Priorty Interrupt by Steve Ciarcia Darwin Couldn't Have Done Better

Evolution is a good thing. I hate to think how boring everything would become if there were no improvements in ideas or products. Just imagine - if nobody wanted to go faster and climb higher, a mouse might still be just a rodent.

Today, we are in the information age. I say that rather than calling it the computer age because the wealth and speed of information gathering is the greatest evolution. A computer, like the automobile, may be the physical component that triggers cultural growth and evolutionary change, but it takes an application with universal acceptance to create a true revolution.

One of the critical areas being affected by the rapid evolution of the Internet is print publishing. If you listen to marketing people from MIS and electronic-media organizations, they'll tell you that there's no reason to buy a printed book or magazine ever again. Of course, a similar claim was made shortly after the invention of the television. And, we all remember how the VCR was supposed to spell the demise of movie theaters. In short, be careful of predictions.

This information revolution is a phenomenal bandwagon that can't be ignored. Because the degree of commitment is so critical, however, it's even more important to carefully examine all the facts. The first reality is that, much to the chagrin of electronic publishers and electronic communication companies, print media isn't going away. While it's theoretically possible to publish everything in an electronic-only format, the people who actually buy subscriptions seem to have a different opinion about its necessity - basically, "don't rush me!"

In my experience, the pressure isn't to simply replace print magazines with their electronic online equivalent. Instead, there seems to be a marriage of accommodation. This marriage of technologies doesn't necessarily dictate an equal distribution of either resources or subject content, however. Of course, certain tasks should be logically allocated to the more efficient partner. Until bandwidth isn't the limiting issue, printed media is still the better place for high-resolution photographs and complicated schematics. Long program listings, articles too short to print, archived articles, and product datasheets are more suited to the Web.

A realization of this new division of resources should be apparent this month. Magazines traditionally offer Reader Service. That's the official name for the bingo card next to the advertiser index page that you fill out and mail in for more product information. The bad news is that I've eliminated bingo cards in INK! The good news: we now have the advertisers and their URLs set up on our Web site.

Traditionally, the number of bingo-card responses was a measure advertisers used to gauge the value of their ad placements. But, using such an inadequate and inefficient medium to judge the quality of a highly motivated audience like INK's certainly begs the question. Like most of our readers, when I see something interesting in an ad these days, I don't go check off the bingo card and sit around three weeks waiting for something to arrive in my mailbox. I immediately go to the Web site and download the datasheet - instant action and instant gratification.

I don't have a crystal ball and I can't predict the eventual shakeout between print and electronic media. What I can predict is purely personal. Circuit Cellar INK is in the process of greatly expanding its Web site to better serve both readers and advertisers. Like all good things, the process will take some time, but our Web site is going to contain more of the projects and relevant application materials that have always distinguished Circuit Cellar from the crowd.

It may no longer be enough to simply say that we publish a reputable technical reference magazine. People with hands-on responsibility, like INK readers, always have a thirst for more application materials. The Internet offers a convenient medium to expand technical product support. Establishing and maintaining a company Web site shouldn't be viewed merely as a competitive accommodation to rolling evolution. Properly utilized, a Web site can be the vehicle that is that evolution.

steve.ciarcia@circuitcellar.com

Published: June-1998