Will BostonGlobe.com give papers a blueprint to avoid Apple’s 30% cut? » Nieman JLab
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The debut of the Globe’s online subscription model represents an ambitious attempt to persuade people to pay for what they’ve grown accustomed to getting for free. Equally significant, though, is how the Globe intends to pursue that strategy. Rather than fork over 30 percent of its revenues for the privilege of being included in the iTunes Store, the Globe has found a way to route around the Cupertino toll booth altogether.
The key is that the app is written in HTML5, which makes it possible to publish a website offering a user experience similar to an iPad or iPhone app. Globe subscribers can simply point their browser to BostonGlobe.com, type in their username and password, and enter a site that looks very much like an app written for iOS.
Because of the flexibility offered by HTML5, the site automatically formats itself to any device — an iPad, an iPhone, a laptop or desktop computer, even a Kindle, which includes a rudimentary web browser. Thus the Globe has found a way to avoid paying Amazon as well, though it will continue to offer a separate Kindle version.
I’ll grumble to myself about the “found a way” line characterizing the mobile app/app store debate like the Globe’s found some magical solution nobody heard about until now (despite Nieman covering it within the year). However, it is still a highly visible case-study in making a mobile web v. compiled paid mobile app decision.
Much as I’m pro HTML5, I’m not sure if there has to be an either/or when it comes to HTML5 and native Apps. Platforms are enablers; there’s a time and a place for each. The question has to be which provides the best user experience (and not whether it saves a 30% App Store fee). Either way, it’s interesting to see so much innovation in this space, and this is an impressive bit of development by The Boston Globe’s web team.
(Source: journo-geekery)
