How Local Publishers Can Take Advantage of Mobile News Boom
by Amy Gahran, October 15, 2012
A recent major Pew study of mobile news users offers context that could help community news publishers hone their mobile strategy. In "The Future of Mobile News," published earlier this month, the Pew Research Center's Project on Excellence in Journalism offers evidence that news publishers should focus their mobile strategy on the mobile web, rather than downloadable platform-specific "native" apps.
This survey was quite large: From June 29-August 8, 2012, Pew surveyed 9,513 U.S. adults. The report compares this year's data to last year's, and spotted some fast-moving mobile news trends. The report doesn't specifically mention community news publishers or local news (although it does refer often to daily newspapers), but it holds some hidden insights for smaller venues if you read between the lines.
MOBILE NEWS IS EXTREMELY POPULAR
According to Pew: "Fully one-third of all U.S. adults now get news on a mobile device at least once a week. 64% of tablet owners and 62% of smartphone owners say they use the devices for news at least weekly, tying news statistically with other popular activities such email and playing games on tablets and behind only e-mail on smartphones."
This rising tide has the potential to lift all boats in the news business -- but community news publishers may have some special advantages.
WHEN NEWS CONSUMERS GO MOBILE, THEY GET MORE NEWS
Pew found that mobile devices typically increase news consumption. "More than four in ten mobile news consumers say they are getting more news now, and nearly a third say they are adding new sources."
That last sentence might be very good news for community, niche, or ethnic news venues, especially newer digital startups. According to BIA/Kelsey, earlier this year former Google exec (and now Yahoo CEO) Marissa Mayer revealed that 20% of all searches across Google properties are now seeking locally relevant information -- and for searches conducted on mobile devices, that figure doubles to 40%.
Predictions abound that between 2013-2015 the majority of U.S. Internet access will shift to mobile devices. If the share of local searches on these devices continues to grow, then publishers of local and hyperlocal information may gain a significant mobile search visibility advantage. They may attract more new readers through popular aggregators such as Google News, and thus end up getting adopted as regular news sources by more mobile users.
Therefore, local or hyperlocal publishers that both offer a mobile-friendly website and also geocode their content (something that's becoming increasingly important in how search engines determine relevance, especially for mobile search) may be able to leverage mobile to grow their overall audience -- even more so than mass media can accomplish.
As Knight News Challenge winner Ryan Thornburg observed earlier this year, major news outlets that serve a large region face significant accuracy problems with geocoding. This implies that venues which serve a smaller, more focused region might be able to geocode more accurately and reliably -- which in turn might enhance their mobile search visibility and performance, driving even more mobile traffic and attracting new regular readers.
WEB BROWSERS TRUMPING APPS FOR MOST MOBILE NEWS USERS
"Overall, the majority of mobile news users get most of their news on mobile devices through browsers: 60% of tablet news users and 61% of smartphone news users," said Pew. "Less than half as many, 23% of tablet news users and 28% of smartphone news users, mainly go through apps. And 16% and 11%, respectively, say they use apps and the browser equally."
This should be a relief to smaller new publishers, who typically have smaller budgets and fewer technical resources than mass media news outlets -- and who typically have not yet invested much in building platform- and device-specific news apps (unlike many daily and national news venues).
Compared to apps, the mobile web is a far simpler and cheaper publishing option. The mobile web is inherently cross-platform and offers connectivity advantages as well. Inbound story links open quite reliably in a mobile website, but far less reliably in mobile apps -- even when the recipients of news links have the appropriate news outlet apps installed on their smartphones or tablets.
Pew found that Apple device owners tend to have, and use, the most mobile news apps. However, Apple's dominion over the U.S. mobile market is diminishing fast. The iPad's share of the U.S. tablet market is shrinking rapidly (52% this year vs. 81% last year). Similarly the iPhone currently claims only 38% of the U.S. smartphone market, compared to Android's 46%.
SMALLER TABLETS, BIGGER INFLUENCE
Pew found that in the past year the share of U.S. adults who own a tablet device doubled to 22%. "The advent of the new lower-priced tablets in late 2011 brought in a new crop of tablet owners."
Nearly half (48%) of tablet owners have an Android tablet, and about half of these (21%) are Kindle Fires.
