‘BD’ adapts to the digital age with electronic paper

While many have predicted the death of the newspaper industry with the digital revolution, publishers have gone on to prove that technology is a friend and not a foe.

Print media Has over the years adapted to the world of Internet and mobile devices like smart phones and tablets. Newspapers have found a way to reach their audiences through more interactive websites and social media channels like Facebook and Twitter.

Even with the development of technology, some ardent readers prefer having their favourite content delivered in a structure similar to the hard copies, a preference that led to the adoption of electronic papers.

In June this year the Nation Media Group (NMG) unveiled a mobile application to allow readers get an electronic version of the Business Daily on their mobile devices. Within this short time the application that allows users to get their business news from the comfort of their smart phones and tablets has gained a lot of popularity and is now about to reach the 10,000 download.

Speaking to the Digital Business on the remarkable progress that the application has had so far, NMG’s digital content managing editor Churchill Otieno said that the electronic paper was a way for the paper to remain relevant with the digital revolution.

“We were reaching audiences with our content through the various channels but there was still a huge number that was connected to the unique packaging of the Business Daily and we had to find a compelling way of maintaining that integrity while at the same time being able to deliver that to their smart phones,” he said.

The Business Daily e-paper is currently available for smart phones and tablet computers that use Android and iOS platforms though there are plans to make it available to devices that use the windows operating system.

It is easy for one to download the application onto their device from Google Play Store and the Apple App Store for free. The application not only provides users with a full replica of the hardcopy newspaper but also allows an archive access of seven days for tablet users and three days for those reading it on their Smartphone.

Its small size of 10MB makes it a convenience for users who have limited space on their devices. Content is also indexed and a user can easily jump to a particular section to read a story.

The fact that it is a global application providing one with access to newspaper content whether within the country or abroad has made it even popular among Diaspora who want to keep up with the goings on of the business community.

“It is the whole concept of the paper coming to you, you do not have to miss a copy because you have travelled and cannot reach your vendor. The convenience is better than for those who get newspaper delivered to their doorsteps because you can view it even before you leave the bed,” he said.

With renewed subscription a person gets a notification once the current edition is available. Users can pay for a weekly subscription of $4 dollars or a monthly one for $12. There are also 30 dollars quarterly subscriptions, $50 dollars half year and $70 annual subscriptions.

“We have various models, which make our subscriptions affordable and even cheaper than the hard copy. Some advertisers can come in and say that they want to subsidise the costs for the readers for a duration meaning while also relaying their own adverts or one can choose to pay for the premium subscriptions that have no such advertising,” he said.

According to Mr Otieno, the one year journey to develop the e-paper was not easy, bringing in a lot of technology experts not just to build the application but to constantly improve upon it.

“When you are building an app you want it to be able to hold whatever content that you want delivered and from the word go we focused on creating an application that is compatible with both android and iOS because they are a platforms common with a majority of the devices within the market today,” he explained.

Even before the first version of the application was released in February, NMG techies had to ensure that it was functional through rigorous testing. Among them was the stress test to see if the application could endure many users at the same time.

They were able to determine the ease of use of the application not just in downloading but also in navigating from one section to another. The application was then taken to the various stores where the digital department was able to test it for several months even before it was launched.

“We needed to create a user interface that was not only appealing but also projecting content with the look and feel that we wanted the target audience to have. Testing is important because it gives you of a feel of the fortunes that your application is likely to have in the market if it is too complicated it is more likely to flop in the market,” he said.

Even after the launch improvements were made to the application based on the feedback that was being received from members of the public with a newer version with smoother downloads, better user interface, subscription management and in app purchasing being released in October.

Subsidise

“In some cases the size of the file downloading was heavy and we had to look at ways of making it lighter without compromising on the quality. We also had to look at the in-app purchases which were not available in the first version enabling users to be able to pay for a download or certain subscription without exiting the application,” he explained.

While the application has seen tremendous improvements, readership of the e-paper is greatly affected by the quality of service of the telco or Internet provider that one uses to download the paper. For users of smart phones with smaller memory they also need to clear their caches constantly to receive current editions.

“We are looking to enhance the Business Daily e-paper in a big way in the coming few months so that the users can get an even better experience and even more than what is available in the physical paper,” he said.

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