What's coming next for Wired's iPad app

June 7th, 2010, 21:12 Posted By: wraggster

The Terms of Use section of Wired Magazine's first iPad app offer clues to additional features that will be included in future issues.
They include paid subscriptions; sweepstakes and contests; the ability for readers to post comments, photos, and videos; third-party companies selling products and services through the app; and in-app online auctions.
I spent a bit of time yesterday reading the app from cover to cover (or whatever the iPad app equivalent is), including the Terms of Use at the end. There's some intriguing stuff:
1. Wired may get people to register their details in the future. "Service Provider may at all times require that you register and/or set up an account to use certain portions of the App, or the App as a whole."
In a later privacy section, it says this: "For instance, if you enter a sweepstakes or contest, complete a survey, make a purchase, subscribe to our publication(s), or register for any portion of our services..."

The Terms of Use also say that unless otherwise specified, "Service Provider may sell or share personally identifying information with our affiliates and with carefully selected companies who we think can offer you services and products of interest to you." Don't want this to happen? You have to write to Wired at its street address. Can't this sort of thing be handled with a checkbox at the time of registration?
2. The magazine may be planning to sell content and services. "Service Provider or third parties may charge you fees for products or services offered for sale through the App, and/or for access to portions of the App or the App as a whole."
It goes on to specifically mention credit, debit and charge card payments - hinting at an annual subscription perhaps. However, a separate section later on refers to merchandise, products and/or services sold by third parties through the app too.
3. Social features are clearly on the way, with the Rules of Usage section referring to posting "graphics, text, photographs, images, video, audio..." - it can't be spam advertising, defamatory or offensive or sexually explicit. "Do not engage in 'cyber-sex' (i.e. virtual or simulated sex) or solicit another to participate in 'cyber-sex' on or through the App" is one amusing clause. Chat-rooms? Users are also warned not to post content that will infringe copyright laws.
4. Another section focuses specifically on "comments, opinions, or statements posted on forums, blogs or otherwise contained in the App". Oh, and incidentally any text, graphics, photos, images, video and audio files posted by users of the app grant Wired a "royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive, unrestricted, worldwide license" to use, modify and distribute - among other verbs - including users' identities. Par for the course for UGC?
5. Could Wired do a deal with eBay? Here's the relevant section: "We may at times offer auctions on the App; should we do so, we may use third-party service provider(s) to administer the auctions..."
I'm naturally cautious of taking sentences out of a Terms of Use document and saying that they offer a clear roadmap of future features. Wired could just as likely be keeping its options open.
However, the sections highlighted above do give a sense of where Wired's app may be heading.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/37402...ireds-iPad-app

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