Folks, get ready for the eMagazine boom.  As products like Kindle and the iPad start to generate more interest in the portable PC/Reading device, there will be more interest than ever in having eMagazines available for all those wonderful devices. Not only will the eMagazine boom effect the way we read, and what we read, it is going to effect our search engine results.

The publishers of magazines online will be working harder than ever to have their content indexed by the search engines. We will be seeing bits of the text, often called “snippets” in the industry, that will be designed to tempt us to get the article. The little morsels will be designed to help you quicklly figure out if the information is useful. Content will be kind in the first 100 words.

Once you get hooked on the summary you are given, the publishers will attempt to get you to buy the article content.  There should be a modest price for the articles. Better yet, they will want to sell you a subscription to the magaine. That will be where the big money will be.  Once you have a subscription, you’ll be subject to the advertising that will be presented. Right now, all the new ebook and eMagazine readers to set to handle advertising, and video, with the exception of the Kindle. The technology of the Kindle is still very simple, and does not lend itself well to advertising and moving graphics.

The search engine crawls will be limited to the summary material. We’ll have to see if any0ne wants to break that rule.  Google can already run with such a senario. Just take a look at Google Books.  Google Books has a large database of print publications, which also includes eMagazines. Once they have the propriatary rights to index content from the major publishers, they will be off and running. Although Bing/Yahoo! have no similar publication search database, they will probably also be able to find ways of indexing “hidden content”, in an effort to keep up with the Giant Google.

Flash based ads will only be the beginning. New technologies will be developed to exploit this new media market. Publishers will be glad to hop on board, as this new media will offer new sources of income from advertising, interactive programs, and the like. They will also have faster access to data about how the campaign is going. Real time results will be possible, versus surveys, focus groups, and the like. So, get ready for the eMagazine boom. Coming in  an eReader near you.

Ray Province, M.A., ACMPE

Celtic Ozark Solutions

Ray Province

I have been so excited to hear about the new Apple iPad.  The iPad reviews are dismall, though.  It look like the product is not living up to the general expectations of the public.

CNET has been one of the biggest antagonists so far.  From my way of thinking, CNET still wants to put the iPad into the “mini personal computer” arena.  If this is the case, then it is a bit of a disappointment.  At 64G of memory, you can get a better deal on a small Dell style mini computer, with 1G of RAM, and a hardrive twice that big.  Granted, the touch screen won’t be there.

Here is the argument:  it’s too weak to be a good computer. It’s too big to be just a phone. It’s definitely not going to replace the iPod.  So, that leaves us just one basic thought:  is it just designed to be a fancy Kindle?

The size of the iPad may also end up causing sales to dwindle.  If it does not do much more than a good 3GS iPhone, then people may get tired of carrying the bigger version around. We have become a lazy little group.

Ray Province

Tweeting hot topics can be one way to really help draw traffic to your website.  Simple connections to current topics of interest will help many people take the extra step to go ahead and visit your website. Then, it’s up to you to WOW them.  Here are some simple rules about tweeting hot topics.

Make sure the topic is relevant to your website.  On this website about social media marketing, website development, etc., I would be much better off talking about the new iPad than I would the one year birthday of the children of the “octamom.”  Doing otherwise will not give you favorable results, and it really cheapens your website content. So, what do these results look like?  That’s simple: you want people to re-tweet your work, comment on your post, etc.

Some of the overall best subject matter for tweeting hot topics comes from new technical innovations, the lifestyles of the rich and famous, what’s happening with celebrities, and my personal favorite, politics!  If you can find good topic matter in these areas, you will draw extra hits.

Images and videos are also a great way to bring extra hits to your website from tweeting.  Most of us have now grown up with television, so we love our videos. That is why Youtube is the number two website in the world.  The biggest mistake people make in tweeting video is getting too commercial with it.  Try to give people information, share some knowledge, help people. Then, after you have shared first, you can be justified in pointing people to products and services.

Tweeting hot topics can be a great way to draw traffic to your website. It can also be a way to stimulate conversation on your Twitter page.  Good luck.