Digital Coverage of the Olympics, Top Social Sites for Magazine Brands, Next Chapter for Arianna Huffington, Dwell.com’s New Model, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about cool ways publishers are covering Olympics news, the MPA’s report on top social sites for magazine brands, Arianna Huffington’s decision to step down as Huffington Post EIC, a new model for online magazine Dwell, and more.
- Nieman Lab launched a running list of the innovative ways publishers are covering the 2016 Rio Olympic Games online, from texting updates to readers (New York Times) to an “Armchair Olympian” interactive that lets users test their timing in sprinting, rowing, the long jump, and more (Wall Street Journal). As Times sports editor Jason Stallman noted in the report, for events like the Olympics, “different people [are] coming at it from a lot of different perspectives, experiences, and interests, so variety is key.” Other experiments include the Washington Post’s use of bots to write some Olympics updates, freeing up reporters “to do the kind of high-impact stories they want to do,” said director of strategic initiatives Jeremy Gilbert. The publisher also built an interactive that lets users compare the size of different types of equipment and playing fields—especially useful for learning about lesser known sports. Meanwhile, the Guardian tried out push notifications for medal leaderboards, country-specific alerts, polls, quizzes, and more. Nieman will be updating its post throughout the Games, so feel free to comment on cool digital tools you see and they’ll add them to the list.
- Hands down Facebook and Instagram are the top sites for magazine brands, accounting for nearly half of all magazine industry likes and followers on social platforms, according to the Magazine Media 360° First-Half Social Media Report. Among all the sites measured, Facebook-owned Instagram was the fastest growing (16%), surpassing Twitter among participating magazines, a WWD post said. In terms of magazines with the most likes and followers across platforms, National Geographic Magazine scored highest, with more than 85 million. Other magazines topping the list included ESPN The Magazine, National Geographic (different names on different sites), Vogue, The Economist, Time, Playboy, Forbes, National Geographic Traveler, and People. For detailed results, check out the report on the MPA – The Association of Magazine Media site.
- Arianna Huffington announced she’s stepping down as editor in chief of The Huffington Post to focus more of her time on her most recent venture, a health and wellness startup called Thrive. According to a New York Times post, Huffington said in a note to employees that she had intended on fulfilling both roles, but with the growing demands of managing Thrive Global’s investors, staff and offices, it became apparent that wouldn’t be possible. “One of the Thrive principles is knowing when it’s time for a new chapter to begin, and for me that time has arrived,” she said. Since founding The Huffington Post in 2005, Huffington helped grow the publication into a leading digital media site, which in 2011 was bought for $315 million by AOL, now a Verizon company. See Mathew Ingram’s post on Fortune for more commentary on Huffington’s legacy.
- And here’s something for all you design enthusiasts out there: Dwell.com, a magazine focused on modern architecture and design, debuted a redesign that departs from the feel of a traditional online magazine, instead allowing users (vs. visitors) to determine what they want to see and share on profile pages they create, much like the way social sites such as Pinterest and Tumblr work. The difference between the new site and platforms is that Dwell.com will maintain an editorial influence, highlighting hand-picked stories of interest on user pages, a Wired article explained. Think of it as an “interest network,” as Dwell describes the new model, with community being central to its approach.
On the Technology for Publishing Blog
- TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week chronicles the story of Uber, a simple mobile app that evolved into a $60 billion-plus company and transformed the transportation industry.
- Also check out Monica Murphy’s recent InDesign CC Tip on the new Sort Swatches feature in v2015.4, as well as our Adobe InDesign CC handbook highlighting all the latest features and updates.
Photo: Nieman Lab
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Posted by: Monica Sambataro
