Dan Blank: Publishing, Innovation & the Web

So many predictions for the publishing and media industry for 2008. See them here:

• Magazine Predictions for 2008
• A Look at B-to-B and the Economy in 2008
• 2008: What the Bankers Think
• 2008: The Year of Micro
• What newspaper execs see on the advertising front for ‘08

Some of the more interesting predictions:

• “Print advertising will continue to shrink, and I think it’s going to be a tough year for online advertising too.”
• “Newspapers continue the trend to be magazines, and magazines become more focused and highly niche-ified.”
• “Magazines will continue to push writers to blog when many don’t want to, yet they won’t put the push behind them to generate much traffic.”
• “While social networking will still be huge, it will start to favor smaller communities made up of people who are invited to join because they are part of a particular affinity group.”
• “The digitization of media will continue to disrupt the traditional media model and we will see more “late to the party” web acquisition and initiatives from major media players.”
• “Brands will stop dipping their toes in the water and jump in with both feet, realizing they can turn themselves into fully-fledged media channels”
• “Publishers who develop innovative new web products and services will be rewarded with increased online revenue growth, but it won’t be enough to sustain overall profit margins.”
• “Traditional, print-centric b-to-b media will continue to homogenize and struggle, as the opportunities for margin (both for media and their advertisers) fragment, creating growth for the most nimble.”
• “We’re hearing that while print budgets are freezing, online budgets are growing considerably.”
• “The smart companies will leverage their print brands and invest not just by hiring more digital people, but by TRAINING their current teams.”
• “Every editor will be called upon to be a producer of online content in some fashion… The days when editors are working in print alone are over.”
• “Online directories will continue their metamorphosis from simple listings to interactive and will include product offerings.”