One Simple Reason To Go Local On The iPad

I've been holding my tongue as I watch the predictions fly back and forth about Apple's iPad and a host of other Internet tablets and eReaders in the works. Lots of valid points, none that hit the nail on the head for me.

For me, it comes down to one simple opportunity. And while it's an opportunity for all media, it could make a bigger difference for local media.

A lot of the debate is whether there's any consumer demand for a medium-sized connected screen, and I'll grant that's a leap of faith. I personally don't want to carry around anything larger than my phone, but there are lots of times when I want to surf the web on the couch while watching TV (laptop too bulk from frequent relaxed use), or read information I got online at the kitchen table without printing out a ream of pages. So put me in the optimistic camp whether there's a sizable niche or even eventual mass market for these things.

And Apple has a pretty good track record for getting the details right that make new devices easy and exciting. So again it's a leap of faith, but I'll bet the iPad jumpstarts a new category of behavior. Some of the other startup devices will fall by the wayside, but Apple with clear a path for ones we haven't seen yet.

What I like about the iPad for online media is simply this: the opportunity to create a new habit, particularly a more frequent habit, and maybe even a more engaging habit. That's it. Nothing too fancy.  That's would solve a pretty significant problem for most local media right now - less content is consumed online vs. offline. Even with today's broadband speeds, the web is a slower experience than TV, newspapers or magazines. If the device lives up to half of Apple's usual appeal, it'll be habit-forming.

• The convenience of being in a more comfortable spot coupled with the right device might actually make a difference. I saw a Google exec recently quoted as saying that making reading a leisure-time activity again would make a difference for newspapers.
• Having the "visual bookmark" of an icon on the touchscreen might help make a habit - I visit the apps on my smartphone a lot more than the bookmarks in my browser.
• Design could make a difference, too. Sure, web use could soar on an iPad, but designing an experience specifically for the device will probably make a bigger difference. Developing in a way that loads content faster could make a huge difference.

All of these things apply to any website - and there will be online-only publishers (even iPad-only publishers) who stake out early ground to take advantage of this. The reason this is more important for local media is pure economics. Loosely speaking, a national site can grab a few minutes of time from 1% of the population in every city and pay for itself many times over, with nice returns, while a local site can capture 25% of its local population and still not cover cost for creating a fraction of its content. Creating a more frequent habit, or making it easier to breeze through more content quickly, could make a difference.

If your content isn't right for the audience, this isn't going to help. But if a speedier, more comfortable, more regular experience helps reconnect with your local community on a more regular basis, it can't hurt to try.