Navigation
Search

 

The Standard Disclaimer

The views expressed on this blog and its related web sites or podcasts are mine alone and do not reflect the views of my employer, clients or investors.

 

Powered by Squarespace
Connect

 

 

 

 

My status

 

 

www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from John Federico. Make your own badge here.

 

E-junkie Shopping Cart and Digital Delivery

 

 

Meet Flipboard

How to Make an iPhone 4 Tripod

[via What I See Now]

 

Where is Jonathan Coulton's $37?

Why You Have to Read "Drive" by Dan Pink

Get it here.

Aggregated Media Beats One-Off Titles in the iPad App Store

In thinking about content for the iPad (books, magazines, movies, etc.) my instincts and experience tell me that having a unique product in the App Store should drive more sales than an app that aggregates premium content. That's because I believe the value of keyword search is greater than the value of aggregation  - it becomes difficult to effectively list all the aggregated content on the app's sales page and harder for consumers to find that content.

Apparently, I was wrong.

Digital magazine provider Zinio just became the number one app in the iPad news category, beating out all other magazine and news titles. (Disclosure: Zinio is a client of mine.)

There are those in the social graph that have been panning individual apps for magazines like GQ, Men's Health, Outside, etc. While they're all great publications, the usefulness of having an icon dedicated to a single publication seems excessive for the privilege of reading an issue.

Furthermore, a magazine title arguably has a limited shelf-life. Sure, there's some evergreen content in just about every publication, but currency is always an important factor in selling magazines. With that in mind, it's tough to justify spending the same amount of money on a single issue of a magazine as it is to spend it on, say, an application that will provide utility for months or even years.

I never doubted the success of Zinio on iPad (I wouldn't have taken them on as a client otherwise). They have the largest selection of digital magazines anywhere and have developed a platform for making magazines more than simply digital replicas of printed magazines, but fully interactive (at the publisher's discretion, of course). So, other than the variety of titles they provide, why have they become so successful after only a week beyond the arrival of the iPad?

Consider this: When is a number not just a number? When it's next to another. 

That's to say that relative cost - and relative value - creates confusion in the mind of a consumer. By allowing the shopping process to take place within the Zinio app (and/or on Zinio.com), magazines are now priced alongside other magazines. That comparison is much more relevant than, say, weighing the price of an app against the price of a magazine.

So, does that mean that Zinio will be less successful over time as more individual magazine apps enter the App Store, thereby creating a better environment for relative comparison? Hardly.

In addition to offering a variety of titles, Zinio brings consistency of usability. The expectation that a digital magazine will behave a certain way is important to a consumer. If each time you purchased an ebook - from Amazon, B&N or Apple, for instance - would you expect the experience to be radically different. Of course not.

However, at least at the moment, that appears to be the case with digital magazine apps. As publishers are still only just experimenting with their own applications, they're also experimenting with the user experience, each with their own approach.

In the aggregated media application model that Zinio provides, magazines will have interactivity and rich media, but the user experience will remain consistent with only the occasional experimental feature.

Ultimately, competitors may follow Zinio in their format but that can only be bode well for magazines as a category. After a period of decline in consumption of printed magazines, it means that people will have found them relevant again - only in digital form.

Another Flaw in the eBook Agency Model

Some major book publishers (HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster) have opted for Amazon's "Agency Model" to sell their eBooks. Simply put, this means that the publisher sets the price and Amazon sells then delivers it at that price.

However, it also means that Amazon is not the seller anymore, and they've gone through the trouble to let you know that they have no control over the pricing of a particular title.

This also has tax implications. 

Amazon is very careful about where it keeps distribution centers and any other physical presences in the United States. That's partly because once the company has a physical presence in a state, they have to collect state sales tax.

However, since Amazon is not the seller of the eBook I recently purchased and HarperCollins has a physical presence in the state where I live, Amazon must collect tax on their behalf.

 

So even though I may no longer be paying for shipping on a physical book, I now have to pay sales tax on it, depending on the publisher.

Thanks, HarperCollins.