Many popular Android tablets cost half or less than the price of an iPad. The least expensive iPad 2 costs $500 -- but the new Kindle Fire starts at $159, the Barnes & Noble Nook tablet starts at $179, and the Galaxy Nexus 7 tablet starts at $199. Consequently, smaller tablets may become a key tool for bridging the digital divide in low-income segments of your community -- and engaging them with local news, information, and civic concerns.
Still, the significance of this shift away from iPads in the tablet market may have as much to do with size as price. In the last year the U.S. tablet market has demonstrated a strong demand for smaller tablets. The iPad is simply too large for a typical purse or jacket pocket, which can hinder its usefulness to mobile users who prize portability.
This week many sources are reporting that on Oct. 23 Apple may finally introduce the long-rumored smaller iPad mini -- a move that could help Apple remain relevant in a tablet market that isn't one-size-fits-all. But the strategic value of this possible Apple move could hinge on price: Google may counter Apple by offering a $99 Android tablet around the same time.
One thing is clear: Smaller tablets have assumed an important and fast-growing role in the mobile market. Any news publisher must accommodate this form factor in the design of its mobile offerings.
The days of "tablet = full-size iPad" are definitely over.
MOBILE IS SHIFTING NEWS DEMOGRAPHICS BY ETHNICITY
Pew found that although blacks are about one-third less likely than whites to own a tablet (14% vs. 22%), blacks also are substantially more likely to use their tablet to get news daily (56%) than whites (36%).
This stands in stark contrast to print news consumption patterns -- where whites (34%) are far more likely to be daily print newspaper readers, compared to blacks (24%) or Hispanics (13%).
U.S. Hispanics, while typically leading in ownership and usage of mobile devices overall, tend to parallel whites when it comes to mobile news consumption.
Pew notes that these demographic trends "may hint at something new. Perhaps tablets and smartphones, which provide ready access to news from any source at lower cost of entry than desktop computers, may translate into a powerful news consumption tool for populations that felt underserved by the media in legacy forms."
While that statement conflates ethnicity with class, it's a point worth pondering, especially for news outlets that focus on serving poor or otherwise marginalized communities.
Infographics by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Amy Gahran is a journalist, editor, trainer, entrepreneur, strategist, and media consultant based in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to writing articles and doing educational programming for KDMC@USC, she also covers mobile technology for CNN.com and Entrepreneur.com, and was a cofounder of the hyperlocal news site OaklandLocal.com. In 2006 she won a Knight News Challenge awarded for the Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker project. Her blog is Contentious.com. Twitter: @agahran
This post first appeared on The Community News Leadership 3.0 blog at University of Southern California's Knight Digital Media Center, which aims to help journalists and news organizations succeed in the digital landscape.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Ford and WRC part ways.
Ford to withdraw works support for World Rally Championship
By Jamie O'Leary Monday, October 15th 2012, 15:02 GMT
Ford will cease to have a factory presence in the World Rally Championship at the end of the 2012 season.
A statement issued by Ford of Europe on Monday said that the decision had been taken due to the current economic climate, following a major review of its marketing activities in the continent.
"Ford has a long and proud history in the WRC and this was not an easy decision," said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe.
"At this time, however we determined that it was better for the company and the Ford brand to reduce our commitment to the WRC and deploy our resources in other areas."
Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport organisation, which has run Ford's factory squad since 1997 and taken 52 wins plus the manufacturers' world championships in 2006 and '07, aims to continue in the WRC with the Fiesta model in the coming years.
Ford is on talks with M-Sport to provide continued vehicle and engineering support.
By Jamie O'Leary Monday, October 15th 2012, 15:02 GMT
Ford will cease to have a factory presence in the World Rally Championship at the end of the 2012 season.
A statement issued by Ford of Europe on Monday said that the decision had been taken due to the current economic climate, following a major review of its marketing activities in the continent.
"Ford has a long and proud history in the WRC and this was not an easy decision," said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe.
"At this time, however we determined that it was better for the company and the Ford brand to reduce our commitment to the WRC and deploy our resources in other areas."
Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport organisation, which has run Ford's factory squad since 1997 and taken 52 wins plus the manufacturers' world championships in 2006 and '07, aims to continue in the WRC with the Fiesta model in the coming years.
Ford is on talks with M-Sport to provide continued vehicle and engineering support.
The value of hype. Or not.
