Complaints About The Daily Roll In As Super Bowl Ad Reaches Masses

The Daily - the subscription-based iPad news publication/app that some have indicated would revolutionize the digital content industry has been riddled with proble...
Complaints About The Daily Roll In As Super Bowl Ad Reaches Masses
Written by Chris Crum
  • The Daily – the subscription-based iPad news publication/app that some have indicated would revolutionize the digital content industry has been riddled with problems since its launch last week. While there are certainly plenty of positive reviews out there, many have simply been unimpressed and taken to the web and expressed their disdain. 

    You can browse the hashtag for #thedaily on Twitter, and get a sense of the complaints. When you get past the issue of whether or not you find The Daily’s content worth paying for, there have been many complaints of bugs – perhaps not the best time for a big, expensive Super Bowl ad (if its’ not ready for primetime):

    First impressions can go a long way, and if this is America’s introduction to The Daily, it may leave a poor taste in the mouths of many, who may not be prone to second chances. 

    I posted a review with my thoughts after taking The Daily for a test drive here. PaidContent’s Staci D. Kramer sums up much of the  issue nicely: "The average user doesn’t want to problem solve to try an app. He or she just moves on," Kramer writes, later adding, "Getting people to pay is hard enough. Getting them to switch from free to pay—or to even try the free version—gets a lot harder when this many people are going public with negative experiences."

    The Daily has posted something of an apology on its official blog, assuring readers that it hears the feedback and is working to improve:

    We’ve had massive uptake since Wednesday’s launch, and with that kind of audience scale in such a short period of time, we’ve seen some stability issues and bugs that need to be addressed. We’re working as quickly as we can to find these problems and fix them. The beauty of the application ecosystem is that we can constantly iterate on and improve our product, and we’re aiming to put out an update within the coming weeks.

    We value feedback and would like to thank our readers for what we’ve received to date. Our goal is to push this medium to its limits, experiment with new forms of content, and deliver a product that seamlessly balances great content with new technology. We want The Daily to be unlike anything else out there: intuitive, informative, entertaining, reliable and easy to use.

    I wonder how many people that have been exposed to The Daily’s ad have taken the time to seek out the publication’s blog looking for excuses.

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