So, I just had a chance to try the Nook for the first time at Barnes & Noble, and I have previously used The Kindle, as well as Kindle for the iPhone. Actually, since Kindle came out with their App I have begun reading quite a bit more, since my books are so much more accessible.

Well, anyway back to my point at hand the Nook - how haphazard and confusing. Do I press the arrows on the side or use the graphical icons on the touch screen, but I can’t touch the e-ink screen, right? Wow just poor UI development & implementation.

But despite the design flaws - as early adopters; what have Amazon & Barnes & Noble done well? They have educated and primed the reading public for what e-books could be, offered us a taste of how accessible and easy it could be to have our favorite newspapers delivered electronically, or to immediatly download a best-seller.

Well, if past experiances are anything to go on, then Apple owes the two retailers a huge Thank You. Why? Because they have done a tremendous job in letting the public know what the e-book is and how it works. And while Apple will have forgone any sort of first-mover advantage, when their iBooks store debuts in a few short days, the hard work will have been done and we’ll know what to expect. Further, we can bank on the fact that Apple will bring their signature touch to UI to books, which will ensure an ease of use for just about anyone. Coupled with the versatility of the iPad, Apple will have helped build-on and championed the revolution of another industry. Now, I recognize that not everyone is a fan of e-books and that’s fine; there will always be a place for print editions just like there are Tellers & ATMs.

Another sign of trouble for B&N’s Nook and the opportunity that lies ahead for the iPad; I have typed this entire post from my iPhone using AT&T’s free in-store hot spot service.

Both leading up to, and of course, after Apple’s January 27th iPad announcement the interwebs were, and have been, a buzz about the tablet device that will now debut in less than a week.  It’s certainly been an interesting development to observe, and follow, as the implications could potentially run far and wide - both for the computing industry, as well as those in the content creation business.

Personally, I think the iPad taps into the power of the iPhone platform but serves it up in an even more tangible size and for that matter a size that will likely in time become more palatable to a wider breath of audiences.  The iPad unlike the iPhone will have no expensive cellular contract or service usage agreements, it will simply work on any WiFi connection, or those users that wish can opt in to a month-to-month data service with AT&T.  In terms of the interaction, since the web’s introduction it has been a point & click type of world, but the iPad will change that it, and it will morph into a hands-on environment.  We’ll be able to look past the device and become fully consumed with our music, movies, and of course text-based content - or more poignantly those delineations are going to continue to become harder to make.  We’ll see magazines with embeded Podcasts, and electronic books that offer videos about their subject matter, and newspapers that will strike us more as the local television channel than the traditional paper.

In the process, this iPad-ization of content is going to further drive consumption, alter the media landscape, and change the dynamics of how we navigate and interact with this mass of content that is now before us on the internet.  This change is also going to have a profound effect on how, and where, ad dollars are spent…adding bonafide and beautiful digital versions to popular publications such as Wired, ESPN The Magazine, GQ among others.  Already, there has been some discussion as to the number of adverstisers that have signed on with the likes of Time Magazine and The Wall Street Journal to take out full-page ads in the upcoming digital editions.  So, effectively what this means is that advertisers will now have a broader spectrum to choose from when building their marketing mix; now the options will include outdoor & event-based, traditional broadcast & print (national, regional, & local), web (banner & text), and now graphical digital editions of mainstream publications.

Beyond advertising, more importantly for communications professionals this move toward tablet computing continues to break down the traditional barriers to sharing and distributing a story, a spokesperson, or a campaign message.  Further, as the computer shifts from weighty laptop or stagnant desktop, the power shift for content distribution and consumption continues as platforms like the iPad will make accessing content easier, more intimate, and ubiquitous.  The iPad and its successors will ultimately become yet another powerful avenue for our clients to consider when planning their campaigns, to target their message and showcase their unique content. For instance, this is an avenue whereby a client can develop and publish an App that showcases their brand and messaging, or simply develop their own unique audio and video content that the consumer can access from their device.

Of course, as this trend continues we’ll be monitoring it here at The Media Backpage.  The question, however that remains, is how will you leverage The iPadization of Content for your clients?

