Publishers do need options for ipad magazine editions.  Perhaps not just magazine apps but other options such as the HTML5 option from Scribd which we may see as another presentation option.

With publishers’ budgets and resources fairly limited, online document marketplace Scribd hopes that instead of devoting the time and fees to working with major content design firms, magazines will simply let it create an HTML5 app for them in a matter of minutes. The only price: Scribd wants a share of the ad revenues.

via Scribd: Publishers Are Wasting Time, Money, Effort In Creating iPad Apps | paidContent.

Apps should deliver brand extension value and not just the latest digital or tablet magazine edition.  What are your thoughts?

A nice article and presentation link speaking to the importance of social media in the modern publishing business model.

What business are you in as a publisher? If you believe that your core business is publishing, then you are competing with the entire world we are all publishers today.

via Junta42 Content Marketing blog: The Social Media Publishing Model for Publishers.

I have gone as far as saying that the future circ model for publishers will be digital and will be comprised of various communities and social segments.

Own your niche and make it unique with print, web, and digital delivery and interaction formats for your audience.

Google Buzz leverages your existing friends and provides a clear public or private update option. For publishers, this is another social media promotion and interaction channel. Fans, followers, and leverage for your publication audience.

Share updates, photos, videos, and more. Start conversations about the things you find interesting.

via Google Buzz.

A simple offer and a one page complete signup conversion.   Not to mention the subscription promo of a makeover contest.  I like the addition of the communication preferences right on the main subscription page.

Would you like the once in a lifetime opportunity to win a makeover with the editors of Vogue, the world's fashion authority?

via Condé Nast Magazines: Vogue.

Notice too the focus of the page on the subscription conversion and no other content or alternate links except for terms items.  Good job on the subscription page Vogue!

Are you ready for the age of tablet magazines?  Will it take the Apple iTablet to tip the critical mass toward visual tablet styled and periodic content.  Or has just the idea of a new and visually stunning presentation of unbound content in digital format already placed in motion the design talent and teams that will define the Magazine 3.0 period?

I recently posted the SI magazine tablet concept and today saw Bonnair’s digital tablet magazine video with a similar concept.  Yes, I love them both and can’t wait to share these and more ideas with my own team.  Great job and thanks for sharing your concept ideas.

The concept uses the power of digital media to create a rich and meaningful experience, while maintaining the relaxed and curated features of printed magazines. It has been designed for a world in which interactivity, abundant information and unlimited options could be perceived as intrusive and overwhelming.

via Digital Magazines: Bonnier Mag+ Prototype | Bonnier AB.

Magazine Tablet Video

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

I received my Google Wave invite from a new twitter pal (thanks again Alice @aliceinthewater http://twitter.com/Davorado/status/5576326179) and can see that it’s probably going to help bridge people to a new method of communicating.  Not that I think it will eliminate email the way we know it today.  At least not for another 5 years.  But, it strongly supports the social networking models, streams, and posting that we are growing familiar with in most social platforms.

It will be very interesting to see how the Wave is received and what new products (widgets) are created to add more value to the Google platform.  I can already see that I’ll use it for anything internal for my company to eliminate the email mess.  Maybe this process will force in some outside participants to adopt the tool in a similar way that critical mass fueled the adoption of the fax machine.

I hope!

Condé Nast shows a good sign that they understand the value of their publication website offerings. It’s refreshing to see an industry leader make moves that all publishers should be making online to insure that the magazine brand lives beyond the print magazine page.  Digital media elements of the traditional print magazine can be unique and I’m looking forward to seeing other publishers make moves toward their own magazine apps, websites, and digital editions to be a unique element of the brand tailored to the medium.

We have six iPhone Apps and more on the way, and GQ is the first magazine to launch an iPhone App that’s a full replica of the print magazine, complete with sponsors and circulation.

via Condé Nast Moving Away From Magazine Web Sites as Print ‘Companions’ – emedia and Technology @ FolioMag.com.

And regardless of the media channel, we must remind publishers to enable and facilitate social sharing and collaboration with the content published to maximize utility, brand, and content value.

Time, Hearst, and Conde Nast are taking steps to insure they have a seat at the eMedia table.  Mobile and other digital representations of the magazine brand are knocking on the door.

See the full MediaMemo by Peter Kafka

The idea: The new company, which will operate independently from the publishers that invest in it, will create a digital storefront where consumers can purchase and manage their subscriptions that can be delivered to any device. The pitch: Control a direct relationship with consumers, while gaining leverage with heavyweights like Apple AAPL and Amazon AMZN.

via Here Comes An iTunes For Magazines TWX, AAPL.

Standards, simple technical requirements, and full industry participation will be required to make any attempt at platform control by the magazine industry a possibility.

A recent discussion on the MediaPRO community site prompted me to share my take on digital edition magazine advertising.  Specifically, web based banner ads in and around digital magazines.

I agree with the need for publishers to view their digital editions as a unique brand element. Editorial multimedia and augmented ad or commercial capabilities are also excellent in digital format.  We want our print readers to be excited about the same magazine issue in their email inbox as the digital version to see the “interactive and multimedia version” of the issue.  We also want them to view web based elements that have been optimized for the website.

However, I don’t think a digital edition issue or platform is “monetized” by adding player frame banners or ad serving zones inside the issue.  Especially generic served ads.  Show a bank of text ads or an ad for a product/service with no connection to your brand and you’ll let everyone know immediately the value of your advertising program. Every magazine is different in terms of objectives online, but most publishers want to achieve a quality cover-to-cover browsing experience with their digital magazines.  Let’s not forget that a full page ad in a digital edition is an advertisement (much better than a banner ad) and should be producing ad revenue in that digital display format.  And even more revenue if the ad has been enhanced, optimized, or provides interactive elements.

I feel that relevant ads, quality creative guidelines, within the digital magazine, that enhance the reader experience, and maintain a proper multimedia balance for reader expectations will produce higher long term value and revenue to the publisher.

Please share your ideas and examples of digital magazines that are producing audience development and advertiser results.

Image: Digital Editions Discussion Group from MediaPRO

I was recently reading My Thoughts on Posterous as a Lifestreaming Platform at the lifestreamblog.com by Mark Krynsky.  Have you ever thought about your own interactions with multiple social tools?

I’m interested in aggregation, optimization, and ease of use when sharing my own ideas and stories.  But I also understand and enjoy the specific social media platforms and know that the benefit of those features exists when directly accessing the platform.

Sweetcron is an open source php sysql favorite that I highly recommend. I use it as a news feed for my own industry. Posterous seems to be a great way to share posts in a way that drove my interest in Ping.fm.

Enter Storytlr!

Storytlr seems to be a good fit for an individual that wants to have a clean lifestream.

Import your web 2.0 life.

Pick your sources and they will appear as a lifestream directly on your site. We currently support the following services:

Post anything you want

In just a few simple steps you can update your status, share a song you liked, give your opinion or link to an interesting site.

via storytlr | your life online.

I’ve started my storytlr account and I’ll let you know how I begin to use the service.