If you access The Observer print edition online, you can access added features. What are they?
Online readers can access multiple features that physical Observer readers cannot. Firstly, online readers are able to make comments on articles and stories that physical readers can't do, which makes The Observer a much more interactive paper. Also, online readers have a much broader selection of articles as they can access older stories which normal Observer readers can't do unless they've already bought previous issues. Also, in the online versions of the newspaper, there are tabs across the pages (which you can also see on the front pages of the issues above as the green numbered tabs) which may perhaps give more information, or may take you to similar articles if you click on them. This gives the online reader more choice to go further in depth on the articles they are most interested in and a much more detailed, personalised and informative newspaper each week, compared to a normal Observer reader who buys the physical print..
This is The Observer's Twitter page. What do you notice?
The first thing I notice is the fact that the caption says 'tomorrow's front page'. This tells me that if you are a follower of The Observer's twitter, then you get early access and allows you to see what articles will be appearing on the cover, making you feel more up-to-date than the general population. It also gives you the opportunity to decide whether you want to go out and buy the issue, from what the front page has on it. Also, I notice that people have the ability to like, comment and share (retweet) the posts. This makes the readers of The Observer feel like they can interact and have a say in what is written about in the next paper - for example, the comment on the photo above shows a person stating their opinion on one of the articles.
Mark 10/10
ReplyDeleteOnline: good understanding of interactivity. I find that the online access is an amazing resource that allows a reader to access back copies and cross-reference issues.
Twitter: You correctly stress the advantages of early access and the interactive features which make readers feel more engaged in an age of citizen journalism - although they cannot actually publish articles here, they can make their case. The value of the audience pleasure of feeling part of a community of like-minded people is also important, both by sharing / retweeting, but also by being in touch ('Following') other readers with similar views. Twitter also acts like an introduction to readers / ideas that you would not have stumbled across by yourself.