New Straits Times (Malaysia) goes digital

It was reported to today's New Straits Times, and full of pride stated that readers will be able to read the exact replica of the newspaper's print version. Other newspapers from the same stable will also go online soon.

The only advantage will be for those who live overseas - they will be able to access their news from home online. But it appears that otherwise, the newspaper will be published not only with the same content, but probably only once in a day.

Again, this shows the lack of understanding of the digital world. The digital world is about communication with someone - not about content alone. Content is important, sure - if you don't have content, you will lose. But - online is communication, it is ongoing cooperation. It is reaching out to your readership and, moreover, to new readership. Most of the times, newspapers or magazines, for that matter, don't reach their "old" readership. The old readership will, for the vast majority, stick with the print version - being online doesn't change the habits. And those, who don't read the current print version will probably only access an online version, if the online version is different. So - it will be interesting to see subscription numbers once available, or access to the webpage.