Apps Are Media

Thought provoking on the evolution of apps. From the folks at TechCrunch:

Except there already is a global market for digital media. They are called apps, and they represent the future of media in many ways. Apps are media. Not only are they a form of media in the way that consumer software and games have always been considered media (they compete with TV, books, and music for consumers’ time and attention). But increasingly, they are also subsuming other forms of media.

We are seeing the first signs of this “Software Eats Media” (to butcher a phrase from Marc Andreessen) phenomenon with books. Some of the most interesting books on the iPad aren’t merely iBook or Kindle editions, they are full-fledged apps. The best children’s books on the iPad are full-blown apps, as are other books and magazines which incorporate images and videos into the experience. The TinTin iPad art book, based on the new animated movie, is a perfect example. It incorporates 3-D models that readers can manipulate, immersive 360-degree rooms, and other software-enhanced media.

Read the full article at TechCrunch.

Filed under: Platform Innovation | Topics: apps, platform innovation, platform thinking, platforms