• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, April 2, 2012

The Tablet, Er, Magazine Publishers of America this morning unveiled a set of "definitions," as well as a consistent position on timing for data release, and guidelines around tablet metrics in hopes of cultivating a market for advertising on tablet editions of magazines.

The MPA said the recommended guidelines are the first "deliverables" developed by its Tablet Metrics Task Force, and that the guidelines cover five key areas, including:

1. Total consumer paid digital issues

2. The total number of tablet readers per issue

3. The total number of sessions per issue

4. The total time spent per reader per issue

5. The average number of sessions per reader per issue

The Task Force also created an initial set of terms and definitions that provide advertisers and publishers with a suggested common language.

As part of the announcement, the MPA also released recommendations for "voluntary time frames" for releasing tablet metrics.

For monthlies, the MPA recommends the release of metrics data in 10 weeks from the newsstand on-sale date. For weeklies, it suggests the release of metrics data in seven weeks from the newsstand on-sale date.

The time frames provide a four-week window for the extended capture of metrics as well as a two-week period of data analysis.