it means the characteristics and locations of readers

with the recent confirmation that Apple is getting ready to launch the iTunes of newsstands, we could be on the verge of ceding our content and customers to them.

What happens if an “iStand” supplants the online movies newsstand in the way iTunes has supplanted the record store and it supplants our traditional means of driving subscriptions?

Currently it means the characteristics and locations of readers we’ve long had a direct relationship with, whom we know so much about—which online movies allows us to provide them better content and more meaningful ways to engage while also allowing us to better service our advertisers—will be in the hands of Apple, not us.

He makes a very good point.

Moving to a digital business model is incredibly challenging for publishers of print publications. One of the advantages is that there is a tremendous amount of reader data that can be gathered, such as which sections are read the most; which online movies ads are viewed; demographic data on readers, and much more, without needing to use expensive focus groups and surveys.

This type of customer data can be easily collected through publisher web sites but not when Apple is the publisher and hosts the content as an “app” on iTunes. Apple stands in the way of collecting that data.

This also means problems for online online movies advertisers that try to target ads to readers. They can’t follow readers across all of their reading content, as they can on the Internet. This is probably why Apple has been acquiring advertising companies since it will be the only game in town with that capability.