LG's Nexus 4 might just be the worst-kept secret in the technology world.
Jason Parks, a Texas-based software engineer who works for Google, published photos on his Google+ page over the weekend of his son sleeping. Although that might seem innocuous enough, after users clicked the "Photo details" link to the side of the images, EXIF data contained in that pane revealed it was taken with the Nexus 4.
An LG Electronics employee also posted images to Google+ that contained mention of a Nexus 4 camera. However, unlike Parks' images, the LG photos have been removed from the social network.
LG's Nexus 4 has been springing leaks all over the place lately. Last week alone, the device popped up in the U.K. retailer Carphone Warehouse's inventory, in photos published in Belarus, and in a French newspaper. The only thing left for LG to do is finally launch it.
When that launch might actually happen, though, remains to be seen. The latest reports suggest that LG will finally unveil the handset on October 29. When it does, the Nexus 4 is expected to look similar to the LG Optimus G and come with a quad-core Snapdragon processor, as well as 2GB of onboard RAM and an 8-megapixel camera.
Jason Parks, a Texas-based software engineer who works for Google, published photos on his Google+ page over the weekend of his son sleeping. Although that might seem innocuous enough, after users clicked the "Photo details" link to the side of the images, EXIF data contained in that pane revealed it was taken with the Nexus 4.
An LG Electronics employee also posted images to Google+ that contained mention of a Nexus 4 camera. However, unlike Parks' images, the LG photos have been removed from the social network.
LG's Nexus 4 has been springing leaks all over the place lately. Last week alone, the device popped up in the U.K. retailer Carphone Warehouse's inventory, in photos published in Belarus, and in a French newspaper. The only thing left for LG to do is finally launch it.
When that launch might actually happen, though, remains to be seen. The latest reports suggest that LG will finally unveil the handset on October 29. When it does, the Nexus 4 is expected to look similar to the LG Optimus G and come with a quad-core Snapdragon processor, as well as 2GB of onboard RAM and an 8-megapixel camera.
More Dropbox for iOS.
Like an app, only without all the pesky local storage requirements.
Dropbox photo-sharing just got a little more handy. Now, if you head over to Dropbox.com in Mobile Safari, you get a fantastic new mobile view which lets you swipe and tap your way through your photos.
The new light-box view is full-screen (with browser chrome), and photos are presented on a black background. Tapping takes you to the next web-optimized image, and icons at bottom right let you share the link, see the full-sized original, download a copy or delete the photo entirely.
It’s no Photo Stream, to be sure, but if you have struggled to find some sane way to organize the mess of photos coming from your iPhone, iPad and digital camera, then Dropbox makes a good deal of sense.
And this light-box view also makes the automatic Dropbox Camera Upload feature a lot more useful. Camera upload simply uploads every photo you add to your iOS camera roll to your Dropbox.
I have had it switched on because, well, why not? My 100GB plan won’t run out of space, and I understand Dropbox way better than I understand Photo Stream’s foibles. Now I can also browse my photos in this great new view, even from my horrible Android phone, it makes a whole lot more sense.
Dropbox photo-sharing just got a little more handy. Now, if you head over to Dropbox.com in Mobile Safari, you get a fantastic new mobile view which lets you swipe and tap your way through your photos.
The new light-box view is full-screen (with browser chrome), and photos are presented on a black background. Tapping takes you to the next web-optimized image, and icons at bottom right let you share the link, see the full-sized original, download a copy or delete the photo entirely.
It’s no Photo Stream, to be sure, but if you have struggled to find some sane way to organize the mess of photos coming from your iPhone, iPad and digital camera, then Dropbox makes a good deal of sense.
And this light-box view also makes the automatic Dropbox Camera Upload feature a lot more useful. Camera upload simply uploads every photo you add to your iOS camera roll to your Dropbox.
I have had it switched on because, well, why not? My 100GB plan won’t run out of space, and I understand Dropbox way better than I understand Photo Stream’s foibles. Now I can also browse my photos in this great new view, even from my horrible Android phone, it makes a whole lot more sense.
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Good news! GoToMyPC for #Android now works on phones! Get it now Google Play
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Mac sales up. Notebook sales down.
