Monday, July 13, 2009

Newspapers dying? I hope not...

I get a total 4 blogs via email and mostly read their title articles. In advertently, two of them talk about the demise of the Newspapers. Now (when I get a chance to watch TV) the topic has made it to TV.

The problem with Newspapers and print media, in general, is not the news it is the Media -- i.e., paper. Newspapers are in fact two businesses. Getting the news first and then distributing it. Printing press was developed int the 15th century http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press. To rely on paper today, is like trying to push pagers in an age of cell phones.

If a company like Plastic Logic would just perfect the flexible display, so that people can download their paper online, or buy it at a coin kiosk at the london tube -- we would be done by now. It would cost a fraction as well.

We said this to Kodak Research Erurope 4 years ago when I was doing my MBA, and it still holds true today. For those who say well flexible displays can do animation so why not just use them for TV... sure. But there is a depth to written news that you will never find on TV for temporal reasons. People read faster than they hear :-) Portable (flexible) displays can also provide search and offline email, and blogging capabilities.

And if you don't believe me about how the flexibile display can be savior of the print news, see just how popular Amazon's Kindle is becoming.

Cheers, E
P.S. World would be such a horrible place without New York Times.