I have a plan for Fox to change the Late Night game – it extends beyond just hiring Conan - and in the process it would leverage their existing assets and create a significant stream of revenue for the Fox television network. This strategy would shake up the network TV landscape, and would offer Fox the opportunity to join the party at 11:35 PM.

It wasn’t that long ago that Fox was as struggling start-up network, however today it is often ranked at the top of the ratings with blockbusters like American Idol, and 24, and yet after the local news at 10 PM the local affiliates transition to blocks of syndicated sitcoms. So, it’s time to shake things up and move past old Seinfeld repeats.

Here’s the idea: build a national newscast to air at 11 PM using the resources of the Fox News Channel and then lead into Conan O’Brien at 11:35 PM. It’s the perfect opportunity to extend the Fox News Channel’s brand, to bring something new to the timeslot, and to set Conan up for a fair fight in late night. On the other Networks, the traditional 11 PM newscast has been produced by the local affiliates, however Fox already serves that niche at 10 PM and there is no other eleven o’clock National newscast on any of the broadcast networks. This would offer Fox the opportunity to differentiate its programming, showcase its news reporting talents, and to familiarize new audiences with the FNC brand, and then position them to lead into Conan at 11:35 PM. With that strategy, since Conan’s demos match up better with Fox’s than NBC, he could build an audience that would grow over time and carve out a real home run for Fox in the Late Night day-part.

While many are arguing that Conan can sign with Fox and go on the air at 11 PM to beat Jay and Dave to the punch, I think that’s the wrong approach. It’s too similar to Jay Leno’s failed primetime experiment; which if nothing else teaches us that audiences expect that Late Night television will start after the late news. Further, a weakness of putting Conan on at 11 PM is that Fox could find itself in the precarious position of viewer turnout thirty-five minutes into his program as they flip to Leno or Letterman.

This proposed strategy has a unique value proposition as a win, win, win. First, a win for the affiliates because Fox will make their 11 PM more relevant and differentiate them in their marketplace; a win for Conan who gets to re-join the Late Night competition going head to head with his rivals, and perhaps most importantly a win for advertisers who covet Fox’s younger skewing demos.

If you happen to work for the Fox network feel free to run with the idea; of course I would be happy to further consult with you on how to best design and bring this strategy to fruition…

Tear down those walls. In today’s social media infused PR & Marketing environment it’s no longer to your benefit to only publish content to your campaign website. No, in fact in today’s iPhone wielding, Twitter, & Facebook obsessed world it’s to your advantage to Syndicate your content to as many platforms as possible.

Such a concept of sharing content used to be a dirty thought, as you wanted to control your content and simply drive audiences directly to your website. However, while that is still true today, the strategy for obtaining and reaching consumers of your content has shifted; and the focus is now on spreading your message as widely as possible and having the audience further disseminate your content and propel new eyeballs in your direction. As audiences become more and more fragmented it is increasingly important to share your content and extend its reach in order to help meet the increased diversity with which content is consumed.

Sharing your content and syndicating it benefits your campaign in a number of innovative ways:

• By increasing the availability of the content, creating more pipes that lead back to your website & allowing you to reach broader audiences.
• Engaged audiences take ownership and will proactively share your news, and spread the message on their own to their own friends and contacts.
• Allows target audiences to opt-in and manage both when & where they interact with your information.

Beyond these aspects, there are other advantages, not the least of which is having the opportunity to syndicate any type of content from the latest news release, to a Podcast interview with your spokesperson, or simply a link to a related article via Twiter. The benefits are endless and will allow you to maximize coverage for your efforts.

Amidst the latest news of impending tablet like devices, including Apple’s newest creation, lies a new and important path for communications campaigns and the practitioners that coordinate these efforts.

First, in terms of the technology, the day of the E-Reader is upon us. Both the Amazon Kindle & the Barnes and Noble Nook experienced extremely successful holiday sales to wrap up 2009. While 2010 is staring off with numerous competitors announcing their own E-Reader efforts at the annual Consumer Electronics show, and mounting speculation as to what Apple will unveil in this space later this week.

The growth of this “reader” type of device in an arena already crowded by Notebooks, Netbooks, iPhones, & Blackberries is interesting; and yet it is an evolution of those devices. The e-reader, despite its name, I believe will extend beyond just electronic forms of books. This type of device, when done correctly will allow for easy consumption and navigation of content on a sizeable screen, in a format that is easier on the eyes (no backlight or optional backlight) and unites a variety of content types including audio, video, & text.

