http://www.mastheadonline.com/rss/blogs.php MastheadOnline Blogs RSS en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 04:53:41 EDT Wed, 22 May 2013 04:51:25 EST http://www.mastheadonline.com circulation@masthead.ca webmaster@northisland.ca http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=910 Martin Seto Thu, 16 May 2013 04:51:19 EST Did you know that it has been three years since the first iPad was released? The iPad 1 is now obsolete. Owning a smartphone, tablet or laptop is now the norm, and device usage is changing consumer buying behaviour. One of these changes, that magazine publishers will have to adapt to, is called "Showrooming", a practice where somebody goes to a store to see a product but then buys it online for a lower price.  http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=896 Martin Seto Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:51:22 EST The latest salvo in the smartphone wars by Blackberry (formerly RIM) is the BB Z10, launched on January 30 in Canada. The risk is the same as with any product launch...you hope you have a hit. It looks like Blackberry did its homework and followed the textbook product launch template of a market leader with a big marketing budget. In a previous blog post last June on the Pla http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=875 Martin Seto Thu, 7 Mar 2013 04:51:25 EST This post was inspired by an Adobe survey stat that showed 16% of respondents thought that internet advertising was creepy. This is a world shar http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=867 Martin Seto Wed, 13 Feb 2013 23:47:05 EST The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held January in Las Vegas is the biggest technology event on the planet. One new product that caught people’s attention at the show was Tactus’ bubble screen technology. It is pretty cool. Tactile keyboard buttons magically pop up on the tablet screen and disappear when you do not need the keyboard. This technology is expected to be adopted by the next generation of tablets and devices a http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=856 Martin Seto Wed, 9 Jan 2013 20:08:10 EST As I reflect on the year gone by, it gives me a chance to decipher all the market turbulence publishers had to deal with in 2012. My latest concern is the frustration caused by all of the new technologies publishers have to sort through. As I start another chapter in my career, I am working on media strategies from an ad agency perspective. This allows me to see the gap between  advertiser needs and the emerging digital technologies publishers are using. I think some publish http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=853 Martin Seto Mon, 17 Dec 2012 04:15:07 EST The Nokia 900 series smartphones are the result of a partnership between Nokia and Microsoft. The Windows 8 version of the Nokia 920 was just released this Xmas season, along with Microsoft's Windows 8 desktop OS and Surface tablet. The 920 gave me a chance to play with the reinvented Windows interface which is the foundation for Windows 8. http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=839 Martin Seto Mon, 5 Nov 2012 04:02:59 EST My fascination with infographics started 18 months ago, when I met Jennifer Windsor, an art director from Edmonton, at the Alberta Magazines Conference. She mentioned that she wanted to do some post-graduate studies on infographics. Since then, I have been keeping a watchful eye on the usage of infographics as a creative form of expression in the digital world. What I have learned is that its foundation is “a picture is worth a 1,000 words". Infographics is not a new co http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=829 Martin Seto Mon, 1 Oct 2012 03:28:26 EST It was inevitable that Google would enter the tablet race. Google launched the Google Nexus 7 tablet this year in July, and according to press releases, it has been selling very well… or has it? When it was launched, it apparently sold out very fast in stores, but sales results were not reported. Or is this a marketing trick to create scarcity and a best seller image? This is one of the oldest marketing tricks in the book, as it has been used by toy manufacturers for years at Xma http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=818 Martin Seto Wed, 5 Sep 2012 03:00:57 EST How do we protect ourselves from the underground element of the internet? It seems that they have free rein to do as they please without punishment; due to legal jurisdiction, legal costs and the sheer number of them, that will have you chasing them all over the world, which is a waste of time. My blog on Masthead has been lifted and placed on other sites as content without my authorization or payment to me, for that matter. Here is the latest example of my blog http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=807 Martin Seto Thu, 9 Aug 2012 20:08:29 EST While all the talk this past year has been about tablets, we forgot all about how important smartphones are as part of the digital mix for a magazine brand. You know the device that used to be a phone but now has a web browser, email, touch interface, camera, app store etc.? I dug up some Canadian market research versus using USA market research so we can gaze into the crystal ball for a moment on what is happening in Canada. According to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=799 Martin Seto Mon, 9 Jul 2012 03:28:21 EST I attended some great conferences and parties in Toronto and Vancouver this past June; conferences are a good time for reflection and to learn something new. In Vancouver, I learned about a site called “Creative Commons” (http://creativecommons.org) that protects a writer’s digital distribution rights through licenses. I attended an entertaining seminar, “What it really takes to get Paid for Digital Content&rd http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=791 Martin Seto Fri, 1 Jun 2012 03:28:23 EST How do you reinvent a Canadian success story? You start with a company with sales of $20 billion (Size of the magazine ad market in the USA), 33% market share of the growing global smartphone market, 90% market penetration with the Fortune 500 companies for your products and the market leading mobile email encryption solution that is used by the USA military. This would be a great start. Critics keep talking about declining market share in the smartphone market for RIM. Smartpho http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=780 Martin Seto Fri, 4 May 2012 01:55:51 EST You know technology never stands still; there is always something new on the horizon and the tech industry likes to create new meanings for words, use acronyms for technology descriptions, or just create new words. The best example is Google, it is now a new verb in everyday parlance – “Just Google it”. The inspiration for this blog is my learning curve for hash-tags. What is this? What does it do? Why is it important? http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=766 Martin Seto Thu, 5 Apr 2012 03:26:46 EST The leader in eReading technology is Amazon, as they are the innovative company that invented this category with the first Kindle eReader five years ago using e-ink technology. Today ebooks are mainstream and are available at your local library. Amazon reported in May of 2011 that digital book sales have now surpassed print sales. What is surprising is that women are driving the sales of ebooks, not geeks, this seems like a logical extension since women are heavy book readers. Y http://www.mastheadonline.com/blogs/?blogId=757 Martin Seto Mon, 5 Mar 2012 20:08:46 EST The demise of print magazines has been forecast in the media. Every time a newspaper publisher goes bankrupt, it is a chance to promote this position. But is print really dying or is just the media hype from the technology industry to sell us the latest and best widget? Or is this type of story a way to attract readers by focusing on a negative story angle? Perhaps a little of both. PS The contest for a Kindle Fire Tablet ends this March 31 for the first device. I will be giving