Today's Tweets

11:27pm, Feb 22
Development of Apple’s iPad Chip Estimated at $1B
http://ow.ly/1a9zR

11:18pm, Feb 22
Video Conferencing Coming to iPad and iPhone? [Surprised? Why?]
http://ow.ly/1abLy

10:40pm, Feb 22
Google (Finally) Finishes Swallowing Up DoubleClick, Announces That It's Serious About Display
http://ow.ly/1ab22

10:33pm, Feb 22
Virtual Goods Spending Behavior On Social Games
http://ow.ly/1ab7y

10:30pm, Feb 22
Free products for bloggers at invitation-only events
http://ow.ly/1ab5u

9:50pm, Feb 22
Danish newspaper fakes iPad on front page
http://ow.ly/1a9Zi

9:50pm, Feb 22
Apple iPad: Hype Clouds Reality (@KaraSwisher)
http://ow.ly/1aahn

9:45pm, Feb 22
Brilliant Switch Turns USB Cables Stupid
http://ow.ly/1a9MK

9:45pm, Feb 22
The Shortcut Back Into Her Heart [Culture]
http://ow.ly/1a9Gv

9:40pm, Feb 22
The iPad Will Rule the World [Blockquote]
http://ow.ly/1a9Ff

9:35pm, Feb 22
Macmillan's Future Of Textbooks Looks a Lot Like Wikipedia [Ebooks]
http://ow.ly/1a9C9

9:30pm, Feb 22
'Windows 7 Was My Idea, But to Be Fair, I Don't Know What I'm Talking About' [Humor]
http://ow.ly/1a9BL

9:25pm, Feb 22
Development of Apple’s iPad Chip Estimated at $1B
http://ow.ly/1a9zR

9:20pm, Feb 22
In the Future, One CF Card Will Hold 200 Years’ Worth of Porn
http://ow.ly/1a9z9

9:15pm, Feb 22
The Bloom Box: a power plant for the home (video)
http://ow.ly/1a9xQ

9:10pm, Feb 22
Liquavista demos its color e-paper display with a new QWERTY-equipped dev kit (video) [eReaders] 
http://ow.ly/1a9wq

9:05pm, Feb 22
GadgetTrak retrieves 95 percent of stolen laptops, puts RoboCop to shame (video)
http://ow.ly/1a9vn

9:00pm, Feb 22
Sony confirms plans for consumer-friendly 3D cameras [Why?]
http://ow.ly/1a9uc

8:55pm, Feb 22
T-Mobile Pulse Mini does cheap, tiny, prepaid Android for Europe
http://ow.ly/1a9tN

8:41pm, Feb 22
Wal-Mart buying Vudu streaming movie service? (update: yes!)
http://ow.ly/1a9sn

5:07pm, Feb 22
Annual Escalating Patent Fee Proposal
http://ow.ly/1a5za

10:07am, Feb 22
I'm at SoundBoard Consulting Group.
http://4sq.com/bFA1QL

9:45am, Feb 22
The Impending 3G Network Apocalypse [3G Wireless]
http://ow.ly/19q0F

8:22am, Feb 22
Liked "New iPad news blog: Exploring the Apple iPad and Tablet Computing | The Magical Tablet"
http://ff.im/-gmjMh

Today's Tweets

12:09am, Feb 21
@carter69 Mine will sleep as long as I do but I'm dog-sitting for my SIL's Springer Spaniel. He's SO high strung. Still a pup, really.

12:03am, Feb 21
I hope the dogs will sleep past 6am tomorrow morning. I should get myself to bed, just in case...

11:34pm, Feb 20
Incipio Cases for iPad (Gallery)
http://ow.ly/19x6y

10:03pm, Feb 20
Study: Ages of social network users
http://ow.ly/19wiJ

10:00pm, Feb 20
Uncommon to Release Custom iPad Cases [Form Fitting iPad Case]
http://ow.ly/19wfh

9:21pm, Feb 20
@shatch I had wheat-free pizza with sausage from Roman Gourmet. Again. ;)

9:17pm, Feb 20
Octazen: What The Heck Did Facebook Just Buy Exactly, And Why? (Be sure ot read the update, lower on the page)
http://ow.ly/19vLY

8:51pm, Feb 20
Student-Built "Black Widow" Racer Gets 2,752 Miles Per Gallon [Automobiles]
http://ow.ly/19vsz

8:48pm, Feb 20
Toyota commercial during olympics: "Meet the new Sienna on YouTube" [super]:
youtube.com/sienna

8:43pm, Feb 20
@shatch Get the Indigo burger with swiss, mushrooms and grilled onions! ;)

8:22pm, Feb 20
Doood. Bobsledding! ;)

8:07pm, Feb 20
@tekchic Yes, but it's like communicating with a high schooler! ;)

8:03pm, Feb 20
I find it funny that my wife finally has a full QWERTY keyboard (albeit on-screen) and she still sends email with SMS abbreviations.

