Friday Takeaway: A Look Back at The Daily

My first impressions of The Daily were positive. Parisa reviewed the app earlier this week and also found it to be a worthwhile read. But as the deadline to subscribe looms (the free period ends next Tuesday), it's only prudent to take another look at what The Daily has done right and where it has gone terribly wrong.

The Daily received yet another update today, again to improve performance. We have not had a chance yet to put it to the test, but early reports from other users say it has improved the experience somewhat. Still, I can't help but be more than a little disappointed that an app hyped so much, delayed numerous times, and that is not inherently more complex than other apps, has so many stability problems.

Last night, for instance, I was treated to 30 seconds of black screen before it would even deliver me to the loading screen; this was then followed by a crash. This cycle occurred three times in a row, so I deleted the app, downloaded it again, and even reset my iPad. This fixed the problem, but the inconvenience of it all is undeniable.

Even with today's update, however, the loading just takes too long. I feel it would be just as effective to let the app load the carousel and have it fill with content gradually, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards right now.

Beyond the technical annoyances, though, I have been irked several times by The Daily staffers' writing. The news pieces, and many times the features, are insightful, well written, and enjoyable. However, others are written in a very trashy style. The other day they ran an article about a man who died in a cock fight. Tragic, both in the death of a person and in the activity he was participating in. But the article was written as if it was a hilarious joke. It was tasteless. People were commenting my same sentiments, but given that there is no way to view a previous edition, these comments are washed away every day.

The gossip section, too, is full of substandard writing. Given, this is the gossip section, which appeals to the lowest common denominator, but that doesn't mean we can excuse a juvenile writing style simply based on the material being covered. I like to follow Hollywood news, but if I'm going to be a paying customer, it had better read like something not written for a teenager.

The Daily's strongest asset, in my estimation, is its original video content. The production values are high, and they generally save it for the most interesting stories. The level of interactive pieces is in balance with the written word, too (not too much, not too little).

Come next week, I really want to subscribe. I find myself looking forward to reading each edition, and I block time off in my day to do it. Even if I've been following the news online throughout the day, there's still meat in The Daily that's worth savoring. But this publication has got to get its act together. They need tighter control over their writers, and they have got to figure out what went wrong with the coding of the app. They're running out of time to get people, myself included, hooked enough to start a subscription.