bureau chief for the Americas Ann Marie Gardner is also in the studio and editor Andrew Tuck joins the team on the line from London. We also hear from culture editor Robert Bound, who’s visiting Sharjah for the Art Biennial.
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To read TheRodrigoFino blog, in Spanish, go:
https://garciamedia.com/latinamerica/blog/
TheMarioBlog posting #223
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