The Digital Gloss Files - November 1

...with Julia Low

VOGUE Australia will tomorrow release its first iPad app to coincide with the on-sale date of its December issue featuring the lovely Isabel Lucas shot by Max Doyle. The free app will feature exclusive content, including footage, interviews and behind-the-scenes highlights from the fashion team's epic journey to bring the Lucas shoot in the deserts of Africa to life ("a seemingly never-ending chain of international, domestic and charter flights, and one dusty jeep ride, with 27 pieces of luggage in tow" we are told). At what price creativity? We fear VOGUE might be lumped with a rather large carbon tax bill.

InStyle celebrates Miss Piggy’s upcoming feature film (The Muppets) in a special video interview with the opinionated muppet herself, who can now be seen sporting custom-made designer frocks by Jason Wu, Opening Ceremony, and many others. "How many shoes do I own? Are we talking domestically or internationally? I've got warehouses in several countries," she says. Eat your heart out, Mariah.

We love Miss Piggy but are pretty psyched on the Gifts of Compassion campaign for Christmas. The cute video series put together by the clever peeps behind the organisation's social media encourage us to think about exchanging some of those frivolous gifts (shoes, shoes, shoes!) for books, goats and clean drinking water for those in need overseas.

Style.com’s print magazine, simply called Style.com/Print, made its grand debut on Monday with model Lyndsey Wixson as its first cover girl. The inaugural issue – US$14.99 on newsstands – is a collectible distillation of the Spring 2012 collections as seen in the New York, London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks. With chic Top 10 Lists, a 23-page photo journey with Wixson, and an illustrated guide to the world's fashion cliques, Style.com/Print promises it’s not just a regurgitation of what we’ve already seen on Style.com. Whether or not the magazine will continue beyond its three-issue arrangement depends on its reception.

Apple's digital newsstand is paying off for some magazine publishers, reports PaidContent. “Some magazines have experienced a 150 per cent increase in sales," says Adam Hodgkin of Exact Editions.

Following on from The Australian's online relaunch and app release,
The Independent (U.K.) has redesigned its website and launched a new metered paywall aimed at overseas readers who take in more than 20 articles per month. The site will charge US$6.99 per month which it hopes will turn into a total of about US$1.4 million per month in revenues, according to PaidContent. Get the full 411 from editor Martin King here.

U.S. President Obama’s presidential committee has created a Tumblr as part of the Obama 2012 campaign and they’re inviting everyone to share their stories, touting, “the other guys have corporate lobbyists and super PACs on their side; we've got you.” Encouraging Americans to use Tumblr’s submission feature, campaign officials hope that the barackobama.tumblr.com will be a “huge collaborative storytelling effort—a place for people across the country to share what’s going on in our respective corners of it.”

The much anticipated interactive social TV app Zeebox officially went live last Thursday and has successfully snagged the coveted “App of the Week” spot in the Apple iTunes Store. The app, which was co-founded by former BBC iPlayer chief Anthony Rose, is a cross between IMDB, a TV guide, and a social network, allowing users to tweet or chat during programs as well as discover more about each show through the app’s program page. GigaOM has the short and sweet review.

Do social networks really influence your shopping habits? A study conducted by Performics and ROIresearch revealed that while social networks do have an impact on our choices, its influence is not as powerful as it’s hyped up to be. However, that doesn’t mean social network users won’t recommend their favourite brands to a friend if they follow it.

Starting from next month, YouTube and its partner programmers will be launching almost a hundred brand new channels that will see thousands of hours of new and exclusive content on the YouTube website. The programming venture that presents an alternative to cable TV will involve various media organisations, celebrities, and athletes such as Ashton Kutcher, Madonna, Lance Armstrong, and Hearst magazines.

Ever felt the paralysing urge to use emoticons in professional e-mails just so you don’t come off sounding angry/mean/annoyed (even though sometimes you secretly really are)? It’s a common feeling, reports The Huffington Post in an article addressing e-mail’s negative bias, tech etiquette, and emoticons—many a professional’s plight. 
Tablet news-reader apps Yahoo Livestand and Google Propeller are due to be released sometime this week, giving Flipboard and its four million downloads a run for its money.

Adding to the list of photo-sharing apps is Shoebox, a brand new iPhone app by 1000memories. Aptly named after the dusty storage place where many of us keep our precious old letters, photos and trinkets, Shoebox enables iPhone users to scan treasured photos, tag and caption them, and upload them online. Unlike other photo-sharing apps, however, Shoebox’s stand-out feature is its ability to auto-detect photo edges and adjust the camera’s tilt by flattening or straightening the image accordingly. An Android version will be available soon.

A new interactive kids' book on the block called Parrot Carrot (Allen & Unwin; $12.99) and its app allows little ones to take their parents' iPhones and see the characters inside come to life. The collaborative creation of Jol (who looks like a foal) and Kate (who looks like a plate) Temple and Jon (looks-like-a-Won-Ton) Foye, the book will have you in giggles.

Parrot Carrot Safari from Parrot Carrot on Vimeo.

Julia @ Girl With a Satchel