Tabula Rasa: iPad’s blank slate
The biggest surprise from yesterday’s unveiling of Apple’s iPad was that print publishers and journos weren’t terribly excited. “Waiting to be surprised. That hasn’t happened yet,” said Jim Roberts, the only New York Times wonk who didn’t confuse Steve Jobs with Moses. Valleywag has a good take on Print Media’s Big Tablet Letdown.
Our enthusiasm for the tablet comes from both sides of the brain, the creative as well as the practical (we’re talking about business). The Creative Class sees the possibilities: read Nick Carr, Pentagram, Joe Zeff and my post yesterday on experiential news design.
Our take is that smart publishers can reap rewards by investing in new channels for storytelling, advertising and, dare we say, content you can charge for. But few have expressed either understanding, leadership or the required commitment to fill the blank slate of content that the expanding flood of tablets and other mobile devices afford. The creative class is apt to beat them to the future.