Specifically, with the web’s maturation we are now observing two different types of internet audiences… the first being the desktop/laptop space in which you interact with the web, collaborate with colleagues and essentially get work done. For most of us, that categorizes the vast majority of our day…but the second audience is more concerned with consuming content that is available online from the comfort of their family room, or along their commute. We saw the early evidence of this type of behavior with the iPod and subsequent similar devices; but the shift that has been observed in the past several weeks suggests that we are about to head in a direction that revolutionizes this media consumption in an easier to use and more portable format that that of a 13” or 15” laptop. This new type of device will make it easier to spend that down time “away” from the computer consuming any type of content that you can imagine.

All of that said, this technological shift simply underlines the importance for communications campaigns to seek to disseminate and Touch customers in any number of ways. While the devices continue to evolve and offer each of us new ways to be entertained, with the old phrase in mind “content is king,” it is increasingly important for those of us in the communications business to be content-minded. In doing so, we will be able to use these new types of outreach tools to produce content that can accompany our PR & Marketing campaigns and capitalize on these technologies to reach broader audiences.

Over the past year, as a Nation we have witnessed a financial meltdown, which has been unlike any other series of events that many of us have lived through. Millions have lost jobs, and confidence in the market has eroded. Certainly, it is normal for the market to have fluctuations and for corrections to take place from time to time, but the last year was beyond what anyone including the “experts” had envisioned. The repercussions from these recent events run deep and have impacted millions; leaving many wondering what tomorrow will bring.

As organizations look to the future and to moving forward beyond the financial crisis, and as markets strengthen and projects move forward, perhaps the most important component to the recovery is Communications. I do not write that flippantly, nor because it is the arena in which you or I practice. Instead, in order to get our Nation back to work, and to ease everyone’s concerns we must leverage the opportunities before us in today’s new media landscape to openly and honestly communicate and share the direction that our organizations and clients envision. Whether that means sharing notes and information via today’s social media tools such as Twitter, or Facebook, or doing a periodic Podcast interview with members of the C-Suite, or doing a media tour to promote events and campaigns.

Utilizing these tools affords us the opportunity to share where our organizations (and our client’s) are heading with both internal and external audiences. Further, sharing our message will help to ease people’s fears, and instill confidence in the greater business environment and to our customers.

While the news these days is often about the high unemployment rate and the many negative aspects to today’s economy, despite those headlines, there are millions upon millions of hard working people heading to their jobs every day. They are our colleagues in research and development, customer service, shipping & management and collectively they are doing great things and helping their organizations move forward. As for us, as communicators, PR flacks, & marketers it is our role to shine the light on the positive stories and demonstrate to our communities both locally, domestically, and abroad that we are holding our heads up high and moving the economy forward.

One of my favorite radio bits used to be a promo for the latest way to read books: “Now introducing Books-On-Tape-On-Paper.”  That always made me laugh since it seemed so ridiculous that we had gone so far that the reintroduction of the printed word seemed “new.”

However, recently, as I’m in the midst of wrapping up my first e-book, Tom Verducci’s The Yankee Years, I have been thinking about the fact that the printed word really has been re-invented and is symbolic of the overall media shift and fragmentation of audience habits.  It seems so simple but there are actually quite a few different options these days for how you can read the latest novel or biography.  Reading used to be such a simple task; you went to the library or local bookstore, browsed around, and if you chose well, went home with, and enjoyed a page-turner.  It was pretty much a choice between hardcover or paperback; which was often a decision that was made for you based on what was “in-print.”

However, in 2009 depending on your preference there are quite a few ways in which you may experience that latest thriller or biography: Are you more of a buy it in hardcover as soon as it’s published type of person? Or do you wait for the paperback version? Do you download and listen to audio books? If so, do you go with abridged or unabridged versions?  Or do you download an e-book to some device, such as the Kindle?

Really, who ever thought simply reading a book could be such a complicated endeavor?  That said, there is an important lesson here for communications professionals; we have to communicate in a variety of ways to reach today’s diverse and segmented audiences.  Books have adapted and become available in a multitude of formats because audiences have changed and everyone’s preferences vary…so shouldn’t we be applying the same logic to how we communicate and showcase experts, opinions, products and events?

