In last year’s EC100 issue, one of our “InSites” was a tool called Paper.li which allows you to aggregate social content into a daily “newspaper.” It’s great for people who want the convenience Twitter and Facebook provide as aggregation tools, without the annoyance of actually having to be on either of those sites. And now EContent is using Paper.li
So, if you want to see what EContent, its columnists, and industry experts are Tweeting about, head over to the The EContent Daily.
The October edition of EContent has a great cover story about the proliferation of daily deals (keep your eyes peeled) so when a story about Facebook’s discontinuation of its deals program hit my inbox today, I was more than a little curious. Daily Deal Media writes:
Groupon and media companies need an aggressive outbound sales teams calling or in market street sales team. This doesn’t fit Facebook’s model. They are a technology company, not a sales company.
That’s understandable. Facebook relies on companies and individuals to say, “Hey, why don’t we put up a Facebook ad?” and then create the ad themselves. But as any ad sales rep can tell you, that’s not how most advertising sales go. Yelp!, on the other hand, decided to end its deals program based on an entirely different set of problems, according to DDM.
If quality wins the daily deals game, and companies have to repeatedly step up their game, its becomes harder and harder to compete with companies like Groupon and Living Social that focus exclusively on offering great daily deals. In other words, what seemed like a quick, easy way to make money and offer value to users turned out to be more complicated than many companies thought.
The Financial Times just may go down in history as the publication that stood up to Apple.
Last year 10% of FT’s new subscription revenue came through the iPad. But two months ago Apple started requiring all in-app purchases go through the iTunes store, and it seems that FT is standing its ground…perhaps to its detriment. The Financial Times apps have disappear from iTunes.
Apparently, though, the skirmish isn’t about money. Financial Times is more concerned with the customer data it gathered by processing its own subscriptions, according to PaidContent. It just goes to show the value of information. What’s a measly 30% of 10,000 (or more) iPad subscribers when you can mine the subscriber info for valuable stats that can make your product more alluring to advertisers.
According to Futuresource Consulting, Western Europe is embracing ebooks in a big way, with the British leading the charge. According to Which?:
UK consumers generated close to half of Western Europe’s entire spend on e-books last year, figures from a new European e-book and e-reader report said.
But as EContent reported in July, the rest of the world isn’t quite ready to commit to an ereader just yet:
As it turns out, ebooks are being embraced faster in some regions than in others. In the U.S., where a greater proportion of the population owns e-readers, tablets, and smartphones that can display ebooks, the market grew 76.2% from 2009 to 2010, double the growth rate of the rest of the world. Growth in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa has, in particular, been slower than Outsell had expected.
After my last couple of air travel experiences, I vowed to start taking the train more. Canceled and missed flights led to frustration, so I don’t blame authors reluctant to embark on book tours — even if they’re more worried about budget than getting stuck at Dulles over night. Unfortunately this change in book promotions has led to the virtual shuttering of BookTour.com, a site dedicated to helping authors organize these trips, and helping readers find events.
I think there’s more than just limited marketing budgets behind the fall of BookTour.com. I’ve been to my fair share of author events. In college I had no choice but to attend them as homework for publishing classes. Sometimes the authors are fun and engaging, and sometimes they just read from the book — which I can do myself. More recently I saw Wally Lamb read an excerpt from his unreleased, forthcoming novel. That was cool, and I felt a little like I was being let in on the secret. My favorite author experience, though, was at the Connecticut Forum’s Book Club event where John Irving, Azar Nafisi, and Jonathan Franzen engaged in a panel discussion about more than just their own books. (more…)
Today, Google announced plans to buy Motorola Mobile, or as one of my friends put it in a Facebook post: “In other news, Google moves forward with their plans for total world domination… good for them.” The search giant says:
The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.
