Comments on: The Future of Print: Is Print Dead? http://yworking.com/culture/the-future-of-print-is-print-dead/ generation y is at your service. sort of. Tue, 27 Mar 2012 06:33:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Matt http://yworking.com/culture/the-future-of-print-is-print-dead/comment-page-1/#comment-50 Matt Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:39:42 +0000 http://yworking.com/culture/the-future-of-print-is-print-dead/#comment-50 John: Thanks for the comment! Pressmart looks interesting. Holly: Really interesting comment. I think I'm only a couple of years younger than you (1983) and yet I have no issue with paying for online content. Perhaps it's just a cultural thing. I am probably WAY geekier than you are. It's a claim to fame. Monetization is definitely harder with web media, but I don't think it's impossible. Has the right balance been struck yet? Not particularly. But I think a lot of that is because the portable technology isn't there yet. Just as digital music wasn't something people really wanted to pay for until the iPod (and subsequent mp3 players), we have yet to see the killer device for reading on the go. Do I want to spend $20 a month to view a newspaper's content on my computer? Not a chance. Would I, thought, to have it beamed through the air and automatically downloaded to my handheld gadget? It's very likely that I would. I actually used to work in newspapers too (on the editorial side) -- my limited observation was that it didn't seem like ANYONE was making very much money. John: Thanks for the comment! Pressmart looks interesting.

Holly: Really interesting comment. I think I’m only a couple of years younger than you (1983) and yet I have no issue with paying for online content. Perhaps it’s just a cultural thing. I am probably WAY geekier than you are. It’s a claim to fame.

Monetization is definitely harder with web media, but I don’t think it’s impossible. Has the right balance been struck yet? Not particularly. But I think a lot of that is because the portable technology isn’t there yet. Just as digital music wasn’t something people really wanted to pay for until the iPod (and subsequent mp3 players), we have yet to see the killer device for reading on the go. Do I want to spend $20 a month to view a newspaper’s content on my computer? Not a chance. Would I, thought, to have it beamed through the air and automatically downloaded to my handheld gadget? It’s very likely that I would.

I actually used to work in newspapers too (on the editorial side) — my limited observation was that it didn’t seem like ANYONE was making very much money.

]]> By: John http://yworking.com/culture/the-future-of-print-is-print-dead/comment-page-1/#comment-48 John Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:50:18 +0000 http://yworking.com/culture/the-future-of-print-is-print-dead/#comment-48 I totally agree with you that online publishing is booming now. Circulations over the internet made huge difference in the publishing industry. I do the frequent research on publishing trends and I observed that most of the people intended to web editions. As a result all of the major publishers are already adopted the new technology and some other publishers are using the services of www.pressmart.net for digitization services for print publications. I totally agree with you that online publishing is booming now. Circulations over the internet made huge difference in the publishing industry. I do the frequent research on publishing trends and I observed that most of the people intended to web editions. As a result all of the major publishers are already adopted the new technology and some other publishers are using the services of http://www.pressmart.net for digitization services for print publications.

]]> By: holly hoffman http://yworking.com/culture/the-future-of-print-is-print-dead/comment-page-1/#comment-47 holly hoffman Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:00:37 +0000 http://yworking.com/culture/the-future-of-print-is-print-dead/#comment-47 If I didn't work in the newspaper industry and know what I know because of it, I would totally agree with you. But because I am on this side, I know what the real issue is. It's not content; it's how you monetize content. Print is easy to monetize; we know how to do it already - print ads plus an initial fee (purchase price). The problem with "technology" is that it's more difficult to monetize. You can use ads with most media, like websites, but we're still struggling to find revenue models for things like video and mobile content. Increasingly, people are not willing to pay the "initial fee" part of this - where you paid for a CD, you don't want to pay for a digital download of a song. Where you paid for a newspaper, you don't want to pay for access to a news site. That's a big chunk of revenue to be made up. That's the real challenge to any of the paper-based media - finding a way to monetize the web and mobile versions in a generation of people who feel entitled to free content. For my part, I am a product of my generation, and refuse to pay for anything online, save for a few programs that I can't seem to find pirated versions of. The last vestige will be books, in my mind. I can't see myself reading a Kindle. Although, it does seem awfully convenient... how easy the young are swayed. If I didn’t work in the newspaper industry and know what I know because of it, I would totally agree with you. But because I am on this side, I know what the real issue is. It’s not content; it’s how you monetize content.

Print is easy to monetize; we know how to do it already – print ads plus an initial fee (purchase price). The problem with “technology” is that it’s more difficult to monetize. You can use ads with most media, like websites, but we’re still struggling to find revenue models for things like video and mobile content. Increasingly, people are not willing to pay the “initial fee” part of this – where you paid for a CD, you don’t want to pay for a digital download of a song. Where you paid for a newspaper, you don’t want to pay for access to a news site. That’s a big chunk of revenue to be made up.

That’s the real challenge to any of the paper-based media – finding a way to monetize the web and mobile versions in a generation of people who feel entitled to free content.

For my part, I am a product of my generation, and refuse to pay for anything online, save for a few programs that I can’t seem to find pirated versions of. The last vestige will be books, in my mind. I can’t see myself reading a Kindle. Although, it does seem awfully convenient… how easy the young are swayed.

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