Leapfrogthoughts about public radio content, services and mobile

Matt MacDonaldDirector, Project Management@PRX@neocMatt

Are we digital stepchildren?

maybe, sort of, I guess it depends on who “we” is

A few get there ~earlybut often treat the technology as a new distribution platform for existing content

A quick review of historyfrom satellites to apps

Satellites1979 the Public Radio Satellite System came online

it’s in space, that’s high tech

WWWAugust 6th, 1991 the first-ever website is published

In 1994 http://www.wsiu.org comes online - thanks @Tom_Godell

PodcastsIn September 2003 Dave Winer and

Christopher Lydon started podcasting

Mobile AppsIn July 10, 2008 the Apple App Store opens and in December

2008 the Public Radio Tuner Player is available

Opportunities in mobileA quick overview of options

App options

High Cost

Low Cost

High Effort

Aggregators

Low Effort

Turnkey / PlatformPRX, jacAPPS, Listener Interactive

Mobile WebWordpress, Drupal, Twitter Bootstrap

Public Radio Player, TuneIn, NPR, WunderRadio

Custom & NewMusic Mine, Radiolab by PRX

@PRXMatt MacDonald

@neocMatt

Aggregators

PRX, Listener Interactive, jacApps, RedFoundry, MobileRoadieApp store visibility, better listening experience, faster time to market, revenue potential (ads/paid), analytics.

Turnkey apps

Public Radio Player, TuneIn, NPR News, WunderRadio

Mobile websitesDrupal, Wordpress, Core Publisher, Twitter Bootstrap, Initializer

Large install base and millions of active users, minimal control and insight into how people are interacting.

High degree of customization and control. Great for ‘sideways traffic’. No store/market presence.

A case for new productsor why you should think beyond the app version of your website

Public radio on mobile

Public radio listeners

January 2012234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile deviceshttp://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2012/3/comScore_Reports_January_2012_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share

“We need to think clearly about the impediments to audience growth and how we might break through them. We need both the big picture and a micro focus. Every station, every state.”

Mark VogelzangFormer President, Vermont Public Radio

Grow the audiencehow many more hours of listening and reading should we expect?

“The fundamental purpose of public service media is to provide programs and services that inform, enlighten, and enrich the public.”http://cpb.org/aboutcpb/goals/goalsandobjectives/

Apps are more than just a new way to deliver your existing programs and news content

What if stations built products like this?

Buy Know What and get immediate

access to 200 favorite places and best

kept secrets in each city we're in –

currently greater LA and SF, with New

York, Chicago, Boston.

Don't rely on bus schedules! "Catch The Bus" makes use of GPS trackers on each bus to give you an accurate prediction for when the next bus will arrive at your stop.

Save money and resources by sharing stuff with your friends

Choose the best financial advisor from the largest financial advisor directory.

Apps are products that can solve new problems

by solving new problems we can grow audience and deepen engagement with existing consumers

Apps can be expensivehttp://stackoverflow.com/questions/209170/how-

much-does-it-cost-to-develop-an-iphone-application

But can be profitableEach day TAL sells 300 iPhone apps, 50 iPad apps a day :: profit: $2.09 and $3.49

Many competitors

Some practical advicebefore you consider a new mobile app make sure you’ve done the basics

Make sure your streams are in the aggregator apps

app companies have highly skilled staff and spend tons of money to create the best experience, take advantage of that

TuneInPublic Radio PlayerNPRWunderRadioothers...

Make your site work better on mobile devices

Review your website analytics, how many people are coming from mobile devices? Are they getting the best experience possible?

Wordpress themeDrupal theme

Core PublisherTwitter Bootstrap

Take advantage of platforms/code that provide a great mobile experience

HTML5 audioDon’t use flash for audio playback

APIs are bestRSS is better

HTML is worthlessYou can’t build anything interesting without an API. Every app that we’ve

built uses APIs. Many were created just for the app.

Apps for this HTML5 for that

Apps currently provide the best listening experience, offline/downloading, scrubbing, bookmarking. HTML5 features are closing the gap but features like

cameras, video and audio recording are still best done natively for now.

So you want an appYou’re in the aggregators, have a great mobile website, using HTML5 audio

tags, and are using a turnkey app. What’s next?

Apps are productsThey exist in marketplaces, with competitors, they are not just a new

distribution platform

Building something newLook at what you do now, are there parts of your station that can be teased

out and grown into a new product?

Talk with your listenersTalk with small groups, perform surveys, look at popular web content

Look at your communityexamples: KPBS military, WBUR healthcare, WNYC fashion/finance

Use existing expertiseStations are great at curating, look at what you focus on now. do you cover

financial issues? health care? farming? education?

Identify a problem that blends with your expertise

Which emergency room should I go to? where is the nearest food bank? what is for school lunch today?

Before starting, does the solution require an app?

If you’ve identified a need or problem to be solved can a mobile site do the job? How will having an app benefit the product?

Scalable problemsYou are not bound to your location, solve a problem for hundreds of

thousands or millions

Test ideasDon’t build the app right away, test the idea first

You already have audienceCross-promote and use the microphone to announce new products

Find partnersLook to people you have existing relationships with

Summary

1. Apps are a way to grow new audience

2. Treat your app as a product

Mobile is an opportunity for stations to grow audience in non-traditional ways. It’s a new playground and a laboratory, one where public media should be trying new things, new products, new models. I hope I see your new products on the shelf.