Is This The Future of Magazines & Newspapers? Watch Video and Decide

The media/advertising industries have long talked about (decades actually) next generation delivery platforms to little avail.  Now that many magazines & newspapers have disappeared or retreated into sub-par online only versions, there is more pressure to not just showcase the future—but to actually deliver it in a robust platform that is appealing, useful and engaging for the readers and effective for advertisers.  

A critical bridge for them to cross has been the ability to enable access to their content free from the confines of having the reader tied to a computer. With Amazon, Sony, Intel, Apple, Barnes & Nobel (and a host of others) driving down the cost of readers/tablets, the logical next step will be to offer them free with subscriptions (similar to cell plans). When that happens, there will be sufficient competition and critical enough mass to develop appealing and profitable platforms for publishers that make the timely leap. 

Publishers have been waiting for and like the reader format because it helps them migrate with the look and feel of paper–though that may be the wrong motivation.  Most migrations start at a “comfortable” level, but it does not always do justice to the power and capabilities of the new technology.  For example, earlier formats failed to supply a degree of interactivity that made the experience more than just a digital version of the printed format. When we developed the first Internet pages in the 90s the migration terminology that kept media types comfortable was referring to home page content as “above or below” the fold.  Well we have come a long way since then and with many publishers still uncomfortable–they must now do a better job at migrating to PC, mobile, tablet/reader and maybe even game platforms if they really want to reach the NextGen mass markets.  

Here is one attempt from Time that I think you will enjoy even if it is a bit comfy:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntyXvLnxyXk