Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog - Mobile http://www.sfnblog.com/ en Copyright 2012 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification The Times of London digital strategy evolves Picture 21.png
When News International properties The Times and The Sunday Times of London put up hard paywalls in July 2010 it seemed like their digital strategy had been decided in favour of paying users and against sharing on the web. But now an interview with News International's digital product director Nick Bell, which appeared in Paid Content earlier this week, suggests that The Times is considering making its paywall ever-so-slightly leakier by allowing subscribers to share articles with their direct friends. 

Bell is quoted in the article saying that sharing has been "a hotly-debated topic" at the Times headquarters. 
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2012/01/the_times_of_london_digital_strategy_evo.php http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2012/01/the_times_of_london_digital_strategy_evo.php Internet Mobile digital iPad paywall sunday times times of london Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:10:28 -0600 The Guardian to start charging for its iPad app Picture 4.png
The holiday's over. After being available for free for the past 3 months thanks to a sponsorship deal from Channel 4, The Guardian is set to start charging for its iPad app. 

Starting this Friday, current users will be asked to pay £9.99 a month for the app. Not everyone will have to pay right away: new users will be given a seven day trial period before they face any fees, and print subscribers will get the app at no extra cost. But even with these offers, the charge is The Guardian's highest fee for any digital product. The paper's mobile app, by comparison, costs £2.99 for six months, £4.99 for a year and is free in the US.
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2012/01/the_guardian_to_start_charging_for_its_i.php http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2012/01/the_guardian_to_start_charging_for_its_i.php Financials Mobile app Guardian iPad paid access Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:23:48 -0600 Luke Wroblewski on how news organizations can go "mobile first"
In a recent interview, Luke Wroblewski (a top expert on mobile design and usability) explained why news publishers should start thinking "mobile first"--and how they can achieve that goal to get ahead of the next disruptive wave of media technology...

Continue reading on Knight Digital Media Center]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/12/luke_wroblewski_on_how_news_organization.php http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/12/luke_wroblewski_on_how_news_organization.php Mobile mobile news Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:33:12 -0600 HTML5 - the mobile fragmentation saviour?
Continue reading on StrategyEye
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/11/html5_-_the_mobile_fragmentation_saviour.php http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/11/html5_-_the_mobile_fragmentation_saviour.php Mobile HTML5 mobile display Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:06:43 -0600 On the Media: Will computer tablets help save newspapers? philly3.jpgCash registers should be whirring happily this holiday season with sales of Apple's iPad, Amazon's Kindle Fire and other computer tablets. If the wave of buyers behave anything like those who went before, they'll be spending a lot of time on their new gadgets following the news.

But how best to capture, and profit from, the latest digital phenomenon? Most news companies have placed their bets on building customized tablet applications.

Continue reading in the Los Angeles Times]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/11/on_the_media_will_computer_tablets_help.php http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/11/on_the_media_will_computer_tablets_help.php Internet Mobile app Tablet Computer Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:10:31 -0600 Is the app economy killing online publishers? by Yaron Galai

A few months ago I tweeted this: "If I were a publisher I would either: a) pull my app from the App Store or b) invest all available cash in Apple stock." The latter piece of advice was probably pretty solid, if not very practical -- Apple's stock has been performing like no other in recent history. But my former piece of advice for publishers - to pull their apps from the App Store - doesn't seem to have resonated much, as many publishers keep pushing out their respective iPhone and iPad apps.

Continue reading on GigaOm
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/09/is_the_app_economy_killing_online_publis.php http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/09/is_the_app_economy_killing_online_publis.php Internet Mobile apps Tue, 27 Sep 2011 02:06:49 -0600 Comparing The New Aggregators: Flipboard, Pulse, Zite, Float And More pulse2.jpgToday, the rise of tablets and apps is changing how we gather and consume content.  A couple of apps have grabbed the headlines in recent months. Flipboard has closed over $60 million in funding and has a $200 million valuation. More recently, Zite was snapped up by CNN. Even Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is jumping on this bandwagon, based on reports of Google Propeller designed so Android and iOS users can curate content.

Continue reading on paidContent.org


]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/09/comparing_the_new_aggregators_flipboard.php http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/09/comparing_the_new_aggregators_flipboard.php Internet Mobile aggregator apps Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:58:27 -0600 News organizations should build apps that solve problems, not just republish content
An application, by definition, should be applied to perform a task, to solve a problem. Most news doesn't do that.

Rather than just feed readers recent stories you wrote about their problems, apps can provide tools and data that enable users to actually solve their problems. When you solve problems, you get more loyal users and a chance to make more money. Here's how.

