GQ Goes Digital on iPhone; Launches New Initiative for Digital Magazines
In conjunction with its Men of the Year issue, Conde Nast officially released this week a mobile iPhone/iPod touch application of GQ.

The app goes beyond mobile access to content, acting like a “virtual magazine,” with a digital replica of the magazine with live links to advertisers’ products, links to read reviews and/or purchase music, video and...more

For the past few years, b-to-b publishers have been using digital editions to supplement their print products for various reasons: to cater to their readers’ preferences, to cut printing and shipping costs, and to reach more international audiences. There’s a lot to consider, however, such as balancing the ratio between print and digital subscribers and navigating the audit process. Anne Drobish, associate audience development director, NewBay Media, shared a few...more

It's the elephant in the room for many publishers that offer digital editions to a significant portion of their readership: How many subscribers actually open or click through their notification emails?

Digital edition use continues to grow as more publishers use them to supplement print circulation and the audit bureaus refine their reporting rules, but getting people to engage beyond the notification email requires a set of tools...more

At the FOLIO: Show Virtual last month, Steve Paxhia, president of Beacon Digital Strategies, and author of the 2008 Gilbane Group report “Digital Magazine and Newspaper Editions,” shared his thoughts on how digital magazines will fit in with the growing number of digital channels available to publishers.

Paxhia’s predictions for next 12 months include:

•    An improving economy will change the focus from cost savings to...more

Publishers originally embraced digital editions as an affordable, efficient way to serve readers overseas. But delivering content and managing subscriptions internationally requires publishers use a distinct set of tactics, like delivery incentives, subscription cuts and increased digital edition content, to bulk up their readership and save money on postal costs internationally.

"For us, it’s been an interesting journey over the past few years with the continued increase of international postage rates," said Joanne Juda-Prainito, vice president of...more

With advertising taking a massive nosedive this year, publishers venturing into selling uncharted ad territory have likely hit a number of roadblocks. But during the Folio: Show Virtual, Josh Gordon, president of Smarter Media Sales, presented his preliminary survey findings on how readers respond to advertising in interactive editions (defined as digital editions with no print components) as compared with other electronic media.

Gordon’s independent survey, “The Case for Advertising...more

New Version of Digital Magazines on iPhone, iPod
Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Nxtbook Media is getting ready to launch a new version of its digital magazine platform which will play on iPhones and  iPod Touch devices. According to CEO Michael Biggerstaff, the company expects iPhone usage initially will be relatively small but this new version gives publishers “insight into exactly how usage differs on mobile.”

Features of the new service will...more

The Amazon Kindle, the Sony Reader, and now Barnes & Noble’s nook—these are just a few of the e-readers that will supposedly transform how people will read magazines, newspapers and books in the near future. And with more e-readers from companies such as PlasticLogic and Spring Design on the way, this brings into light the question of how digital magazines will factor into the equation.

A significant...more

As consumers continually adapt and change the way they like to consume content, publishers are scrambling to overhaul the way they produce and distribute it. Along the way, the definition of a digital publication has changed and publishers must utilize an "unrestrained" approach to multiplatform content production, argued Steve Paxhia, president of Beacon Digital Strategies, in his presentation at the recent FOLIO: Virtual event.

According to Paxhia, just 18...more

While many publishers simply turn PDFs of print content over to the vendor to create a digital edition—music magazine Spin has a dedicated digital edition manager in Nick Pandolfi.

“We saw a lot we could bring to a digital edition that we couldn’t do with a print edition,” Pandolfi said earlier this week during a presentation at the Folio: Show Virtual. “We’re now trying to expand readership as...more

With advertising taking a massive nosedive this year, publishers venturing into selling uncharted ad territory have likely hit a number of roadblocks. But during the FOLIO: Show Virtual, Josh Gordon, president of Smarter Media Sales, presented his preliminary findings on how readers respond to advertising in interactive editions (defined as digital editions that are not merely replicas of print titles) as compared with other electronic media.

Gordon’s independent...more

“Experience shows that consumers expect to pay less for digital editions,” wrote LCM Digital Media director Matt Hunter on Folio:’s social network mediaPRO. “As far as they’re concerned, there’s no print cost, no distribution charges and no retail margins to cover, so it should be cheaper.”

This is clearly indicative that some publishers are finding that the right content mix is coaxing readers to purchase digital back issues, annual subscriptions...more