Apple jump in global slump: Macbook sales up 30%, overall notebook sales down 4.5%
OCTOBER 15, 2012 JOHN KOETSIER
Apparently, Apple sells more than products preceded by the letter “I.”
iPhones, iPads, iPods, and soon, iPad Minis are the hottest and most visible stories for the world’s most valuable company … but they are not Apple’s only source of massive sales growth.
A Digitimes research report just released today says that Apple’s laptop sales have jumped 30 percent higher than the previous quarter. That’s significant growth, particularly when compared to a 4.5 percent drop in global notebook shipments from the previous quarter, and a massive 11.6 percent drop from the same quarter last year.
“One of the things that has helped Apple’s laptop shipments is Apple’s overall ecosystem,” Frost & Sullivan analyst Todd Day told me this morning. “Consumers are used to the convenience.”
Apple had released new MacBook Airs in July, and thinner, retina display MacBook Pros in June of this year. The recent retina display MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models are not just continuing Apple’s strong portable performance, they’re actually increasing the rate of growth. But it’s not just about the ecosystem — it’s also just simple build quality, according to analysts.
“The other factor is the quality of product … Apple has made a lot of strides here.” said Day.
Meanwhile, cost leader Acer, netbook pioneer Asustek, and Toshiba all dropped from 15-25 percent.
Part of the global weakness in Windows-based laptops can be blamed on Redmond, according to Digitimes analyst Joanne Chien, who said that “consumers’ wait-and-see attitude to PC purchasing due to Windows 8′s upcoming launch” was one of the drivers of poor performance, along with the general economic downturn.
OCTOBER 15, 2012 JOHN KOETSIER
Apparently, Apple sells more than products preceded by the letter “I.”
iPhones, iPads, iPods, and soon, iPad Minis are the hottest and most visible stories for the world’s most valuable company … but they are not Apple’s only source of massive sales growth.
A Digitimes research report just released today says that Apple’s laptop sales have jumped 30 percent higher than the previous quarter. That’s significant growth, particularly when compared to a 4.5 percent drop in global notebook shipments from the previous quarter, and a massive 11.6 percent drop from the same quarter last year.
“One of the things that has helped Apple’s laptop shipments is Apple’s overall ecosystem,” Frost & Sullivan analyst Todd Day told me this morning. “Consumers are used to the convenience.”
Apple had released new MacBook Airs in July, and thinner, retina display MacBook Pros in June of this year. The recent retina display MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models are not just continuing Apple’s strong portable performance, they’re actually increasing the rate of growth. But it’s not just about the ecosystem — it’s also just simple build quality, according to analysts.
“The other factor is the quality of product … Apple has made a lot of strides here.” said Day.
Meanwhile, cost leader Acer, netbook pioneer Asustek, and Toshiba all dropped from 15-25 percent.
Part of the global weakness in Windows-based laptops can be blamed on Redmond, according to Digitimes analyst Joanne Chien, who said that “consumers’ wait-and-see attitude to PC purchasing due to Windows 8′s upcoming launch” was one of the drivers of poor performance, along with the general economic downturn.
The jump. A few stats.
Felix Baumgartner yesterday jumped from a capsule 24 miles above the earth's surface, and into the history books. The 43-year-old now holds the record for the world's highest parachute jump, and is the first skydiver to break the sound barrier. But it almost didn't happen: thanks to a foggy visor, the Austrian daredevil almost aborted the feat.
Once he'd leapt off the capsule, it took Baumgartner over nine minutes to reach solid ground. There were worries that he'd fluffed it as the skydiver, a veteran of over 2,500 jumps, didn't get into the correct position. At his fastest he was travelling at 833.9mph, or Mach 1.24, and he was in free fall for 4 minutes and 20 seconds.
The previous record, which has stood since 1960, was for a jump measuring just a shade over 19 and a quarter miles. It was held by Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger, whose voice was Baumgartner's link to mission control during his descent.
Once he'd leapt off the capsule, it took Baumgartner over nine minutes to reach solid ground. There were worries that he'd fluffed it as the skydiver, a veteran of over 2,500 jumps, didn't get into the correct position. At his fastest he was travelling at 833.9mph, or Mach 1.24, and he was in free fall for 4 minutes and 20 seconds.
The previous record, which has stood since 1960, was for a jump measuring just a shade over 19 and a quarter miles. It was held by Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger, whose voice was Baumgartner's link to mission control during his descent.
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