did we fail

[SpiderGearsMan]

from the guy who runs the hokey message board
Doesn't work... Want proof? Look at the web sites for HRM, R&C, Street Rodder, etc... They suck. Bad. That's for a few reasons:

1. These guys don't understand the online medium. David F. is a great example... He's the best editor that HRM has had in a long time. Hell, he's the best in the industry right now - bar none. He's fantastic and incredibly creative from a story point of view. I flat out love the guy and don't even know him. He failed online.

Print guys expect to take their ideas online, add video, sell some ads, and be rolling in the money that their bosses enjoyed at Primedia. It doesn't work that way. One has very little to do with the other and it's impossible to jump in with no technical experience and expect to be successful.

I would fail miserably at a print business.

2. You can't split content and expect continuity... NY Times tried it, Wall Street Journal tried it, etc... Hell, I built a tech company with the sole purpose of doing that. It didn't work. People expect fluid transition and it's hard to do from print to online.

Print is not dead. I personally think this movement is going to clear out the shit. The publications that existed not for the reader, but for the advertiser are gone. They won't survive. The publications that put out quality content that is not driven by ad revenue will replace them.

Rodder's Journal, Road & Track, Hop Up, etc... will flourish once the economy picks up.

And personally, I think Rod & Custom has been really good as of late. I would hate to see them gone. I think R&C and HRM will always be around in one form or another

[nickleone]

I have been reading some of the info on the NEWSPAPERS that failed. Cost to PRINT is so much higher now than the days of the 25 cent daily newspaper. Advertising rates in newspapers is sky high. In Denver we lost the Rocky Mountain News even tho the News and the Denver Post used the same operating agency(editorial staff was different) to cut costs. I looked at the list of magazines that interlink publishes. There are too many specialized publications and only so many advertizers to go around. As a manufacturer you might make something for every car make available but you acnt afford to take out ads in every issue of every mag out there.
The internet is FREE no one wants to pay for info on the internet. The times for example gives away articles and can probably not start charging for them now. When I am on the internet looking for info I hardly ever notice the ads or banners that pop up. If I am on a specific companies web site looking for a part or service then I will look at the banners or pop ups.

Would a exact copy of a print magazine work for the automotive publications? You could pay for a subscription and download and read it. Or you could print it out and read it on the john. Rates for postage have gone up and I see that the subscriptions for many mags are asking extra for mail delivery.

I agree QUALITY will overcome quantity and weed out a lot of publications.

Nick

[SpiderGearsMan]

mr petersen hardly failed

would not say df/chad venture failed , bad timing

[nickleone]

I don't think Peterson or DF/chad failed. It might be timming or thefact that the internet has been free from the beginning and no one would be willing to pay for info. Peterson had a much smaller operation than Interlink as far as I can tell.
Many of us remember Rod & Custom going out of print once. The internet magazine for a fee might be the answer.
Nick

[RyanWalker]

Bad economy might have had something to do with it....

[SpiderGearsMan]

I thought the junkie idea was damn fresh , with a big forum board , some people are so well regarded they can get their job back - easy

[stage1scott]

Autoweek is flirting with this exact thing, right now-and-they have lost me. I have been a subscriber to aw since 1990, and I am a complete internet junkie as well-however-I looked forward to and enjoyed holding that rag in my hands every friday or saturday. as of January, they went to every other week (Autoeveryotherweek?) and are pushing readers to sign on to their website for more up to the minute info, that we used to get in a timely fashion from the rag. The part they are missing is, I LIKED HOLDING IT IN MY HANDS-it was small enough to digest in an hour on a friday night and keep up with the modern car world, on which my livelihood depends-the 2 week version has more more more-more pages, less important cause I read about most of it elsewhere by the time it gets here-(but not on their site, I have plenty of other sites I live on) so for the first time in 19 years, I am not re-upping that subscription. and yes, I would have paid another 20 bucks a year to keep getting it in the mail.

[tiresmoke!]

On a roll tonite, Spidey...... :D

I totally "get" what you're driving at, but I wouldn't necessarily say DF and Chad "failed"....if the investors hadn't bailed when they did, I think CJTV.com would've survived.....perhaps not as grandiose as the original conception, but still....hell, the fact that the forum is still alive and well should bear testament to that.

I'd say the "failure" was more of a case of man-did-we-pick-a-shitty-time-to-do-this......better to try and fail the first time out than sit on the sidelines and wish like hell you

In reference to some of the print titles, I completely agree....the lesser titles/"me-too" rags will fall by the wayside.

[Fordplay0621]

Bad timing or not, I'm still here. It's just good to talk to people sometimes. if you can call this talking.

[Junk Whisperer]

Actually,it's called 'Cyber-Bitching' ;). ~J/W-OO6.