Sent via mobile (so please excuse the brevity and any typos)

Sent via mobile (so please excuse the brevity and any typos)

Here's 1 that's just a reality:
Increased players in the marketplace results in way more publishers experimenting.

Here's 1 that's true, though not justified:
Increased media spend among the vendors… We started this trend and others are following it.

Here's 1 that's just silly:
Trying to attach digital magazines (in their existing format) to the iPhone hype… what's next, stenciled keyholes to help us read print?

And here's 1 that's truly deserved:
Success of the industry among the vendors who've been refining our products for some time. Our readership is up and our revenues are up.

You're smart enough to be aware of all four of those realities, though 1 is only truly important to publishers.

And yes – we all need to burn our comfort zones.

M

Here’s 1 that’s just a reality:
Increased players in the marketplace results in way more publishers experimenting.

Here’s 1 that’s true, though not justified:
Increased media spend among the vendors… We started this trend and others are following it.

Here’s 1 that’s just silly:
Trying to attach digital magazines (in their existing format) to the iPhone hype… what’s next, stenciled keyholes to help us read print?

And here’s 1 that’s truly deserved:
Success of the industry among the vendors who’ve been refining our products for some time. Our readership is up and our revenues are up.

You’re smart enough to be aware of all four of those realities, though 1 is only truly important to publishers.

And yes – we all need to burn our comfort zones.

M

I may beat on digital magazines too much… I don't mean to. I do like the idea and the technology, but as you yourself say they are hardly the only way forward for magazine publishers.

I do think that they may be getting a bit more play than they should because it is so familiar to publishers… the idea of the contained issue with edit bumping up against ads… it's comfortable.

It's that comfort level that has got to change. I think that if you are publishing a magazine today and you are comfortable with where your digital business model is then you are in serious trouble.

I may beat on digital magazines too much… I don’t mean to. I do like the idea and the technology, but as you yourself say they are hardly the only way forward for magazine publishers.

I do think that they may be getting a bit more play than they should because it is so familiar to publishers… the idea of the contained issue with edit bumping up against ads… it’s comfortable.

It’s that comfort level that has got to change. I think that if you are publishing a magazine today and you are comfortable with where your digital business model is then you are in serious trouble.

Couldn't agree more that a “a behavior driven, person oriented approach” is exactly what's required in the coming age. That being said, I think that one of the things we've learned is that there is no holy grail behavior that everyone will flock to… some readers (like me) gobble content on their RSS readers, some (like you) gobble it on their phones and some (a million or more per month in our case) read digital magazines.

I tend to think that a behavior driven, person oriented approach will look like “publish once, syndicate many times,” and the publishers that can seamlessly integrate all of the syndication technologies their readers want will come out ahead.

You say it yourself – “If you… fail to comprehend the ways…” There is no one way, and I agree whole-heartedly that digital magazines are hardly THE way, but they are A way, and one that's shown strong growth in recent years.

You're also correct that “the current publishing model based on copious display advertising revenue has more than a few holes in it,” but the Times Reader with re-scalable ads has already shown us one way around this and I have faith we'll see many more in the coming months. Look how few firms are doing an effective job of monetizing RSS feeds currently — same concept. It will take time for the business models to be refined, but they'll get there.

Great insights, btw – I'm glad you take the time to share them.

M

Couldn’t agree more that a “a behavior driven, person oriented approach” is exactly what’s required in the coming age. That being said, I think that one of the things we’ve learned is that there is no holy grail behavior that everyone will flock to… some readers (like me) gobble content on their RSS readers, some (like you) gobble it on their phones and some (a million or more per month in our case) read digital magazines.

I tend to think that a behavior driven, person oriented approach will look like “publish once, syndicate many times,” and the publishers that can seamlessly integrate all of the syndication technologies their readers want will come out ahead.

You say it yourself – “If you… fail to comprehend the ways…” There is no one way, and I agree whole-heartedly that digital magazines are hardly THE way, but they are A way, and one that’s shown strong growth in recent years.

You’re also correct that “the current publishing model based on copious display advertising revenue has more than a few holes in it,” but the Times Reader with re-scalable ads has already shown us one way around this and I have faith we’ll see many more in the coming months. Look how few firms are doing an effective job of monetizing RSS feeds currently — same concept. It will take time for the business models to be refined, but they’ll get there.

Great insights, btw – I’m glad you take the time to share them.

M