Papermotion

The Herald Sun online today enticed me to pay $1.80 for a newspaper to experience Papermotion.

The article proclaims a “newspaper revolution” where “readers will be given the chance to enter an interactive digital world”.

The technology requires a webcam, Windows or Macintosh and some additional software called D’Fusion, which took me a couple of minutes to download with a standard ADSL connection.

I then had to visit the Papermotion website, which currently forwards to a promotion for Night at the Museum 2, a new movie released in Australia on May 17. Read more

Dodgy paper sales

I question the veracity of newspaper sales when the papers are given away inclusive of another sale.

I encountered this example at the Melbourne Zoo on Wednesday.

Copies of the Herald Sun were available inside the entrance free with the price of admission.

The tiny disclaimer read: “Available while stocks last. Limit one per customer.” Read more

Trouble getting your paper?

The Sunday Herald Sun includes some text on page two inviting readers to contact the newspaper if they have trouble buying a copy.

It appears under the headline “Trouble getting your paper”:

We’re keen to know if you are having trouble buying your copy of the Sunday Herald Sun and herald Sun. If your retail outlet sells out of the paper any day of the week, we’d like to hear from you …

There’s an obvious problem with this. If the reader wasn’t able to buy a copy they won’t see the notice.

That’s a little trite perhaps. If it appears every day it might be a call to action when the reader misses finding a Herald Sun, but I question the value of taking up space on page two with a negative message.