Clearly, you may not be dealing in the arena of books, but when it comes time to tell your stories (or those of your clients) this shift is real and people are getting their news and information in a variety of ways; the result is we have to think strategically about offering the same information in any number of different channels.  When it comes to thinking about campaigns we have to move beyond just those traditional methodologies (think hard and soft cover books) and leverage new opportunities to communicate and reach today’s audiences.  So while the press release, and the media outreach will always play a role in communicating let’s take a page out of the e-book and start thinking about how we can utilize new methods for telling the same old story.

New Media & Social Media tools are the latest options for PR & Marketing professionals, they provide new avenues to reach target audiences and enhance campaigns, however they are only part of the puzzle.  While I am entirely in favor of communicators adopting new tools as part of their campaigns, I think it is most important to do so with a managed and calculated methodology, which utilizes these tools as part of a cohesive overall strategy not just as a haphazard add-on for the sake of using technology.  While these new options can provide enhancements but it is paramount for practitioners to focus on telling their stories without getting caught up in the technology.

Yes, I do advocate as I did recently on this blog that you make your message Platform Agnostic, but I do not think that in doing so you should let the technology get in the way of your goal of telling your story.  Instead, I think you need to tell your story and use technology to accentuate your message and broaden its reach.  Of course, in some situations the technology can improve how you tell your story, enriching the experience for the audience and make the story come to life or bring a level of interactivity, but it shouldn’t entirely dictate or transform how you communicate.

So, the question is how do you communicate with Web 2.0 and Social Media Tools without loosing focus on the primary goal of telling your story.  Certainly, the answers are many and the approach could be quite complex, but on a high-level here are ideas that can lead to success:

1. Define Your Story - Sure, this is nothing new, but it is at he heart of effectively crafting a cohesive approach to new and traditional media tools.  What is it that you’re trying to convey?  Who are your spokespeople?  What is most engaging about your news?  How can you bring value to your audience with the story?  Further, as you figure out how to best position your story think about your audience; how will they relate to your story?  Have you given your story a voice, perhaps personalizing it in some way?
2. Integrate All of Your Strategies - Once you have your story well developed then it is time to think about the avenues through which to tell it and to tie together all of those tactics.  If you are taking a traditional approach of interviews with print, TV, or radio then these should be used as opportunities to communicate about and further deliver the story through the various online components.  Specifically, think about what tools online might enhance your campaign.  For example, online there may be opportunities to engage social media and invite comments and responses from communities such as Facebook, Linked-In, or other niche social networking sites.  Or possibly you can build on traditional methodologies by publishing a Podcast series, which can feature your experts to bring a face and a voice to your campaign.  You might also consider using Twitter to not only promote your story, but to open up a dialogue about those issues involved, and help the audience to become involved and take ownership in the topic.  Essentially, these types of strategies, while utilizing technology will also grow and strengthen the relationship with your target audience and if utilized correctly will keep your story as the focus of attention rather than the tools themselves.
3. Cross Promote Your Efforts - Regardless of the strategies you decide to facilitate - keep in mind the importance of integrating them - making it so that one leads to the other.  Successfully integrated solutions should not only build upon and promote one another, but should help to further educate the audience throughout the process while reading new audiences with each additional venue.  If somebody hears about your story through the print media, or via Twitter then they should be promoted to visit your website to download additional materials and learn more.  The cohesive approach will allow you to communicate in the various ways that today’s segmented audiences get their news and information and to maximize exposure for your particular campaign.

Regardless of the path taken, or the tool used, the bottom line is communications need to think strategically rather than getting caught up in using these new tools just for the sake of technology.  Certainly, thinking in terms of social media and tapping into these venues is an important part of today’s media landscape for business and consumer audiences, but at the end of the day it comes down to using these new tools to tell your story.

The end.

Over the past few years we’ve seen the world of social networking go through a number of iterations — Friendster, MySpace, Facebook. While each seems to improve upon the last, in some shape or another, the concept remains the same - an online place to connect with those who we know in some capacity from our daily lives.  Typically, one would sign-up create a profile and connect with friends, beyond that the interaction has depended I suppose on how much spare time you had and what was offered on the particular site.

