Tech Publisher Shows it Can Make the Transition Online

There's an interesting story in The New York Times detailing how IDG, a publisher of mostly tech magazines, has moved some of its top pubs online and seen strong ad growth. The journey was much more difficult than that last sentence makes it seem, but the important thing here is that magazines can transition online and make money from ads. I was impressed that they decided to scrap the 3,000-word features and tailor the content to online readers by utilizing web video. Of course, the tech mag readership is more likely to smoothly migrate online, but right now the battered print industry will just settle for knowing it can be done.

Since we're feeling all giddy about print entities, we should also tell you that newspapers are cornering the market in local online ads. That's no surprise, but it is key as more local ads move online.