7:54pm, Feb 20
@jgormlyjr I agree - iPad Pre-orders are likely rumor. Apple likes lines out the door during product launches - pre-orders inhibit that.

7:36pm, Feb 20
Just added the ConnectOne Wi-Reach Classic to @gdgt!
http://gdg.to/9cPmve

7:36pm, Feb 20
Just added ConnectOne to @gdgt!
http://gdg.to/cK2Reo

7:31pm, Feb 20
Just added the Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX to my want list on @gdgt!
http://gdg.to/RDjUC

7:25pm, Feb 20
Just added the Nike Nike+ iPod Sport Kit to my have list on @gdgt!
http://gdg.to/979Ph6

6:46pm, Feb 20
Does anyone else feel like Gmail's spam filters have been overly aggressive lately? Lots of stuff getting caught that shouldn't.

4:11pm, Feb 20
(WOW - 3x Optical Zoom!) Samsung's HMX-U20 and HMX-U15 Camcorders Shoot 1080p On the Cheap [Camcorders]
http://ow.ly/19sFj

4:04pm, Feb 20
Secrets Of Old Spice’s The Man Your Man Could Smell Like (Make sure you watch both videos)
http://ow.ly/19swW

3:47pm, Feb 20
Pre-Order Your iPad Next Week? [Rumor]
http://ow.ly/19sl5

3:20pm, Feb 20
Olympic bullying drives goggle-maker to verse
http://ow.ly/19rI4

3:15pm, Feb 20
FirstTake: Facebook PayPal Deal Spurs International Ad Sales
http://ow.ly/19rGy

3:05pm, Feb 20
Sold! On2 Shareholders Agree to Get Googled, Finally. [UPDATE]
http://ow.ly/19rFS

3:00pm, Feb 20
How The iPad Will Transform Mainstream Media (But NOT The Web)
http://ow.ly/19rFe

2:58pm, Feb 20
RT @Genuine: Constant Contact now has a Wordpress plugin for your blog for your email marketing plans.

2:55pm, Feb 20
5 Terms That Signify The Future Of Mobile Marketing
http://ow.ly/19rF8

2:50pm, Feb 20
E-book Tools Developer Vook Lands $2.5 Million [eBooks with Video]
http://ow.ly/19rDO

2:45pm, Feb 20
Why Amazon Should Smile at Losing E-Book Market Share [Smaller Piece, Bigger Pie]
http://ow.ly/19rCk

2:30pm, Feb 20
iPad Textbooks: Will Cool Tech Win on Campus?
http://ow.ly/19rzP

2:17pm, Feb 20
SXSW Interactive Adds Last-Minute iPad Panel Discussion [SXSW]
http://ow.ly/19rry

1:57pm, Feb 20
QR-Code Generator
http://ow.ly/19rds

1:41pm, Feb 20
RT @DaveHamilton: Migrating the kids old windows machine over to the Mac with @vmwarefusion's migrator. Simple and elegant... I like it!

1:35pm, Feb 20
Sezmi Open For Business in L.A. [HomeEntertainment]
http://ow.ly/19qSd

1:23pm, Feb 20
Vitrahaus: A Building With a View, and a View, and a View, and a View [Architecture]
http://ow.ly/19qRL

1:18pm, Feb 20
Incoming College Freshman Get to Choose: MacBook or iPad? [Education]
http://ow.ly/19qO6

12:13pm, Feb 20
RT @armano: IPhones are great weapons in the battle of poor retail customer service. They waste your time and you surf the web.

12:04pm, Feb 20
Setting Aviary Free [As in Beer]
http://ow.ly/19pRT

11:34am, Feb 20
RT @pblackshaw: You know your a dad when GoGurt suddenly becomes your favorite snack. #proudpadre

11:33am, Feb 20
Ultimate Pocket Camcorder Comparison [Pocket Camcorders]
http://ow.ly/19pxc

11:31am, Feb 20
HP V1020h Pocketcam Is Less Pricey Than Its Peers [Pocketcams]
http://ow.ly/19pw9

Today's Tweets

10:50pm, Feb 16
$1000 iPhone law exam review app sends traditional publisher running for cover
http://ow.ly/186CV

10:45pm, Feb 16
TUAW review: Create perfect self-portraits with Self Image
http://ow.ly/186AH

10:40pm, Feb 16
Gobandit GPS HD action camcorder captures your exploits, top speed (video)
http://ow.ly/186yH

10:22pm, Feb 16
Magazines Prepare for iPad: Challenged by Pricing, Customer Data [Magazines]
http://ow.ly/186sh

9:12pm, Feb 16
@caseyferrier Agreed, FB is huge for brands. Major shift for a brand to put media dollars behind a web destination that's not their own.

