When I worked for PC World magazine (94 to 98), tech mags were as hot as dot com stocks in Northern California. New magazines were popping up everywhere and publishing employees kept running from one mag to the other, getting a salary increase each time. PC World got so fat with advertising that I hurt my back and my wrists handing them to attendees at computer tradeshows. The magazines looked like phone books. Then the bubble burst and, well, you know the rest of the story.
When I go to a newsstand and see how thin PC World has gotten in recent years, I always feel a little bit down and nostalgic. Ah, that expense account! The tradeshows in « exotic » locations! The crazy company launch parties!
If you trust this San Jose Mercury News article, looks like things might be looking up again for tech mags:
« A host of new business and technology-related magazines are hitting the market, thumbing their nose at conventional wisdom that the Internet will stifle print publications. (…) Their strategies differ from their predecessors: They generally come with online versions, and they’re more focused on specific groups of readers.
« This is the age of niche publishing, » says Andy Plesser, a public relations executive who is helping launch three of the magazines. (…)
Tony Perkins, founder of the original Red Herring and a Silicon Valley media veteran, is trying to bring the blog-like character of the Web site to the magazine, which he calls a « blogozine. »
This time, the print version plays a supporting role to the online version — the opposite of his original Red Herring.
