The publishing life described in the NYT article does not reflect my more than a decade of experience in the industry. So, when we are all lumped into the types of antics described in the article, it’s no wonder people show little sympathy for the current challenges in the print publishing world.

I’m here to tell you that most of us the publishing industry do not enjoy huge expense accounts and 3 martini lunches.

Our industry is not dying, but it is evolving – rapidly.  And those of us in the publishing business are up against many challenges, the least of which is expensive lunches and other indulgences taken by the minority.

(Photo credit ginsnob)

1. It is one of only a very few from traditional print publishers
2. It is not just a branding play
3. They have built in some interesting sticky features
4. Good tie-in’s to their content

I believe items 3 and 4 are the most important for content providers. The Quiz is offered every weekday morning and the scoring system is probably motivational enough to keep many coming back for more.

In addition, they offer ample opportunities to click through to the content related to the quiz, and I thought the “study links” for the next day’s quiz feature was especially clever.

The scoring seems a bit off to me, but that’s likely because it was my first test on the first day. My particular ranking of 68% among Facebook users is strange as I got 100% on the first test. See how competitive I am already?

It is important to remember that we are in the very early days of Facebook apps. I am sure we will see many more from content providers as the platform matures and as companies figure out exactly what they want to accomplish with these applications. Still, it’s exciting to see traditional publishers playing here.

(Thanks Read/Write Web)