Comments on: Lean-forward vs. lean-back media

By: The iPad’s potential for nonprofits | Socialbrite

The iPad’s potential for nonprofits | Socialbrite — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:57:42 +0000

[...] to an interesting article about the iPad user experience by Jeremy Rue. In short, the iPad is a lean back versus lean forward [...]

By: Tony Stocco

Tony Stocco — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:57:08 +0000

If “mobile devices are in fact lean-back mediums” and “ad dollars tend to gravitate to lean-back mediums,” then the iPad (and future tablet devices) could truly save newspapers & magazines.

Any online advertisement can be tracked from impression, to click, to conversion. Magazines & newspapers on iPad should have the same tracking features. The question is; Are print publishers AND advertisers willing / able to shift to a “google-like” ad tracking and purchasing system?

By: the debate continues: ipad for education or play? | Marcinator

the debate continues: ipad for education or play? | Marcinator — Thu, 13 May 2010 16:11:54 +0000

[...] the debate between iPad and netbooks as educational devices, I found an interesting article by Jeremy Rue of UC Berkeley that discusses whether or not the iPad is a lean-forward medium for [...]

By: Rich Gordon

Rich Gordon — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:32:31 +0000

Jeremy, this is a great and provocative question – and one that I had the first time I saw people using an iPad. One small correction: I don’t think Jakob Nielsen came up with the idea of “lean-forward” and “lean-back” … I’m almost positive that was an idea that emerged out of the Xerox PARC research center, and its original use was “lean-forward computing vs. “lean-back computing.”

I suspect that the real answer here is that the iPad can be used *either* as a lean-forward or a lean-back device, as can a laptop computer or a smartphone. How it’s used depends more on the user’s motivation, physical position vis-a-vis the device, and the type of content being consumed, than on the device itself. But I think it’s safe to say that there are characteristics associated with the iPad — e.g., the large screen, portability and affordances (or lack of affordances, e.g., no keyboard) — that will make it more likely to be used as a “lean-back” device than a desktop computer or even laptop. Certainly, for viewing video, the iPad is a much better substitute for the “lean-back” TV experience than video viewing on any device that’s come along before now.

By: Regina McCombs

Regina McCombs — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:19:13 +0000

Hey, Jeremy — really interesting post. I blogged about it here:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=134&aid=182828

It’s probably an important thing to figure out if tablets are going to be more lean back or lean forward.

Regina

By: Andrew Lih

Andrew Lih — Thu, 06 May 2010 07:17:18 +0000

I made this same analogy with iPad as a lean-back experience. See my post: http://www.andrewlih.com/blog/2010/04/07/ipad-the-spork/

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Thu, 06 May 2010 05:13:08 +0000

I think the iPad is a little bit of both. People use it for productivity (e-mail, word processing, the web) as well as consumption.

I also think that interactive multimedia can be a lean-back experience. A person doesn’t have to completely veg out to take time to consume long form media. But I think reading on tablet devices will be akin to going through a magazine.

Time will tell…

By: Mala Bhargava

Mala Bhargava — Wed, 05 May 2010 06:06:18 +0000

Is the iPad really in the lean-back space? What happens to all the visual journalism people are planning? Touching a picture to watch a video, setting off a recording of someone’s views, etc. The experience isn’t as passive as leaning back with your newspaper.