Digiday Daily: Conquering The Digital Divide
by Jeanniey Mullen, Global EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Zinio and VIV Magazine-
10,492. That is about how many different prerogatives I have heard about digital publishing’s future over the past 8 months. I started counting these on October 11, 2008. That seems to be the day when, for a number of reasons, the world realized that digital reading was not just an innovation any longer, but a reality.
Professionals from a number of industries: publishing, advertising, technology, research and services have all started pontificating about how digital publishing is going to change the way consumers will access, consume and value (aka. How much they will pay for) traditionally print media now available in a digital format.
It’s chaos!
But, it’s a good chaos. The entire ecosystem is bravely crossing into the next frontier: The Digital Divide. Over the next few months, anyone in the publishing industry will be able to say they were a part of a revolution. A revolution where digital stands up and takes permanent place in the hearts, minds and hands of consumers. This is a good and powerful revolution.
In it, publishers will be able to unleash creativity in designing publications with added depth and interactivity. New (profitable) business models already have, and will continue to be introduced, replacing older tired models. They will open up new opportunities to monetize brands like never before. And consumers will spend significantly more time with our publishing materials as it is easily integrated into their daily routine and lives.
