I was interested to find a new cutting-edge dot-com business: MagCloud. The idea behind this venture is that anyone can create a magazine as a PDF, upload it to the site and then have it printed on demand. The system also includes e-commerce, allowing budding publishers to make money from their labours.
So who came up with this idea? Some crazy “old-world” European with a handlebar moustache that hasn’t realised print is dead? No, it was Hewlett-Packard!
I’m very aware that the world of vanity publishing is different from running publications on a commercial basis, but perhaps there is some future in print. With Wired recently launching a UK print publication, the launch of MagCloud could show that print will have a long-term future. Perhaps a service like MagCloud will offer custom-printed magazines with the articles that really interest you. All we need to do is to find out how publishers can use new services to make money…