Colin's Corner

The Transition from Print to Online is Over:Reaching the Revenue Tipping Point

Today, at the MPA breakfast briefing, Bob Carrigan, IDG Communication's President, discussed how the movement from print to online is not a transition but rather a complete transformation. Online and print are different media - online allows the aggregation of content from content creators including editors, vendors and marketers and the community. The skill is to present all this content in a manner that benefits the user. Publishers have to determine how to differentiate themselves in a world of search and aggregation. One of the most important differences is the publishers ability to help in the creation of a rich environment where the community is front and center, where the community provides content and voice and with active peer to peer interaction.

Media Bisto's coverage A Magazine Guy's Messy Internet Makes Money

Folio IDG’s Carrigan Sees Says Online Shift is Transformation, Not Transition

William B. Ziff Jr. passes away

I just heard the news, via some Ziff Davis Alumni, that William Ziff Jr. (born 1930), one of the great icons of publishing who took over Ziff-Davis Inc, from Willian Ziff Sr. in 1953, passed away in his sleep on Saturday morning. This has now been confirmed by the family.

I ran MacPublishing, a joint venture between IDG and Ziff Davis, between 1997 and 2001 by which time Ziff Davis had been sold by Bill in 1994 to Forstmann Little & Co. for $1.4 billion.  I never got to work for him but I did have the pleasure of spending a couple of days with Bill, back in 1991, at his wonderful home in Manalapan, West Palm Beach. At the time I was running Dennis Publishing, Ltd. and we were discussing the possibility of my joining Ziff Davis in the UK. The experience was remarkable and was chronicled by Forbes. Unfortunately the article is not online although I still retain a copy. Bill's insightful assessment of my personality and skill set was so remarkably accurate that when he inquired, "how he'd done" I stood up and asked how much I owed for the analysis. For a number of reasons I decided not to join Ziff Davis but when I eventually joined Ziff's arch rival, IDG in 1993, there was a personal, hand delivered letter of welcome. Bill had remarkable class. Despite his power and fame he generally stayed away from public attention and rarely gave interviews. A 1994 Wired article on Bill Ziff  appears here - Ziff Happens

I'm honored to have been able to spend some time with Bill and to work in an industry where his presence was felt everywhere.  He was one of the great architects of special interest publishing and his skills pushed us all to produce better product for our readers and for the market. My sincere condolences and respect to his wife and family.

New York Times Obituary

Bloomberg

Red Herring

PC Magazine

 

Time for the end of a guaranteed ratebase ?

Media Week reports that Time is seriously considering the elimination of its rate base, (the circulation it guarantees to advertisers).

This more could signal a move to a "total brand readership" and reader engagement model that looks at the print and online environments together. The print circulation ratebase model is hopelessly out moded so this is a bold but very welcome move for the whole industry.
   
“The rate base is really just an anachronism,” said Rebecca McPheters, who is president of McPheters & Co., a consulting and research firm. “The value to the advertiser is not the number of copies or how they are paid for or distributed, but rather who reads it and who buys the advertiser’s product. It would be a very brave thing for Time to do and would be an exciting development for the industry.”

It's Showtime - Apple Media Event

After rampant speculation Apple finally accounced its special, invite only, media event to be held  at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco. With the "showtime" subject matter the theme will obviously be around movies and TV shows. Will this be the rumored streaming or download movies service from Apple - potentially coupled with a new video iPod? Let the speculation intensify ! What wonderful PR for Apple over the next week as the debate rages. Will the movies have high enough quality to look good on my 1080p screen or will this primarily be a PC / iPod experience ?