Is the future online (content)?

Is the future viagra cialis online pharmacy pharmacy (content)?

After reading articles for this week, I came to a conclusion that is very traditional yet important to highlight--I argue that online content is the future of newspaper business. Like what Patterson said, "Just play the news better online." This may not have been the solution yet, but I see the future more on (a) content itself and (b) the way the news is served online.

First, find what your newspaper is good at--international, national, or local news--and differentiate your product (content). I think this part was explained very well during Dallas Morning News publisher Jim Moroney's talk last week (http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/dallas-morning-news-publisher-defends-implementation-paywall).

Second, attract your online visitors with new online features (the way the news is served) to keep them around for longer time, which would increase the possibility to increase online ad revenue. The millennials are the ones who take technology as a given, and when the industry is serving ones like them, I think it has to attract their audience with what "papers" cannot offer: Make news reading (or watching) more enjoyable with interactive features.

I see a lot going on with Apps these days. If we are expecting 330 million smartphones and 42 million tablets to be sold worldwide, make news more enjoyable there. Here's a site where they compared different iPhone news apps: http://iphone.appstorm.net/roundups/lifestyle-roundups/top-20-informative-iphone-news-apps/

Another area the industry needs to look into is what they are offering through browsers. As an online news reader, I'd be spending more time on news sites if I see more "exclusive content" in both the content itself and the features (visuals, interactiveness, etc.) used to deliver the content, which is something news aggregators like Google or Yahoo cannot offer. Although it is getting better from simple "copy and paste"s from its paper version, I would enjoy their content even more if they offer better ways to deliver its content, which is something I cannot find from reading physical newspapers.

Of course, there is a lot to say about whether or not users will pay for news. And recent research tends to say: "Mobile users dig local news apps, but most won't pay for them" (e.g., http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/03/mobile-users-wont-pay-news/). Furthermore, this week's readings discuss about what newspapers gain/lose from online vs. offline as well. However, the bottom line is: where there is need, and if that need is not satisfied by things that are offered anywhere else, there's a possibility. Am I too optimistic?