André Nitze: "Online Blogs are the digital magazines of the future."

We bring the best blogs to the iPad
Interview with André Nitze, CEO of Alligator Digital Magazines, Inc.

Oliver Weiss: When was the last time you bought a magazine from a newsstand?
André Nitze: That was 2 or 3 months ago.

Weiss: And online...?
Nitze: Last month.

Weiss: Is the business model of publishing falling apart?
Nitze: Here you have to make a clear separation between online and print. I do think that in the area of print the business model works. The process of value creation has two segments: The per copy sales price and the CPT. The CPT is dependent on the reach, that is to say on the number of readers. The copy price is determined by the market.
In the online area, however, publishers only have one side of the equation. They earn their money almost exclusively from the sale of banner ads. The CPT is similar to print in that it is based on readership. A big disadvantage, though, is that most publications are free eliminating that revenue source. On top of that, online advertising rates are falling. If a premium magazine were to start charging for content, they would certainly be able to generate more cashflow than by simply selling banners. But readers won't accept than!

Weiss: Is there a solution?
Nitze: The solution comes in the form of the iPad and other tablet computer options that can be used with an App-Store. That gives publishers the possibility to pack their content into apps - with the significant difference that the reader has to pay for the content before reading it. Of course there is a preview to generate interest, but not more.
That is not only good for publishers who can retain their successful print business model. Authors can also be fairly compensated for their quality work.

Weiss: What roll does Alligator Digital Magazines (ADM) play in this?
Nitze: Alligator Digital is an application that allows content creators to publish directly to App-stores. With that, the publisher can integrate per copy pricing back into their process. For the reader, that means he or she loads the App onto their iPad or other tablet and can view previews of the available publications. From there they can decide which issues to purchase and download. For the publisher, it means a return to the traditional way to refinance their investment in quality content. That means everyone who has a tablet computer has access to an App-Store and is a potential reader.

Weiss: The idea to bring magazines to the iPad is not new. What makes ADM special?
Nitze: Many magazines simply push PDF content to mobile computing devices. Readers expect much more. The past has shown that only conforming to standards is the only way to ensure long-term viability in a market and therefore stability for customers. With that in mind, we rely on HTML to format content for digital releases. It provides the most future-proof flexibility is design and layout.

Weiss: What does ADM offer in terms of a business model?
Nitze: Our customers, the premium content creators, have the chance to sell their products through a closed system - as an application in the iTunes Store, for example. The costs for our customers are transparent and require very little risk, as we have fair pricing models based on revenue sharing.

Weiss: Who is ADM meant for?
Nitze: Our main demographic is online blogs. In blogs we see the digital magazines of the future. The quality of blogs is constantly improving. That is in part because blogs are for the most part run by experts. The field-specific knowledge and the depth of relevant topics is impressive. Also, writers are orienting themselves better with traditional signs of quality journalism, for example the comprehensive research, verification of sources and other news gathering techniques. Even editors of online and print magazines are turning more and more to blogs to support their research. What is usually a weakness of the editorial process becomes a strength for bloggers and generates a new high-quality channel for exclusive interviews and investigative journalism. Blogs will become true online magazines - at the latest when they publish their content to a branded App.

Weiss: But that needs to be financed...
Nitze: That's right, bloggers can only do that on a regular basis when the costs can be recouped. The production costs, though, are significatly smaller than with print publications.

Weiss: How do you define the term 'publication'?
Nitze: The production costs and effort to create a print publication are enormous. That is why print publications usually have a higher priority than their online counterparts. That is where the money is earned that helps to finance an online presence. Take a look at Wired magazine as an example. The digital version for the iPad is made available later than the print version. The App is also not updated. Two days later the content on the freely-available Wired blog is more current than the app which I paid for. Our vision consists of trying to keep digital publications more current. Blogs have raised the tempo of content publication. No print magazine can keep up with that! We want to get away from the term 'publication' with all of its baggage and talk in terms of a 'Digital Release'

Weiss: So a blog would become a 'Digital Release'?
Nitze: Exactly! With our framework, we offer blogs the chance to develop new business models. Away from purely ad-based financing to a better mix of paid and free content.
That is why we are concentrating on this segment and promoting with our fleixble pricing the expansion of high-quality blog releases - and that in nearly real-time. All of the time and energy intensive workflows left over from the print world are made obsolete by our publishing tool. That means authors can concentrate on research and writing.

Weiss: And the user? Customer? Reader? What do they get out of it?
Nitze: They experience several advantages. Think of multi-media content creation. The entertainment magazine with embedded video or the scientific journal with interactive charts and graphs.
Digital Releases through ADM are also available offline and on the go. Through new ways of recouping their investment, the quality of blogs goes up. This overall increase in charm, readability and interactivity is great for readers. And it makes them willing to pay for the magazine. With my morning coffee I can download the App for my favorite publication, buy the content that interests me and stay up-to-date until the next release.

Weiss: What are the next steps for ADM?
Nitze: We are developing effective tracking tools for publishers, additional applications for the Android and WindowsMobile platforms and building connections to other CMS systems so that bloggers can publish simultaneously to the iPad and finally earn a respectable sum for their hard work. The market will reward quality, we are sure of that.
Another important demographic for us are traditional magazines. ADM represents a great expansion of their offerings and helps them take an important step into the digital world to find new readership or serve existing readers in new ways. Our App also accepts PDFs or content exported from other CMS and reformats them into HTML templates without adding steps to the workflow.

Weiss: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me.

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Tom Lynn Client Services Director (U.S.)
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This release was published on openPR.