eReading (WP1)

WP Leader: Helene Juhola, Finnmedia, helene.juhola(at)vkl.fi
The focus of the WP1 research is to investigate and develop new concepts and business models for the new media services. The business transformation and digitalization of media has already had and will have a strong impact in the media business. Key question is how to make chargeable editorial content a profitable business on new platforms. Cross platform publishing, agile, user centered development of new content package concepts and advertising models for tablets are key focuses. Knowledge and practises of measuring and studying media experience acquired during the past couple of years will be collected in a cook book and know how on enhancing media experience of news content on tablets acquired by testing different user interface solutions. New practices for ideal management of photographic workflow, a concept of computing visual style features and a cross media visual metric for alternative designs of complicated visual designs are the topics under WP1 visual power research.
Web app development and responsive design frameworks, utilisation of geolocation and smart content analysis regarding especially news and book content archives are technological enablers supporting new content concept development. Efficiency of content management in journalistic workflows has to be improved. The target is an international standardisation of shared practices to exchange planning data and manage content flow from planning to dynamic layout in multi-partner collaboration.
Access to and purchasing of digital content should be easy and smooth. It is beneficial to build certain common models and infrastructures together. In WP 1 national Finnish media ecosystems and infrastructures for identification, payment and recommendation of content for mobile terminals as well as for library distribution of eBooks will be built. General purpose tool for managing, editing and generating valid Onix3 metadata will be released.
Partners: Viestinnän Keskusliitto, Alma 360, Alma Media Suomi Oy, Alma Media Kustannus Oy, Anygraaf, Arena Partners, Bonnier Books, Conmio, Ellibs, Epaper Finland, Helsingin Kaupunginkirjasto, Ilkka Oyj, Kaleva, Kansalliskirjasto, Kauppalehti, Keksi, KSF Media Ab, Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, Otavamedia, Sanoma Magazines Finland, Sanoma News, SC5, Silencio, STT Lehtikuva, Suomen Lehtiyhtymä, Telia Sonera, Tieto Finland, Aalto University School of Economics, Aalto University School of Sciences, Aalto University School of Arts and Design, HIIT, Metropolia, VTT Mediatechnology.
Task 1. New content packages in tablets, Merja Helle, Aalto ARTS
merja.helle(at)aalto.fi
Customer use value and UX is central for successful business models. Products that match better customer needs and used platforms and provide better UX are a must. In Task 1 New content packages in tablets we develop iterative methods of testing and development = agile prototyping and heuristic methods that can be used by the media companies and their developers and designers themselves to assess the usability and media experience of their products. New understanding about the visuality and its creation in tablets and tools to implement the designs will be acquired.

In advertising context we need to know what are the effective elements and features and how should these be implemented when designing ads. We will also get results of a longitudinal study started in 2012 and repeated in 2013 on effectiveness of different ad characteristics in relation to consumers’ (hedonic and utilitarian) involvement with the ads.
Task 2. Enhancing Media Experience
Task Leader: Niklas Ravaja, Aalto BIZ, Niklas.ravaja(at)aalto.fi
In Task 2 different layout alternatives, varying in terms of, for example, journalistic hierarchy and abundance, will be compared by using advanced MX measurement methods. A “cook book” for companies to help their decision making in choosing MX methodology in different situations will be provided. The domestication of tablet devices will be studied and prototypes of different user interfaces in news domain for mobile reading will be built and user tested primarily for tablet devices, and secondarily for smart phones. The software developed in this context will be released under permissive open source license (MIT).
Task 3. Visual power
Task Leader: Maija Töyry, Aalto ARTS, maija.toyry@aalto.fi
The task of “Visual power” focuses on professional design related aspects in cross media publishing (print, web, tablet, mobile). The overall objective of the task is to create knowledge and solutions for brand-aware publishing.
New practices for ideal management of photographic workflow based on shared understanding of needs, tasks and goals, a concept of computing visual style features for the enrichment of metadata will be developed as well as a cross media visual metric which acts as a tool to aid decision making about alternative designs of complicated visual designs.
Task 4. Content Workflows
Task leader: Harri Taskinen, Anygraaf, harri.taskinen(at)anygraaf.fi
The task addresses four themes related to content management in editorial workflows. These themes range from the underlying server solution to the management of different types of data in journalistic processes. The different types of data addressed here are planning data, image data and structural data. A comprehensive part of this task is related to planning data where the goal is to create a system independent way to exchange planning data within and between organisations.
Task 5. Frameworks and interfaces
Task leader: Olli Nurmi, VTT, olli.nurmi(at)vtt.fi
Frameworks and interfaces -osuuden tarkoituksena on nopeuttaa web-applikaatioiden kehittämistä ja kehittää teknologiaa geolokaatioon ja älykkääseen sisältöanalyysiin perustuvien uusien digitaalisten palveluiden tarpeisiin. Aiemmin tekstisisällön metadatakuvausten automaattiseen kartuttamiseen ja keräämiseen kehitettyjä avoimen lähdekoodin työkaluja käytetään sisältöarkistoihin, jolloin saadaan uusia mekanismeja arkistomateriaalin tehokkaaseen hakuun ja käsittelyyn uutis- ja kirjatoimialalla.
Task 6. Finnish Media Ecosystem
Task leader: Ville Ollikainen, VTT, ville.ollikainen(at)vtt.fi
Proof-of-concept and testing of a general, open infrastructure and ecosystem for chargeable content and value added creation with recommendations will be carried out in Task 6. Different approaches of customer identification for mobile and broadband users will be prototyped and tested. A recommendation ecosystem of the participating partners, sharing the same recommendation data the users are providing, will be developed. The recommendation engine which allows the users to safely share this very personal data is UPCV by VTT.
Task 7. Library Licensing, Arja Tuuliniemi (the National Library of Finland)
Task leader: Arja Tuuliniemi, The National Library of Finland, arja.tuuliniemi(at)Helsinki.fi
Libraries can play an essential part in introducing e-books to users. Task 7 is based on the technical development, tests on two licencing models and user and usage information gathered in 2012. In 2013 the gathered usage information will be used to further develop licensing models in order to find viable e-book business models and services at libraries and to improve user experience of e-book services in the whole ecosystem. A general purpose tool for managing, editing an generating valid Onix3 metadata. The latter one is an important tool for transforming book value chain into digital format.

Recent Events

2014-03-21:
Next media News Bulletin Personal Media Day has been published.
2014-03-21:

Next media News Bulletin eReading has been published.
2014-03-12:
Next Media results seminar materials now published.
Next Media results seminar presentations can be found here.
2014-03-11:
Next Media result paper now published!

Next Media Makasiini is here.
2013-12-20:

Next media News Bulletin Hyperlocal has been published.