I am very strongly biased in favor of print media. I have never read a book online and, God willing, I never will have to. It hurts my eyes, and to me (frankly) the sensuality of physical books are such that the following word analogy applies for me:
printed books are to books online as real sex is to phone sex
I believe that the printed forms of transient information such as daily news will very soon disappear. Anything timeless, anything worth saving for the ages, will continue to appear in print, albeit at a price premium.
An example in an area I've followed for 25 years (female bodybuilding) may be instructive. From the late 1970s until 2006, there was an excellent quarterly print magazine called Women's Physique World. It's photography and interviews with the athletes were timeless, but its contest coverage ran approximately 9 months behind. There has been an explosion (as in other areas) of internet sites for fans of female bodybuilding. Any transient news can be got there the same day of an event, often with the participants themselves posting.
So, a few years back, WPW died the death that some are predicting for all print media. But a couple of cautionary notes to those tempted to draw conclusions too quickly: There is a constantly expressed desire from fans and the female athletes for a resurrection of a dedicated magazine for their sport. They want to see their favorite athletes (or themselves) in a glossy print magazine. And this desire comes from people as young as 20 years old, easily young enough to have transitioned completely to online media.
The 2nd cautionary note is that there still are (fairly costly) coffee table books on the subject of female bodybuilding that come out every so often. The business case for them is that they are 100% timeless, beautifully done, and can therefore command a price premium. This kind of book will never go away.
printed books are to books online as real sex is to phone sex
I believe that the printed forms of transient information such as daily news will very soon disappear. Anything timeless, anything worth saving for the ages, will continue to appear in print, albeit at a price premium.
An example in an area I've followed for 25 years (female bodybuilding) may be instructive. From the late 1970s until 2006, there was an excellent quarterly print magazine called Women's Physique World. It's photography and interviews with the athletes were timeless, but its contest coverage ran approximately 9 months behind. There has been an explosion (as in other areas) of internet sites for fans of female bodybuilding. Any transient news can be got there the same day of an event, often with the participants themselves posting.
So, a few years back, WPW died the death that some are predicting for all print media. But a couple of cautionary notes to those tempted to draw conclusions too quickly: There is a constantly expressed desire from fans and the female athletes for a resurrection of a dedicated magazine for their sport. They want to see their favorite athletes (or themselves) in a glossy print magazine. And this desire comes from people as young as 20 years old, easily young enough to have transitioned completely to online media.
The 2nd cautionary note is that there still are (fairly costly) coffee table books on the subject of female bodybuilding that come out every so often. The business case for them is that they are 100% timeless, beautifully done, and can therefore command a price premium. This kind of book will never go away.
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