Sunday, April 10, 2005
Who Needs Faster Broadband? The Economic Foundation of B2B Publishing is Already Showing Cracks
The results of a study in the UK by the Association of Online Publishers have been made public. The fact that this is done by an association for online publishers must be kept in mind, from a skeptical researcher's perspective. This is a UK study, but equally, if not profoundly applicable to the US. What i found most interesting was the study included agencies and their perspectives about B2B web. Even if the results are biased in the favor of websites, we know what the trend is.
Are B2B magazines dead? No. But they've just applied to be in an assisted living facility. They have years ahead of them, but they have to adapt to their new surroundings, which are obviously littered with numerous digital formats, some of which have dubious revenue streams, if any. The foundations of the publishing business are being undermined every day. New publishing businesses that start from scratch and don't have to undo fixed cost legacies are probably in a better position than the old guard as a new publishing business with a new economic structure, emerges.
The story:
http://www.ukaop.org.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/research/article.html?uid=513
The presentation:
http://www.ukaop.org.uk/public/downloads/AOP_B2BResearch_April05.pdf
Are B2B magazines dead? No. But they've just applied to be in an assisted living facility. They have years ahead of them, but they have to adapt to their new surroundings, which are obviously littered with numerous digital formats, some of which have dubious revenue streams, if any. The foundations of the publishing business are being undermined every day. New publishing businesses that start from scratch and don't have to undo fixed cost legacies are probably in a better position than the old guard as a new publishing business with a new economic structure, emerges.
The story:
http://www.ukaop.org.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/research/article.html?uid=513
The presentation:
http://www.ukaop.org.uk/public/downloads/AOP_B2BResearch_April05.pdf
