The Mumbo: Will the iPad Save Print?

I remember my friend Aimee, telling me about the financial prowess of her boyfriend at the time, saying, "He says it's a good time to invest in Apple. He says they're developing something called iTunes. . ." So I invested all my money in Apple and retired happily. The End.

Ok, that's not the way it really went, but I have since developed an awed respect for Apple. Everything they touch turns to gold. That's why I've chosen to take the bet against my husband who asserts the iPad will flop. I also defend the iPad because it seemed to be a magical response to my dream for a Kindle on which I could read magazines and newspapers on my way to work. (Don't worry, I don't mean while driving. I take the light rail.)

Magazines and newspapers are all excited because this opens the opportunity for them to charge consumers like me, making them less dependent on advertising dollars. How much they can charge is yet to be determined (The New York Times and Conde Nast seem to be leading the charge), but once consumers are paying the publication industry will, in my opinion, likely be revitalized. The iPod changed the music industry, and e-book sales have increased steadily since the release of the Kindle and its competitors.

Once consumers are back reading publications, advertisers will be back. The iPad and like tablets will create new opportunities for advertisers to reach their audience via digital publications. (And consumer publications, if they're smart, will find a new audience.) The question on my mind, as an internet advertiser, is what data will be available? The popularity of internet advertising over print advertising is due in no small part to the fact that one has insight into data that has a very close correlation to profits. The less ROI guesswork, the better. Media and marketing companies like Multifamily Edge will be charged with the challenge of determining the direct effect that the iPad has on advertisers' bottom lines, and IMHO not everyone will stand a chance to gain.