Digital publishing news for February 25, 2014
If you’re trying to make your content shareable, you may want to check out The Media Briefing’s new post about BuzzFeed’s five rules of creating sharable content. We’ll dive into the first one: lists. Henry Taylor writes, “First off is the principle that lists don’t mess with the audience’s expectations. Someone clicking on the article already knows what to expect, and in the age of information-overload and the chaos of the internet, bringing a little order and organisation to a user’s life is a welcome reprieve – especially when its format represents a natural way for how our brains organise information.” Publishers, do yourselves a favor and keep your list posts on a single page. People hate having to click the link to see the next item on a list. Yes, we know you’re doing it to drive up page views.
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Forbes Partners with Mobile Payment Provider
Folio is reporting that Forbes has partnered with mobile payment provider Lotaris. Bill Mickey writes, “Called Forbes Digital Commerce, the entity will enable payment solutions for the mobile platform. For Forbes Media, the partnership gives the company a direct line to the mobile commerce market. While the deal is strictly a licensing one, with a royalty arrangement as well, it could expand into an investment opportunity down the road.” A smart partnership for this wealthy brand.
Publisher of Car Magazines Gets a Rebuild
The NY Post is reporting that Source Interlink, owner of Motor Trend, Automobile and Hot Rod, is restructuring the company and splitting it in two. Keith J. Kelly writes, “In the shake-up — which may be announced as soon as Tuesday — Michael Sullivan, the current overall CEO, will become chief executive of Source Interlink Distribution. Scott Dickey, who until December was running Competitor Media, a small publisher of specialty sports titles, will now head up the media side of the company as the CEO of Source Interlink Media. Each unit will have a separate board of directors.”
Net-A-Porter Hits Apple Newsstand
Talking New Media is reporting that woman’s luxury retailer Net-A-Porter has launched a Newsstand edition of its magazine. D.B. Hebbard writes, “The digital edition, PORTER magazine North America, is available exclusively through the Apple Newsstand, and is designed specifically for the iPad.Unlike many print publishers, who are a bit cautious when it comes to charging too much for their digital editions, Net-A-Porter has charging $8.99 for a single copy, $32.99 for an annual subscription. Then again, the retailer knows its audience, and it is not Target shoppers. The Newsstand app’s first digital issue is designed exclusively for portrait reading, and weighs in at a rather modest 188 MB, despite the presence of video content.”
More than Half Your Facebook Referrals are Coming from Mobile
Mashable is reporting that mobile referral traffic from Facebook is on the rise. Matt Petronzio writes, “More than half of Facebook’s referral traffic to media sites in January 2014 came from mobile, according to a recent report from Shareaholic. Overall, 16.2% of site referrals came from Facebook.” Does your Facebook referral traffic look the same?
