Why Magazine Mavens Are Not Likely to Create Googles
August 27, 2009
I did a double take when I read “Apples, Oranges And Journalism Revenue Print And Online.” I assumed that the publishers referenced in the TechDirt article were on to a fresh angle with regard to revenue. After a moment’s reflection, I realized that TechDirt was closer to right than publishers. I also had a nano epiphany. A publisher or a group of publishers are not likely to create a Google or a semi Google. TechDirt’s analysis nails it:
Rather than looking at revenue per user, the real goal should be looking at maximizing revenue, period. And to do that you look at the overall trends of where revenue is growing and where it’s shrinking — not on the average revenue per user. Focusing on ARPU simply makes you ripe for disintermediation from someone who focuses on where the market is heading, rather than how to squeeze the most out of each user.
A Google-like innovator figures out revenue without worrying if the money fits the “old” or largely discredited business school thinking. A secondary thought is that magazine publishers who don’t get the revenue idea are likely to have a tough time coping with some of the new information services coming down the information superhighway. Old term “road kill” but a candidate for currency once again.
Stephen Arnold, August 27, 2009
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