Continue reading on Poynter
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/09/news_organizations_should_build_apps_tha.php http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/09/news_organizations_should_build_apps_tha.php Internet Mobile apps Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:50:45 -0600 UK: Newspapers Are Messing Up Their Mobile Strategies, Researchers Say
Publications in 66 UK cities have mostly abandoned experiments with chargeable SMS delivery and have instead created free mobile websites.

But, out of the 23 papers with mobile sites, only three sell display advertising against their pages, according to a paper presented by researchers Francois Nel and Oscar Westlund to Cardiff University's Future Of Journalism conference.

Continue reading on paidContent.org
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/09/uk_newspapers_are_messing_up_their_mobil.php http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/09/uk_newspapers_are_messing_up_their_mobil.php Mobile mobile advertising mobile message advertising mobile news Fri, 16 Sep 2011 02:54:50 -0600 Tablet Publishing: Why Sports Illustrated Is Looking Beyond the iPad si2.jpgThe magazine industry's current interest and investment in tablets beyond the iPad can be described as tentative at best.

It's not terribly surprising. Even by the most conservative of estimates, the iPad will make up the lion's share of worldwide tablet sales for the next three to four years. Nearly seven of every ten tablets in consumers' hands at year's end will be iPads, Gartner forecasts.

Continue reading on Mashable
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/07/tablet_publishing_why_sports_illustrated.php http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/07/tablet_publishing_why_sports_illustrated.php Mobile iPad Tablet Computer Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:53:27 -0600 France: The ePresse Digital Kiosk: First Lessons

On June 30th, the French consortium ePresse opened its digital kiosk. Six months of hard work for a very small team (the ePresse consortium is a three persons operation: a CTO, a marketing person, and a manager), and still a long way to go. ePresse brought up eight titles: five dailies (Le Figaro, Le Parisien and its national edition, Libération, the sports daily l'Equipe and the business paper Les Echos), and three newsweeklies (L'Express, Le Point, Le Nouvel Observateur).

Continue reading on Monday Note
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/07/france_the_epresse_digital_kiosk_first_l.php http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/07/france_the_epresse_digital_kiosk_first_l.php Business Internet Mobile digital newsstand Wed, 13 Jul 2011 02:26:48 -0600 Why WSJ Mobile App Gets ** Customer Reviews wsj_iphone.jpgThe Wall Street Journal's iPhone app had just 2 stars in Apple's App Store at the time of this writing. Averaged across 68,418 consumer reviews, the rating is not just a reflection of a few irate users.

As a rough estimate, a 2-star average across 68,418 reviews means that 40,000 users gave the application a 1-star rating. Given the 90-9-1 rule for social design, most users never bother reviewing products, so 40,000 low scores represent at least half a million dissatisfied customers.

The WSJ is one of the world's most respected newspapers and has long been a digital pioneer. How can it produce a 2-star mobile app?

Continue reading on Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/07/why_wsj_mobile_app_gets_customer_reviews.php http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2011/07/why_wsj_mobile_app_gets_customer_reviews.php Mobile app usability testing Wall Street Journal Thu, 07 Jul 2011 03:55:16 -0600 UK: The Times: the paywall puzzle brock.jpgby George Brock

The Times reaches 100,000 digital subscribers and I'm still baffled by their online strategy. I ought to be better-placed than many to figure out what they're up to (declaration: I used to work there). But it's not easy.

Continue reading on georgebrock.net
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/business/2011/07/uk_the_times_the_paywall_puzzle.php http://www.sfnblog.com/business/2011/07/uk_the_times_the_paywall_puzzle.php Business Internet Mobile iPad iPhone paying for content Tue, 05 Jul 2011 02:47:17 -0600 Where do tablets fit in your news organization's future?
Continue reading on the Reynolds Journalism Institute site
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/07/where_do_tablets_fit_in_your_news_organi.php http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/07/where_do_tablets_fit_in_your_news_organi.php Business Internet Mobile iPad Tablet Computer Tue, 05 Jul 2011 02:39:45 -0600 USA: Why The NY Post Is The Top Grossing Publisher's IPad App post_ipad.jpgThe New York Post hasn't made any real money in years. That's why it's an unlikely frontrunner in the publishing industry's uneasy turf war with Apple and the IPad. And even though it comes from a company that is spending tens of millions to invent a new news product for the IPad (News Corp's "The Daily"), the Post has fired the loudest and most effective shots for the newspaper industry directly at Apple's broadside.

Continue reading on C-Scape
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/business/2011/07/usa_why_the_ny_post_is_the_top_grossing.php http://www.sfnblog.com/business/2011/07/usa_why_the_ny_post_is_the_top_grossing.php Business Internet Mobile app iPad paying for content Mon, 04 Jul 2011 03:00:14 -0600