8:53pm, Feb 16
Just saw a commercial for Uniball pens. The featured URL? Their Facebook fan page - NOT their corporate home page. #marketing #socialmedia

8:42pm, Feb 16
TUAW Gives Their Impressions of an iPad…Mockup
http://bit.ly/dsfuQt

8:26pm, Feb 16
There’s a Map for That Guy (Video) [Humor]
http://ow.ly/184Ri

7:55pm, Feb 16
First study of mummy DNA leads to all sorts of discoveries
http://ff.im/-g3xhs

7:52pm, Feb 16
Trash-talking your high school teacher on Facebook is constitutionally protected speech
http://ff.im/-g3wGQ

7:48pm, Feb 16
Yoga to reduce prison sentences
http://ff.im/-g3waM

7:20pm, Feb 16
@mrosone has joined twitter! Make him feel welcome.

5:31pm, Feb 16
Sleep Talkin' Man shares his somniloquies
http://ff.im/-g39ph

4:34pm, Feb 16@gkrue
Unfortunately, they haven't perfected the "Business End" of the Cocker Spaniel 9000. ;)

4:26pm, Feb 16
@gkrue Haven't you ever seen the Cocker Spaniel 9000? Behaves just like the real thing. ;)

4:13pm, Feb 16
My current working environment. That's not a pillow.
http://post.ly/OCrQ

4:10pm, Feb 16
RT @stevegarfield: Heather Armstrong @dooce Signs on at HGTV
http://bit.ly/98RY4d Congrats!

4:09pm, Feb 16
RT @mediatrustpete: RT @newmediageek In 2009, Digital #Coupon Growth Outpaces free standing inserts:
http://ow.ly/17FFl #marketing

4:08pm, Feb 16
@billpalmer It can't beat the post-CES flu. ;) Hang in there!

3:56pm, Feb 16
RT @jabancroft: Meebo. It's free, multi-platform IM, stays logged in, uses push notifications, and works flawlessly. Get it. Now.

3:37pm, Feb 16
All the Smartphone OSes: A Beginners' Guide [Smartphones]
http://ow.ly/17ZuJ

2:50pm, Feb 16
RIM demos new WebKit-based BlackBerry browser at MWC -- it's fast! -- Engadget
http://ow.ly/17Y5w

2:45pm, Feb 16
Sony Dash given ability to stream TVs and movies from Netflix, new lease on life
http://ow.ly/17Y37

2:44pm, Feb 16
Sleuthing uncovers the mystery of Kingston MicroSD cards' crappy QA
http://ff.im/-g2HeT

2:44pm, Feb 16
A Millennium Falcon that Actually Flies - RC Millennium Falcon [Must. Have.]
http://ow.ly/17YhF

2:36pm, Feb 16
Verizon to allow unlimited Skype calling over 3G starting next month
http://ow.ly/17Y7R

2:35pm, Feb 16
Macworld 2010: Fastmac's USB-enabled wall outlet

2:18pm, Feb 16
TUAW Gives Their Impressions of an iPad…Mockup
http://ow.ly/17XMq

1:58pm, Feb 16
Nuance acquires MacSpeech
http://ow.ly/17XrF

1:01pm, Feb 16
TSA forces travelling policeman to remove his disabled four-year-old son's leg-braces
http://ff.im/-g2o3C

11:29am, Feb 16
Dopio! — at Village Coffee Company
http://gowal.la/s/3UYa

10:58am, Feb 16
RT @technosailor: BuddyPress 1.2 is out. And works on single installs of WordPress for the first time
http://buddypress.org

10:40am, Feb 16
My housemates this week
http://post.ly/O9vI

Today's Tweets

10:54pm, Feb 15
Article: Bait-and-Switch Apps: The Dark Side of In-App Purchasing http://ow.ly/17JSo
 
