Why Dead Tree Publishers Don’t Get the Web
November 17, 2008
I have had some push back about my “dead tree” essays. My position is that most publishers are following the trajectory of Ford and General Motors. I don’t think there is much hope for most of the US auto industry or for most of the traditional publishers. Slate published here a story I found wonderfully refreshing. Lesley M.M. Blume’s “Glossed Over: Why Can’t Magazines Get the Web?” contains a wealth of information. One point that I found particularly telling was:
And if magazine publishers were disinclined to build this infrastructure when they were relatively flush, now all of their dwindling resources are going to shore up their core products, making a meaningful transition online even less likely.
I think this is a key point. Plumbing–that is, infrastructure–is not understood, valued, or hip. Take a look at this excellent write up. You won’t want to sign up for one of those three year subscriptions of your favorite magazine after reading Ms. Blume’s essay.
Stephen Arnold, November 17, 2008
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