I spend my working hours emphasizing mobile first.
I keep quoting new research that supports what is obvious: mobile is where the action is.
So now we get this piece with one interesting takeaway:
American adults spent about 3 hours and 30 minutes a day using the mobile internet in 2019, an increase of about 20 minutes from a year earlier, according to measurement company Zenith. The firm expects that time to grow to over four hours in 2021.
A second takeaway of interest:
The overall time Americans spend on various media is expected to grow to nearly 11 hours per day this year, after accounting for declines in time spent with other media like TV and newspapers that are increasingly moving online, according to Zenith.
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What a great basket of opportunity for media brands to get in the action here. But, with that, come the challenges. To attract this audience to stay with your brand, there must be quality content that turns into quality time and engagement.
By that we mean, in my view:
- Content that is updated for specific stories of interest and trending.
- Ability to zero in on stories that the audience may know about, but wishes to go more in depth.
- Stories that are so unique the reader is not likely to have seen them anywhere until spotted on your own brand medium—those are usually referred to as “invisible stories.
I am often surprised by how few people in newsrooms are on a mission to command attention on mobile devices.
It can be as simple as scheduled briefings/newsletters, and push notifications for interesting content.
What new research do we need to support what we have learned here? All one has to do is take a look around while riding a bus or a train anywhere in the world. It is eyes and fingers on the screen.
They could be reading your story and sampling your content.
Meanwhile, in Iran: a front page of interest
This is the front page of an Iranian newspaper covering the downing of a Ukrainian airliner by Iran’s own military units. According to Al Jazeera, the piece pays tributes to the victims. As a designer I wonder if the shape of the text block is there to resemble the tail of the jetliner. Interesting at every level. Is this the type of serious story that a designer would play with such visual gimmicks?
, the piece pays tributes to the victims. As a designer I wonder if the shape of the text block is there to resemble the tail of the jetliner. Interesting at every level. Is this the type of serious story that a designer would play with such visual gimmicks?
Start the year with The Story
A good read to start the year 2020: The full trilogy of The Story now available–3 books to guide you through a mobile first strategy. Whether you’re a reporter, editor, designer, publisher, corporate communicator, The Story is for you! https://amazon
Mario’s speaking engagements
March 13, 2020
Keynote presentation at the National Media College Association Spring Convention, New York City, NY
March 27, 2020
Keynote
New York Press Association (NYPA), Saratoga Springs, NY.
TheMarioBlog post # 3184