Today a colleague emailed me an article on Cisco.  He used the Wall Street Journal "send this article" function.  The email had his name, the article title, the link to the article and then this:

"The Wall Street Journal Mobile Reader for iPhone^TM
delivers the latest global news, financial events, market insights and
information to keep you ahead of the curve. Get the information you depend on
plus entertainment, culture, and sports coverage when, where, and how you want
it from the most credible source for news and information. Click below to
download the WSJ Mobile Reader for free from the iTunes App Store."

Another indicator of the trend – the shift – that is affecting publishers.  And increasingly affects everyone.  If you want to be "in the know" you'll be using different technology than ink on paper, or a laptop.  And if you want to be competitively advantaged today you are thinking about how you can use this to grow your business:

• ads for the WSJ articles delivered to iPhone?
• developing an app for your technical materials to be read on an ereader like iPhone?
• creating a way for your customers to get updates on ereaders?
• using ereaders to update your salesforce?  service force?

What ideas can you think of where this really cheap, real-time technology can help you beat the competition?  How can you put ereaders (iPhone, Kindle, Sony, etc.) into your scenarios about the future?  What are the leading edge competitors (like Pizza Hut's iPhone app) doing?  How can you Disrupt your old business model to start using this lower cost information dissemination technology?  How can you Disrupt the market to deliver higher value?  What White Space do you have for testing the use of ereaders, learning about their benefits and getting closer to emerging market needs?