This move, however, has some anti-monopoly hackles raised. Jamie Court, president and CEO of Consumer Watchdog, issued a statement raising questions about the acquisition. He wrote: (more…)
Yesterday, Future U.S., a publisher of gaming and technology media properties announced an exclusive partnership with Justin.tv, owner of Twitch.tv, a gaming video and chat community. Twitch.tv, for the non-gamers among you, is a place where you watch streaming video of game play. It’s not exactly my thing, but that’s kind of the point… These two companies are joining forces to provide more content for a very specific demographic.
“Justin.tv and Digital Future are partnering because the core audience is the male influencer… This partnership really represents the perfect marriage, allowing us to cross-link and deliver engaging content ranging from long form 8 hour live videos to short form 30 second clips,” says Rachelle Considine, VP of sales and marketing at Future U.S. “The partnership will also allow Digital Future to deliver a coveted unduplicated audience of nearly 8 million influential, engaged 18-34 year old males, furthering Future’s expansion into the digital space. Simultaneously, Twitch.tv is able to grow its audience by tapping Future’s established network of loyal gaming fans.” (more…)
You may have heard that Facebook bought ebook publisher Push Pop press, and you’re probably wondering if Mark Zuckerberg is going to try and sell you his memoir next time you sign into your account. Facebook says no. According to the Push Pop site:
Although Facebook isn’t planning to start publishing digital books, the ideas and technology behind Push Pop Press will be integrated with Facebook, giving people even richer ways to share their stories.
This could be big news for publishers using Facebook to push their content to the 750+ million users. Imagine the slick capabilities of Push Pop at your disposal, turning a boring old text post into an engaging multimedia experience. But when you consider Facebook’s quest to go beyond its social network borders and into entertainment distribution, this new acquisition gets even more interesting.
Sure, Facebook is home to one of the largest gaming platforms in the world and even started streaming movies through a deal with Warner Brothers, but the social network doesn’t own the Zynga games or WB movies that drive so much traffic to the site. Facebook could be getting out ahead of the ebook competition.
It may also be worth considering this purchase in light of the June sale of MySpace to Specific Media and Justin Timberlake. It was widely reported at the time that the new owners intended to make MySpace an entertainment destination–which it always sort of was, at least for musicians. It may be more than a little interesting to see how these two sites pursue the same goal.
According to a new study from MTV and Latitude, the app is changing our lives in three fundamental ways. The study, titled Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em: Adoption, Abandonment, and the App-Addled Consumer, says:
Apps are enhancing our day-to-day experiences directly by enabling productivity, achievement of our personal goals, and so on—and indirectly through the resulting creation of free time, improved mental well-being, opportunities for positive discovery, and more.
Yes, that’s right. Apps make your life better. In fact, 70% of people said apps “make the rest of life better.” Furthermore, “73% said apps allow time to connect and interact with family and friends.”
More interesting, though, is what the study has to say about the life-cycle of an app:
While the early stages of the app life cycle are often based on recommendations, the final stages are more personal. Only 37% of entertainment apps and 39% of gaming apps continue to be used because friends use the same apps.
For TV and movie apps, ease of use (79%) and new content (55%) are the biggest reasons consumers will use an app for the long term. Whereas better alternatives (55%) and lack of new content (42%) will drive a consumer to delete an app.
Gamers look for apps that are challenging (75%) and easy to use (73%). With gaming apps, more than three-fourths (77%) of consumers say they’ll delete an app simply after they lose interest.
I’ve always bristled a little at the idea that the Facebook-generation has no sense, or expectation of privacy. I started thinking about this concept more this week, oddly enough, when I listened to a Slate podcast on digital manners about whether someone was obligated to announce a death in the family via Facebook. It asked the question, “Are some things too private for Facebook?”
I answered with a resounding, “Yes!”
Certainly there are people on social networks who shamelessly detail every mundane thought, deep emotion, or devastating loss. I’ve always assumed these people have no sense of privacy in general — that they argue in public with their significant others, cry in the office, and give strangers detailed updates on their recent trip to the doctor. Basically, I figure they are the kind of people you don’t want to be stuck next to on a plane. (more…)
