I first got an access to read Indian newspaper online in full content as ePaper while I was living in Helsinki, Finland during 2000. I was happy reading Times of India’s ePaper seeing every Indian city edition and was having instant access to my favourite section there.
Life has moved on since then, many newspaper has added ePaper and now living in UK I wonder that I dont see such initiative from many in UK though Ft.com has such facilities.
With small scale CMS, hundred of free online news, bloggers publishing information steadily, I am no longer a fan of ePaper and this random news feed makes me to be on the tip of information-berg and no longer bound by a single soure. So in one way I am liberated.
Has the ePaper been a success ?? I don’t think so because no longer reader treat one newspaper as the only reliable or centre of new information. This pattern has been broken to pieces with information popping from various corners.
However new technology such as paperless newspaper or electronic paper will further enable traditional newspaper to stay ahead in competition with and may make ePaper approach relavant. But what stops disintegrated news source to integrate to offer a electronic paper. So the user has flexibility to choose what they want to read and the same will be packaged and delivered. Therefore it is better to stay disintegrated at this moment and get integrated later. For now ePaper has not much value offerings.
Now Moved -> SmallPandas.com 
December 11, 2006 at 7:16 am
Hello, I represent Pressmart Media Limited (www.pressmart.net) which provides New Media solution for publications. I am here to establish the fact that ePaper powered by Pressmart has got great value offerings. I am giving below Pressmart’s core value addition for these segments : (A)PUBLISHERS (B)ONLINE READERS (C)ADVERTISERS
A. PUBLISHERS : The ePaper is counted as a part of print circulation, if norms fixed by ABC is followed. We help publishers by making their ePaper ABC compliant. Publishers can generate additional revenue out of ePaper subscriptions, ad revenue etc.
The ePaper could be turned into an eBusiness mart, thru’ which people can buy / sell things.
etc..
B. ONLINE READERS (Subscribers of ePaper): The online edition is either offered for a nominal cost or NO cost and it’s the exact replica of the print edition. Just thru’ a web-browser, people can read the ePaper at the same time or even before the news print hits the local stand. Unlike the newsprint, epaper is an inteactive & intuitive mechanism. People can participate in opinion polls, can apply online, can submit classified ads thru’ ePaper and what more…they can receive news on their mobile device in text / audio format etc…etc.
C. ADVERTISERS: epaper is an excellent medium for advertisers. They can enhance the online presence of their products by integrating multimedia, audio/video files to their ads. They can conduct opinion polls on their products, offer their products for sale. People could reach the advertisers directly thru’ the ePaper via emails and also visit advertiser’s websites.
Several conferences in relation to digital publishing and new media were organized by associations like WAN, IFRA etc. And these conferernces had proclaimed ePaper technology as a real BOON for the publishing industry.
I could write few more paragraphs about the effectiveness of ePaper, however would like to get some inputs on my post and then take this communication further.
Regards,
Prakash Iyer
Business Development Manager
Pressmart Media Limited
(A Bodhtree Enterprise)
http://www.pressmart.net
+91.40.66265570
December 15, 2006 at 8:21 pm
Hi Prakash, thanks for sharing knowledge on the ePaper. However at present the media has gone in various modes like blogging has taken a major chunk of main media, disruptive technologies like RSS is breaking larger media into smaller and niche media, content is flowing across boundaries, where the consumer can be a reporter and participator too.Advertiser are going with small media and going as per trend like “Pay Per Click”, so I think coming few years will be very interesting to see how traditional media shape their ePaper offerings taking the above factors into account.