Here, thanks to the layout, ads are given a chance to compete with content for a user’s attention in a way that would never happen in a standard table of contents.
An interesting caveat about the Browser feature is that if you don’t have a Reader Account, you’re only going to see media and none of your bookmarked selections. However, once logged in, the browser view presents you with a row of your bookmarked content, whether they are articles, photos, or videos.
3.   Search — The search function within the BE app opens up each issue of the magazine to granular searches–something unprecedented in a magazine experience, digital or otherwise. Most “digital magazines†are just PDFs that don’t allow for actual searches of the text. But since the pages of BE aren’t just images, all of the content can be searched. The app prioritizes headlines first, before going to in-article text, but can find everything from company names to the names of the story subjects. Imagine being told by a colleague that they’re featured in a certain issue and being able to find them by simply searching for their name or looking for mention of a certain product. The search function makes it easier than ever to find this information.
4.   Notes — Imagine that you’re reading an article about how to maximize the value of your 401k and you suddenly get a great idea about how the information can be directly applied to your personal situation. If you were reading a traditional magazine, you would have to take out a pen and scribble a few notes in the margin of the page or on a piece of paper. If you were at a desktop or laptop computer, you would have to open a word processing program, create a document, and then save it somewhere that you would hopefully remember when you were ready to act on it. But the BE app lets you create the note within the article; so the great idea you suddenly had is right next to the information that inspired it.
5.   BE Live — In business, it’s often said that it’s not what you know but who, and the BE app gives readers an incredible opportunity to get to know like-minded business professionals through dialogue around BE content. Through BE Live, all users of the BE iPad app who have created Reader Accounts can participate in real time conversations with BE personalities in a forum much more similar to a business conference than an open chat room or comment section of an article on the web.
For example, if BE were streaming an exclusive live video from its annual Women of Power Summit through the app only, interested users unable to attend the conference could participate in the question and answer sessions via logged in Reader Accounts. The reach of the Summit would be expanded exponentially and the value of actually attending in person would be proven to off-site participants who realize that the discussions don’t end when the live broadcast does.