It’s already been said a thousand times, but the iPad will revolutionize the publishing industry. Why would a newspaper (or magazine) continue to print itself when readerships continue to shrink. I am amazed that our local paper has full page ads of brand new, smart wireless phones – is the demographic of people still reading the paper interested in sliding phones that hold 5,000 songs and are Twitter friendly? Here’s an idea wireless phone company… spend your ad dollars in your tower infrastructure so I have great reception. Then, I’ll switch to your service.
Will the iPad become as ubiquitous as the iPod? (by the way, iPad – really? That’s the best name you could come up with?) I’m guessing that the iPad will cause publishers to flinch a little and start pushing their products towards that. Most decision-makers will see that as the future and will look at the way iPods changed the music industry and say “let’s not get left in the dust on this one.”
So what’s going to change? Well, not much really. I already get my news online or on TV – so by the time the paper comes out in the morning, I’ve already know it. What’s really going to change is how advertising is embedded into electronic books, magazines and newspapers. I already ignore every single ad I see online (literally, in 12 years of surfing, I might have clicked one side/banner ad, accidentally) so how can it be done more effectively? I have some ideas – and we’re about to find out.
