The Media Briefing
One thing publishers like about the emerging mobile app economy is that the cost of building and supporting app development recreates a bit of the “scarcity” that made the print model so successful for years.
Much like it is expensive to own and maintain a printing press, at the moment it can be expensive to design and constantly update a mobile app. That could provide a competitive advantage for news organizations as they struggle to generate revenue from their digital businesses.
Patrick Smith reports Wired columnist Peter Kirwan has some bad news: Cheap is coming.
” ‘This idea that the iPhone and the iPad are the saviors of paid content… this idea that people at Conde Nast and News Corp feel so strongly about — what happens when the cost of developing apps, good apps that people will want to read, drops to close to zero?’
” ‘There are still publishers out there are saying “it’s hugely expensive to build an app” but increasingly it isn’t. When the cost of building an app drops to close to zero the entire debate about apps doesn’t become one about paid content but about — guess what — advertising.’ “
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