10:53pm, Feb 15
Steve Jobs: The Authorized Biography Coming to iBooks (and Other Fine Establishments) [Steve Jobs] http://ow.ly/17JRC
 
10:50pm, Feb 15
Apple iBooks To Be Wrapped in FairPlay DRM [eBooks] http://ow.ly/17JPa
 
10:13pm, Feb 15
iKit Announces Leather Sleeve Case for iPad [iPad Cases] http://ow.ly/17Jjh
 
9:47pm, Feb 15
Tablets: How Big is Big Enough? [Displays] http://ow.ly/17IZP
 
9:19pm, Feb 15
Both dogs want to be near me, so I'm writing from the couch. They're so close I can barely type. 7 days of this? Good thing I love them. ;)
 
8:20pm, Feb 15 from FriendFeed
Amazon/Macmillan: Price discrimination and demand elasticity http://ff.im/-fZZje
 
8:15pm, Feb 15 from FriendFeed
Google stands by Apple as a 'valuable partner' http://ff.im/-fZYsU
 
8:13pm, Feb 15 from FriendFeed
Microsoft Zune music / video services going wherever Windows Phone 7 Series goes http://ff.im/-fZYan
 
7:10pm, Feb 15
Great Sexts Through History [Humor] http://ow.ly/17GLk
 
7:05pm, Feb 15
Is Apple Banning iPhone Hackers? [IPhone] http://ow.ly/17GIz
 
7:00pm, Feb 15
An Epic 22-Minute Walkthrough of Windows Phone 7 [Windows Phone 7] http://ow.ly/17GHL
 
6:55pm, Feb 15
Windows Phone 7 Interface: Microsoft Has Out-Appled Apple [UI Design] http://ow.ly/17GGN
 
6:44pm, Feb 15
Opera Mini for iPhone is Fast Like a Rocket http://ow.ly/17GFv
 
6:30pm, Feb 15 from Brightkite
I'm at Maplewood, NJ 07040, USA - http://bkite.com/3a0mj
 
6:29pm, Feb 15
Will You JooJoo? [Web Tablets] http://ow.ly/17Giy
 
5:37pm, Feb 15
LG Launching a Product to “Compete with Apple and Amazon” [eReaders and such] http://ow.ly/17FuZ
 
5:09pm, Feb 15
I have a house guest this week: my SIL's Springer Spaniel who is a bundle of energy. Lucy is not happy with the competition. #dogs
 
3:27pm, Feb 15
iPhone OS 3.2 Apps Hit the App Store – Should You Upgrade? [iPad Apps] http://ow.ly/17D5R
 
10:01am, Feb 15 from Tweetie
@laurencanning Welcome back! Yes, let's talk tomorrow.
Show Conversation
 
10:00am, Feb 15 from Tweetie
At the theater for a movie fundraiser for the PTA.
 
9:59am, Feb 15 from Gowalla
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs — at Clearview Cinema http://gowal.la/s/2AYH
 
9:24am, Feb 15 from Tweetie
@laurencanning You're back? Or are you tweeting from Hawaii?
Show Conversation
 
9:13am, Feb 15 from FriendFeed
Apple locks down iPhone trademark, includes 'electronic games' category http://ff.im/-fYfb8
 
9:11am, Feb 15 from FriendFeed
MeeGo: Nokia and Intel merge Maemo and Moblin http://ff.im/-fYeTd
 
9:11am, Feb 15 from FriendFeed
Bug Labs intros BUG 2.0 platform with faster processor, Android support http://ff.im/-fYePR
 
9:11am, Feb 15 from FriendFeed
Adobe brings AIR to Android, promises Flash 10.1 in the first half of the year http://ff.im/-fYeM3
 
9:10am, Feb 15 from FriendFeed
Windows Phone 7 Series is official, and Microsoft is playing to win http://ff.im/-fYeF5
 
9:06am, Feb 15 from FriendFeed
USA Today to Require Employees Take Week of Unpaid Leave http://ff.im/-fYeba
 
9:04am, Feb 15 from FriendFeed
Broke-ass Washington state set to give MSFT $100M annual tax cut and amnesty for $1B in evasion http://ff.im/-fYdOA
 
7:52am, Feb 15 from Tweetie
Dear Abe & George. I'm sorry they consolidiated your birthdays in the name of productivity. I still believe. Peace. #presidentsday