Reformatting Publishing as We Know It ... Even Today's Publishing!

Many individuals, companies, technologies and other entities have been, are presently involved in or are aspiring to do just that ... reformat or redo publishing as we know it.

In fact, a lot of reformatting has already taken place, right?

Now Google is getting ready to enter and 'improve' the social publishing genre. It’s not just about sharing content anymore, it’s about apps that magically reformat content that’s out there ... for a better sharing experience!


Technology is moving at warp speed, and much is above my head anyway :), but you will find these details from Silicon Republic.com reported by John Kennedy deliciously riveting and informative:

Google wants to reformat the publishing business

It has emerged that Google is about to take on the social publishing revolution and beat early proponents like Flipboard and Pulse by helping the genre to flourish on its Android platform for smartphones and tablets.

Anyone who is familiar with apps like Flipboard – an elegant iPad app that takes feeds from Facebook, Twitter and a plethora of mainstream publications liked Forbes and the New Yorker and turns them into an elegant table-top magazine – will realise that the era of social publishing is well and truly upon us.

It’s not just about sharing, it’s about apps that elegantly reformat content that’s out there – whether it’s an online news piece, a blog or just a tweet – for your reading/viewing pleasure.

Apps like Pulse on both iOS and Android devices beautifully rend all your feeds from Google Reader into a tabular array to ensure you miss nothing.

It has emerged that Google is now working on a product that will take content from Google+ and other social sources to compete with Flipboard and Pulse in the growing social magazine space.

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Apple's subscription Plan for iPad & Mobile Publishers: Good or Bad?

I personally think Apple's subscription plan for digital newspaper and magazine publishers leans more to the bad side of the scale.

Why do I think this? For two main reasons:

First, the 30% Apple-keeper-cost is too damn high, and

Second, Apple's withholding of subscribers' info from the publishers (so the publishers cannot manage this vital info for future sales and service improvements).

Unless something has changed, these are the two negatives of the Apple subscription plan that weight it down to hell.

I have posted on this subject in recent posts on this blog (go here) and on my Publishing/Writing: Insights, News, Intrigue blog here. You are cordially invited to read those posts for more detailed background on this fascinating issue.

This from PaidContent.org by Robert Andrews:

Apple Subs: Publishers Seek Clarity, FT Concerned, Some Sign Up

The response from many publishers to Apple’s subscription announcement has been a shellshocked “errrr…” - many are confused exactly how they are impacted and are quickly seeking clarity from Apple.

“It is still unclear how Apple’s proposed new subscription business will work for publishers,” a Financial Times spokesperson tells paidContent:UK. “But we obviously have concerns over changes to an approach that has so far worked well for our readers and the broader publishing ecosystem around tablet devices, and that may compromise our business model.

See more of our latest FT.com coverage
or add an alert for future coverage of FT.com.

“We have a fair and open approach for customers whereby we offer digital access to FT journalism for one price and enable access across multiple platforms for no additional fee. It is necessary to have a direct relationship with the customer to enable this to happen. The iPad and iPhone are two of those channels, but it is a market that is developing quickly and new devices are coming to the market at an increasing rate.”

See our maths on how the FT could be affected.

News International is believed to be assessing what the changes mean via its U.S. mothership News Corp. (NSDQ: NWS), whose The Daily app was a template for Apple’s subscriptions and was developed closely with Apple.

Telegraph Media Group is understood to be considering using Apple’s system for a paid upgrade to its debut iPad app, due in the next couple of months.

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Read MG Siegler's (TechCrunch) special article to CNN for even more on this topic.

Writers Welcome Blog available on Kindle here.

More on Apple's Dictatorial Asininity

Please read my two posts on the Publishing/Writing: Insights, News, Intrigue Blog RE specific Apple issues with publishers' content management for background on this post.

Apple is further restricting access apps for other than Apple devices (e-readers, tablets, etc) to read mags and newspapers to be offered through their iStore...even to the point of forcing some to have to buy Apple's own iPad tablet if they want to read the iStore offerings.

At least, that is the way this humble boob interprets the situation.

In my past posts, referenced above, I discussed Apple's outrageous fee (30%) charged to publishers who want to sell their content through the iStore, AND the fact that Apple did not want to share the subscribers data with the publishers...A BIG mistake.

Me thinks Apple is getting too big for it's britches...and they should stick to selling devices and not messing with content and all it derives.

Wonder if Apple's deal with Rupert Murdoch's "The Daily" has influenced the "money-grabbing" messy management?

Apple is definitely not the only kid on the tablet block anymore (and probably doesn't even have the best tablet computer!) with the introduction of Motorola's Xoom among others.

I believe Apple is managing itself into the cellar...and they will need a completely "new device" to start over again. They are taking the bite out of their own apple!

Matt Kinsman, managing editor of FOLIO magazine, has more details RE Apple's tightening grip on content sales:

Apple Rejects Sony Reader App, Tightens Grip on Content Sales
From now on, all in-app purchases must go through Apple.

Apple has reportedly rejected Sony's reader app from the App store for selling content within the app and letting customers make purchases outside the App store (such as within the Sony Reader Store, according to The New York Times.

From now on, all in-app purchases have to go through Apple, according to Steve Haber, president of Sony's digital reading division. "It's the opposite of what we wanted to bring to the market," Haber is quoted as saying by The Drum. "We always wanted to bring the content to as many devices as possible, not one device to one store."

The news comes the day before Apple and News Corp. are supposed to debut News Corp.'s new digital magazine The Daily, and many observers predict Apple will use that opportunity to unveil a new subscription system.

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