Snapchat’s News Sharing Tool, In-Flight Literary Magazines, Google’s Mobile Milestone, NatGeo‘s Instagram Success, TFP’s Mary Lester: My iPad Studio Just Got Sweeter, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week, InDesign CC Tip: Smart Text Reflow
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about a new Snapchat tool that lets users share Discover news stories, how airlines’ literary magazines are taking flight, Google’s announcement that mobile now generates more search traffic than PCs, National Geographic‘s impressive Instagram numbers, and more.
- In today’s content world, it’s all about sharing. Goes without saying. But Snapchat didn’t seem to get that when it launched its Discover news portal back in January, according to an article from Wired. Initially, in an attempt to get users into the portal and keep them there, the messaging app company prevented them from sending stories to others, even within the app itself. That just changed, however, with the rollout of a new tool that lets users share news clips along with comments and emoji. Problem solved.
- Want a copy of the new luxury lifestyle and literary magazine Rhapsody? It’ll cost you the price of a United Airlines’ premium cabin ticket, the Guardian reported, noting that the only other option is to wait to read old issues online. The airline is the latest among travel companies like American Airlines, Amtrak, and even budget carrier JetBlue to provide its high-paying customers with access to literary content from acclaimed writers such as Joyce Carol Oates, Emily St. John Mandel, Anthony Doerr, and Rick Moody. Describing the arrangement as a “modern form of patronage,” the article said airlines attract authors not only with good fees and free travel and accommodations, but also a captive audience, something that’s not easy to come by in the digital age.
- It’s official: Google now gets more search traffic from mobile devices than it does from PCs, a trend that could prove pivotal for the company, Business Insider reported. Google’s ad revenue has been on the decline, it said, because mobile ads don’t fetch the same rates as those served on PCs. And while it’s trying out new smartphone-friendly ads that integrate more images and respond to user gestures like finger swipes, the way consumers use search engines is changing too, with many skipping Google and others altogether and going directly to their mobile apps to find information.
- National Geographic is hitting some pretty impressive numbers on Instagram: 17 million followers and more than one billion likes to date. That makes it the most followed non-celebrity Instagram account and the only media company on the site’s top 20 list, according to Fishbowl NY. Collaboration between the NatGeo photo team and top photojournalists around the world is key to the publisher’s success, said Rajiv Mody, VP of social media: “By handing over the keys to photographers who are out in the field, we’ve been able to give our Instagram followers immediate and intimate access to the tremendous work National Geographic is doing every day.”
- On the Technology for Publishing blog: In her latest post, TFP’s Mary Lester happily reports that she’s finally found the perfect iPad app for creating layouts with professional-level fonts and font control: Adobe Comp. It’s like having a design party in your pocket, she says.
- Our Infographic Pick of the Week teaches you how to use Google search like a pro, highlighting a list of useful tips and techniques to help you improve your everyday searches and work smarter.
- This week’s InDesign CC Tip from TFP’s Monica Murphy explains smart text reflow, a feature that automatically adds or deletes pages when text is added or deleted during editing, helping to control instances of overset text and empty pages at the end of documents.
Image: Wired
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Posted by: Monica Sambataro
