In essence, personalization is a technology—it’s something that learns from you. So, for example, your technology section and someone else’s will look very different based on your behavior—rather than being the same generic thing that everyone else is seeing.
In the future, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the front-page content of nytimes.com divided into three sections: one for stories recommended by human editors, another with stories recommended by one’s social network and a third that delivers stories chosen by the site’s internal recommendations engine.
As the failure of advertising-based models sinks in, the paid-for model is gaining traction. It is not likely to work on the web but it is finding its way on mobile devices where payment is (slightly) more natural and easier to implement. But prices will have to adjust (downward). Today, the vast majority of publishers are tempted by a mirage: they think they can “protect” their eroding print business by setting high prices for their digital products; others invoke the need to support the industrial costs of print as a reason to oppose low prices on digital. As long as this mentality prevails, the transition from print to digital will keep stalling — and low-market pure players will thrive. Dinosaurs: It’s time to edit your DNA, or face a world with more HuffPos and no WashPo.
It’s worth pointing out that publishers are already in the business of selling products to consumers they have no data on: it’s called the newsstand. Cosmopolitan and People know nothing about the millions who buy their magazines at retail stores, and that doesn’t stop their respective publishers from making a ton of money there.
it is the interest graph that defines the middle ground between Google and Facebook — between search, advertising, and the social graph. I think we can be sure that whoever can collect a record of your current interests and package them for advertisers stands to make a lot of money.
And what all this means for SaaS companies remains to be seen as well. We’ve heard reports of those apps getting rejected as well on the grounds that they don’t use Apple’s in-app payment solution. But these apps aren’t technically offering content, just access. Does that fall under the realm of Apple’s new policies? It seems like that may be the case on the same grounds — Apple built the system and it will bring in more paying customers — but it’s not yet clear.
The Crowd Fusion website is out of date, latest item in the “news stream” is from March 23, 2010. No mention of The Daily. It does seem like their CMS is built on PHP.
iKids, a one-day conference “that will help you bridge the gap between your kids entertainment properties and app revenue through better planning, better partners and better execution”.
Building your App-titude, Sarah Berliner, vp of content, ScrollMotion
Where It’s At: The Current Landscape
Scott Chambers, svp of worldwide media distribution, Sesame Workshop:
Of all the paid assets [Sesame Workshop] has on iTunes 7% are apps that make up 45% of the revenue.
Josh Koppel, founder and chief creative officer, ScrollMotion:
Shai Samet, founder and president, kidSAFE Seal Program:
The Connected Consumer, Jerry Rocha, vp of mobile media, The Nielson Company
Case Study: Dr. Suess eBook Apps, Michel Kripalani, president, Oceanhouse Media
Case Study: Angry Birds, Claes Kalborg, svp of brand and licensing strategies, Rovio Mobile
