mikolas

Web to Print Makes Blogs a Print Publication

Regarding my previous post, I came across pretty interesting concept (via: Wired) that takes content out of blogs and other user generated content mediums, such as Flickr, and uses aggregated content to produce bi-daily free newspaper. The content that is put into the paper is selected using online voting system, in order to a) promote interesting content b) assure quality.

Why is this a good idea? Well, it tackles some of the problems with print-first newspapers:

• Low production costs with hyper-local targeting due to print on demand, that makes possible highly targeted advertising with substantially lower prices than traditional printed media
• Engaging readers to the actual publication process that hopefully makes the paper more interesting to the readers
• True web to print approach. Not only is the content pulled from the web, the paper can also take advertising directly from advertisers’ online campaigns, thus making ad production cost for print version practically zero
• A concept that can be rolled out, not only nationally but also internationally, without stellar costs

While I’m skeptical about the success of this effort (hey, it’s part of my nature!), I am certain that this concept has some truly great implications on how the future of printed media could look like.