Time Gets Its Electronic Freak On â€" Considers E-Reader
Owen Thomas has a good piece on Time Inc.'s internal discussion of whether to create its own e-reader device.
It's a big shift in strategy by Time, which earlier this year said it would not introduce its own e-reader. But things have changed, and Time's plans for the e-reader market are on a fast track. According to the in-house presentation, Time Inc. is seeking to unveil its plans within the next three months.Things certainly have changed if Time is deciding whether it should be in the consumer electronics business. You'd think that after the brick-wall-smashing disaster known as the AOL acquisition, any executive in that company would have learned the danger of stepping too far outside of your own expertise. (Then again, I have a completely unsubstantiated yet delicious personal conspiracy theory in which the TW people knew that the AOL deal would be disastrous, so they took their bonuses and sat back, waiting for the explosion so they could go in and pick up where they left off.)
But it's a tale of insanity that is spreading throughout the publishing world. Rupert Murdoch wants an e-reader. Hearst wants an e-reader. Borders has an e-reader. And it's easy to see the appeal, at a rudimentary level. Get the device so you aren't locked in to the Kindle, thus fueling the Amazon quest for industry dominance. But take a step back. What success in e-media needs is not a rat pack of conflicting publisher-offered devices because "whoever defines the interface wins." That's exactly how to lose in consumer electronics. The company will win that can provide what consumers want most. I'd venture that it includes the following:
- a natural and easy to use GUI
- a convenient way to buy content
- an unrestricted breadth of content from which to choose