Since PC Magazine is for the tech crowd the announcement that the publication (can’t call it a magazine anymore I guess) would cease printing a hard copy and be a strictly online operation isn’t a surprise. The New York Times covers this change in the flagship of Ziff Davis Publishing while the company reports that the magazine would be profitable in 2008 but it is forecast to lose money in 2009.

Magazines as a whole are facing increasing competition from their online foes which are eating into advertising revenue. Coupled with a general economic malaise that is getting a tighter grip on the world economy and the increase in the raw material costs to print a magazine it was a bit of a no-brainer to shut down the print version. Right now the online version of the magazine generates 70% of the revenue and 80% of the profit of PC Mag.

This is a natural progression as the online edition of the publication was the first stop for news anyway. It’s kind of hard to be on top of the breaking news in any industry when you only go to print once a month. That’s so 80’s!

The magazine’s circulation is ½ of what it was in the late 1990’s. The magazine industry as a whole is suffering a 17% decrease in ad pages for December of 2008 when compared to December of 2007 according to the Media Industry Newsletter. This is the latest magazine to say goodbye to its print edition and my suspicion is that many will follow suit in the very near future.

What are some titles that you think will be online only in the next year or so? Are there any magazines that you would rather have in a print edition v. an online one? What place will magazines play in the future of media and marketing? Looking forward to some Pilgrim input for this one.

PC Mag Goes All Online All the Time

Today is the last day of the year with all odd digits: 11-19 (or 19-11 if you’re so inclined). Thought you’d like to know.

• Facebook has found a way to turn its platform into profits by rolling out a Verified App program—$375 per application application. App application…. Ahem. Per year.
• Now that we’ve got that out of the way, on to the rest of the Googly news. Still looking for its nonsearch monetization sweet spot, Google is adding ads across its web properties including image search and news.
• Tired of the way Gmail looks? Good news: Gmail is getting themes. Soon.
• And in case you were wondering what kind of traffic you get from a PR 10 website (You know—Google’s homepage?), Read Write Web looks at the case of the G1 link. Wonder if Google Chrome’s gotten the same boost now that it’s occupying the coveted spot. . . . But whatever happened to that “magic number” of 28 words on their “pristine homepage”—you know, their reasoning behind not linking to their privacy policy on their homepage?

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Linky Goodness, November 19

Sometimes you read something about a company or a business that simply gets it more than others. OK, so we know that in most cases Google does that. Sometimes they do it in ways that still amaze and make one say “Huh, that makes good sense.”

Fresh off the mantra from several folks at PubCon to embrace traditional media, an article appeared in today’s Journal that exemplifies that strategy by, you guessed it, Google and one of the most unlikely traditional marketing powerhouses, Proctor & Gamble. These two titans of their representative media strongholds have met in the middle in a unique way. They swapped employees. Both were bright enough and daring enough to recognize that they needed to know more about the “other side”.

I can’t urge you enough to read this article in its entirety. Rarely do I read something and throughout keep saying, “Holy crap, that is cool!” This one did that. It was pretty fascinating to read about the various “Aha!” moments that occurred on both sides of the aisle because there was actual sharing and learning taking place. While the new v. old media struggles that occur in public are often contentious this one appeared to be collegial. It’s when this type of environment exists that real growth takes place. Also, real learning occurs and relationships start. I suspect that we will be reading about this partnership and innovation between “Googlers” and “Proctoids” (by the way, P & G, this nickname for your employees is a bit uncomfortable for obvious reasons) for years to come.

Here are some of the high points:

• P & G’s complete ignorance of the power of mommy bloggers and how that could impact Pampers sales. Of course, that gets a real “Duh!” from search marketers but Google seemed smart enough to not insult the traditional folks but aid them instead. Kill’em with kindness, I guess.

• P & G’s willingness to allow their flagship brand, Tide, to be put in the hands of YouTube amateurs following their successful TV ad with a talking stain. (Note to you online only types; while you might laugh at the sales of laundry detergent you probably would envy the $3.5 billion (with a b) a year in annual sales it generates).

There’s a lot more. We as search and internet marketers should be reaching across the aisle more because if the deep pockets of a P & G have yet to embrace online, what about the rest of the traditional marketplace? Imagine helping these folks with efficiency and effectiveness during this economic climate. What an opportunity.

Go get’em.

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Just one day after the announcement of Jerry Yang stepping aside as Yahoo! CEO, Forbes magazine takes a look at the 5 Biggest Mistakes Yahoo! made while hitting the skids as of late. The article reads a little like an autopsy on a live body. Sure Yahoo! is struggling to survive in the exhaust of Google and others cleaning their clock in the race to control the net (for now) but is Taps necessary just yet?

The article ‘interviews’ several Yahoo! staffers in what appears to be some kind of odd lunch time ambush since most of these ‘interviewees’ were carry their lunch or some kind of boxes. We heard things were different at Yahoo! but now we have some insight I guess. Of course, with 1,500 layoffs looming these folks may be gathering their belongings in anticipation of a trip to the HR department soon.

The five main reasons for Yahoo!’s stumble as cited by these mysterious employees were:

1. Projects started but never completed. Apparently it was de rigueur for the company to start something and then let it fade out with no results. Honestly, I have to say that this is not just a Yahoo! problem but if the number of these projects was excessive that can kill resources and morale.
2. Whiffed on Google. Remember when Yahoo! had a chance to buy Google in 2002 for a mere $5b? How different might the world look if that had gone through.
3. The Terry Semel effect. Missed out on Google and started media initiatives that have crapped out for the most part.
4. Google beats Yahoo! to DoubleClick. Another real ‘woulda,  shoulda, coulda’. These are the kind of things that keep Yahoo!er’s  and Jerry Yang up at night.
5. The Microsoft acquisition shuffle. I think there is a pattern developing here ……..

Other possible causes of the current state of unrest are the current economic conditions (which holds no water since Google seems to be doing fine, thank you) and the big killer of any business: indecisiveness. Lower level employees were quick to point upstream on this one saying that upper level execs weren’t instilling a lot of confidence in the rank and file.

While it may seem all doom and gloom there are still hopefuls on campus. There is a new cloud computing initiative that many are saying can help turn the corner. There is still plenty of brain power at the company and there are some strong offerings like Yahoo! Mail and Finance that keep rolling along.

OK, Pilgrims, let’s hear it. What is going to happen to Yahoo!? Where will they be in a year from now? I suspect that there may be a few strong opinions floating around out there. Let’s hear it.

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It seems like forever since we did a Pilgrim’s Picks. Taking a look around the news today, it’s saturated with either Jerry Yang resigning or Mark Cuban’s SEC charges–both of which we’ve already covered.

Until I find something fresh and interesting, you can consider these Picks your amuse bouche yeux.

• Google brings voice search to the iPhone. Matt Cutts gushes over it–just days after gushing over Google’s Android phone (which doesn’t yet have voice search).
• Did Microsoft’s taste for revenge lead to Jerry Yang resigning?
• Forge–a non-profit that helps African refugees–is running out of money. Boris Mordkovich–having recently sold Search Marketing Standard–has jumped in to help them raise money. He wants your help too!
• If you’re looking for a enterprise-scale web site uptime service, then you might want to check out AlertSite. While not free, I’ve tested it and was impressed with the many features it offers.
• Want a quick, easy, and free way to compare your web site with your competition? Check out ReviewMyWeb–it’s pretty and pretty cool.

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