I Have Seen the future of publishing. It's Tablets. Yes, there is no doubt in my mind that the tablet will save publishing and restore profitability to the industry. The web almost killed publishing, but it played an important evolutionary role. Web publishing was a mere stopover on the way to the future of publishing. The transition is almost complete and will accelerate at a breakneck pace through 2015. Not a moment too soon for many publishers. Every major publisher -- and most full-time bloggers -- will make their living primarily from tablet publishing by 2015.
The publishing industry is giddy with the prospects. Everyday there is another story from some major publisher announcing their tablet app. And yes, they plan to charge for it. Amazing! So what is it about tablets that makes publishers think they can charge for their content, whereas that same content is all but dead in print and could never be sold on the web? Said another way: Why will consumers buy content (apps) on tablets when that same or similar content is available for free on the web and on their smart phones?
That question had been puzzling me for sometime. Having finally gotten a tablet, talked to my friends and colleagues who have one, and observed people as they use them in public places, the answer is now clear to me. We can HOLD the damn things. We can pass it among family and friends like we do magazines and newspapers. My wife and I use to have coffee every morning and read the newspaper. I started with the sports section, she started with the lifestyle section. Then we would swap and move on to other sections, occassionally chatting about a piece or reading a snippet to the other. In my wife’s salon, women pass magazines between themselves and comment on articles as they sit under the dryer. My son goes to bed each night holding and reading his Kindle. His laptop sits on his desk. He shares his kindle with his sister so she can read the same books, but he doesn't share his laptop.
There is something personal about holding and sharing a physical publication that gives it inherent value. We don’t “hold” and pass among ourselves a computer -- even a laptop -- when surfing the web. It sits on our desk. We view it like we do television. We pay a set monthly fee for TV and get all of the stations for free (except for the occasional PPVmovie). Likewise, we pay a set fee for our Internet connection and expect every web site to be free.
Secondarily, the tablet brings back the visually rich and engaging experience we once had with physical publications. You "flip" through pages by touching the screen. The content pops off of the pages. The web, on the other hand, always falls short. For all of its promise and trumped up "rich media" capabilities, it is a flat, dull, one-dimensional experience. We view it, we don't hold it. We scroll endlessly up and down using this disconnected device called a mouse. It's kinda like TV with a remote control. And like the TV, we don't pay for every "station" we visit. Our cell phones brought us a step closer to having a personal experience with the content, but the footprint is so helplessly small it makes viewing and interacting with content a chore.
I could go on-and-on about the stark differences between the web, mobile phones and tablets. Trust me, there will be no comparison. The features will blow you away and be so superior to what you can get on the web or your phone, it will be like the difference between black-and-white television and HDTV in 3D. It is no wonder that every major electronics manufacturer are making tablets. The iPad is just the beginning and today's model will soon be to tablets what the typewriter is to the laptop. I predict the day when we will have "throw-away" tablets, just like we have throw-away digital cameras and cell phones. We will buy them at the subway station on our way to work and, when we get there, toss them to a colleague to use and then give to another when she is done with it. Women will exchange them with each other as they are getting their hair done. And hopefully, my wife and I will use them to read the paper together every morning, like we use to.
The publishing industry is giddy with the prospects. Everyday there is another story from some major publisher announcing their tablet app. And yes, they plan to charge for it. Amazing! So what is it about tablets that makes publishers think they can charge for their content, whereas that same content is all but dead in print and could never be sold on the web? Said another way: Why will consumers buy content (apps) on tablets when that same or similar content is available for free on the web and on their smart phones?
That question had been puzzling me for sometime. Having finally gotten a tablet, talked to my friends and colleagues who have one, and observed people as they use them in public places, the answer is now clear to me. We can HOLD the damn things. We can pass it among family and friends like we do magazines and newspapers. My wife and I use to have coffee every morning and read the newspaper. I started with the sports section, she started with the lifestyle section. Then we would swap and move on to other sections, occassionally chatting about a piece or reading a snippet to the other. In my wife’s salon, women pass magazines between themselves and comment on articles as they sit under the dryer. My son goes to bed each night holding and reading his Kindle. His laptop sits on his desk. He shares his kindle with his sister so she can read the same books, but he doesn't share his laptop.
There is something personal about holding and sharing a physical publication that gives it inherent value. We don’t “hold” and pass among ourselves a computer -- even a laptop -- when surfing the web. It sits on our desk. We view it like we do television. We pay a set monthly fee for TV and get all of the stations for free (except for the occasional PPVmovie). Likewise, we pay a set fee for our Internet connection and expect every web site to be free.
Secondarily, the tablet brings back the visually rich and engaging experience we once had with physical publications. You "flip" through pages by touching the screen. The content pops off of the pages. The web, on the other hand, always falls short. For all of its promise and trumped up "rich media" capabilities, it is a flat, dull, one-dimensional experience. We view it, we don't hold it. We scroll endlessly up and down using this disconnected device called a mouse. It's kinda like TV with a remote control. And like the TV, we don't pay for every "station" we visit. Our cell phones brought us a step closer to having a personal experience with the content, but the footprint is so helplessly small it makes viewing and interacting with content a chore.
I could go on-and-on about the stark differences between the web, mobile phones and tablets. Trust me, there will be no comparison. The features will blow you away and be so superior to what you can get on the web or your phone, it will be like the difference between black-and-white television and HDTV in 3D. It is no wonder that every major electronics manufacturer are making tablets. The iPad is just the beginning and today's model will soon be to tablets what the typewriter is to the laptop. I predict the day when we will have "throw-away" tablets, just like we have throw-away digital cameras and cell phones. We will buy them at the subway station on our way to work and, when we get there, toss them to a colleague to use and then give to another when she is done with it. Women will exchange them with each other as they are getting their hair done. And hopefully, my wife and I will use them to read the paper together every morning, like we use to.
