A random mix of things we have read and liked this past week.
EBay's Profit Rises Sharply, Aided by Sale of Skype
EBay earnings soared in Q4 2009, fueled by growth in the PayPal business, the sale of Skype and holiday season shopping, writes NY Times.
The Times to Charge for Frequent Access to Its Web Site
Paywalls, paywalls, and even more paywalls. Now, NY Times is next, reports...NY Times. Jeff Jarvis has written a great blog post regarding his view on paywalls. Should we build relationships or charge for them is the main question.
Kids Spend Every Waking Minute in Front of a Screen
According to Mashable, a recent study conducted by The Kaiser Family Foundation, 8-18-year-olds in the US consume media on average 7.5 hours/day (a 1 hour increase in five years). In addition, for the first time, time spent watching TV dropped in favor of other forms of media, including listening to music, using a computer, playing video games, reading print publications and watching movies.
Apple Courts Publishers, While Kindle Adds Apps
NY Times compares two of the most popular media launches: Amazon's Kindle App Store and Apple's tablet, said to be released on January 27. According to the article, book publishers are now playing the tech titans against each other. WSJ recently published an article regarding the Apple strategy: Apple Sees New Money in Old Media, as well as one about Amazon's new efforts to attract more writers with improved royalties (subscription required to read full article).
Mobile Web Still Unused in the UK Claims Study
Around 76% of UK mobile phone users don't use their mobile to access the web, according to a mobile consumer study, conducted by Essential Research in the UK. Marketing Week has the full story.
YouTube Takes a Small Step Into the Film Rental Market
YouTube is introducing its new online movie rental service with five movies, all from independent filmmakers, reports NY Times.
Time Inc. Acquires Personal Shopping Engine StyleFeeder On Behalf of InStyle
According to a recent press release, Time Inc. aquires StyleFeeder - a personal shopping engine that uses pattern recognition and member style preferences to make recommendations for clothing, shoes and accessories.
Google Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2009 Results
Despite the recession, Google has reported revenues of $6.67bn for the fourth quarter of 2009, an increase of 17% compared $5.7bn for the same period last year. Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, said: "As we enter 2010, we remain hugely optimistic about the internet and are continuing to invest heavily in technological innovation for the benefit not only of our users and customers, but also the wider web."
Guardian Launches Search Engine for Government Data (via @jocke)
ReadWriteWeb reports that the Guardian has launched a new search engine, based on government data. The Guardian's own Data Blog has the full story.
More lightweight:
Trouble at home - Sweden leans left again (via @dabelin)
The Economist writes about how "Fredrik Reinfeldt's government is falling out of favor with voters". A recent poll suggests that 52% of the Swedes support the opposition.
Nike Launches Impressive Hyper-Local iPhone App
ReadWriteWeb covers the launch of Nike's new iPhone app, called True City. The app provides hyper-local, real-time information for six European cities: London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Amsterdam, and Barcelona.
Infographic of the Day: Ditch the Resume; Make a Chart Instead (Fast Company, via @Lindlund)
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Comments
Hi Pernille, That is a really, really good question. In general, we try to be open to diverse perspectives and opinions and analyze/consider as many of them as we can. In general, Bonnier R&Ds task is to see beyond the direct and most urgent interests of the company and provide a wider, more long-term perspective on things. Thus, sometimes our opinions sometimes contradict those of some of our colleagues. When it comes to paid content, we deeply believe that media companies can and should charge for content. However, we are generally not a big fan of "paywalls". Charging for content that previously has been free and can be found for free elsewhere is very hard and may even hurt the relationship between the publisher and the customers. However, charging for new/premium content or services based on content may well be possible. Introducing paywalls is a short-term measure. The core challenge is to produce unique, valuable content and services that consumers are willing to pay for. After all, the gaming industry, for example, has no problem charging for digital content (e.g. virtual goods, downloadable content etc.). If they can, then we can too. Does that answer your questions?
Paulina Modlitb..., January 29, 2010
Hi Bonniers R&D You refer to a 'great blog' from Jeff Jarvis and it sounds to me like you are against media companies charging for their online contents...... Are you and what business model do you believe in? The old one where giving away all you content. Would love to hear more about your thoughts on that. Cheers Pernille
Pernille Tranberg, January 24, 2010
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