MySpace did a good job of becoming a venue for musical acts and comedians to easily have an online presence and interact with their fanbase, or to establish one.  Then Facebook came along and offered users not only the ability to connect with entertainment based users, but to also form groups about them, or causes that they were interested in, as well as opening up its service as a platform for various applications, which enhanced the user experience and offered users a wide variety of reasons to keep returning.

In the midst of Facebook’s rise, which has evolved as a growing platform for its users, a small project called Twitter was developing and taking shape.  Formed by Evan Williams, the same entrepreneur who earlier brought Blogging to the masses with Blogger (now owned by Google) the service simply asked users “What are you doing?”  That question became the springboard of invention and in many ways and altered yet again the communications paradigm and the world of social networking.  Now, instead of filling out a lengthly profile users could share with anyone that cared to listen what they were doing in 140 characters. (The same length as that last sentence, a nod to Inc for the idea see link below.)

After a failed bid to buy Twitter, in Facebook’s recent re-design, which garnered a lot of attention the social networking site poses the question to its users, “What’s on your mind?” Visually speaking, as a part of the re-design this question has taken on a central role to the Facebook platform and user experience.  While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I think it begs the question has Facebook’s time now passed?  Has our communications landscape been shifted and dwindled to 140 characters?

It seems to be working as Twitter has become mainstream in a sense garnering media attention from The Today Show, to athletes, and celebrities of all types.  In the process, communications barriers have been broken down and the world has become a smaller place allowing anyone to join the conversation and interact and follow any other member.  Often it is said that simple is better - and maybe that is exactly what Twitter is counting on.

Now, I’m just left wondering if the next social network will have us communicating in acronyms only…Let me know your thoughts on the Twitter and Facebook debate on Twitter @jasoncohen.

On the web:
Evan Williams discussed Twitter in this March 2008 article from INC Magazine

There are a number of articles, like this one, from the Mercury News that are making the rounds these days about how through a series of actions Steve Jobs could rise to power to run Disney and what the implications would be for the media industry.

How does such a scenario develop?  Well, if Disney completes a deal to buy Pixar, the animation studio that created hits Toy Story and Finding Nemo, then Jobs, who is already Pixar’s CEO would obtain Disney stock as part of the deal.  In actuality, he would probably end up with enough stock to put him on Disney’s board and perhaps even the chairman’s seat.

So, how does that sit within the modern media landscape?  While, it may remind you of the failed AOL-Time Warner merger, which, was orchestrated to fuse AOL’s online portal with the Time Warner’s vast content library, the outcome will be much different.  While there could be questions as to why this mega-merger would have a different outcome.  Basically, there are two major differences between the AOL-TW merger and Disney and Pixar situation.  First, the AOL and Time Warner deal happened before broadband was widely deployed in American homes, which allows consumers to download larger media content such as songs and video content.  Secondly, there was no device nor the ability to mobilize AOL’s content whereas a Disney/Pixar deal would bring together not only two content behemoths but one of today’s hottest technology providers.

If the Disney-Pixar deal does take foot expect Steve Jobs - in whatever capacity he is in the corporate hierarchy - to use the newfound position to influence the organization’s strategy so that he can leverage the Disney’s large content library via the Apple’s iTunes store.  Not only will this help fully usher Disney into the new digital age, but it will monetize an extensive library that is not available yet in the digital world.  While Disney’s ABC and ESPN units have already debuted content in Apple’s iTunes Music Store, with Jobs on the Disney board, it would not be surprising to see old television shows and movies, as well as new releases make their way into the virtual shelves and available for download.  Jobs has built a platform that over 80 million Americans now use to manage their music libraries, and with the latest release of the company’s iPod supporting video, Jobs is looking for a way to tip the scales again for television and film properties and further drive traffic through iTunes and thus the sale of the iPod. 

Of course, on a larger scale, if Jobs is successful in this endeavor it will impact not only Disney, but the larger media community.

Update: Since we posted this earlier in the week, the deal has been completed and it has been announced that Jobs will be on the Disney board of directors.  Business Week has a good analysis of how Jobs will interact and help drive the direction of the Disney organization.