This is a summary of all of the blog posts we have written about Elektronik i Norden up to December 2018.
Elektronik i Norden returns to print
August 31st, 2013
Elektronik i Norden closes print edition
December 5th, 2012
A couple of days ago, Elektronik i Norden announced they were closing their print edition. Today Gote Fagerfjall sent out a short email confirming the facts:
Starting New Year 2013, Elektronik i Norden will be Internet based only. EiN 11/2012 is the last printed issue.
The EiN newsletter and the EiN web will continue in expanded versions. The newsletter becomes more of a focus point. Technical articles and commentaries continues to be (even more) important.
The newsletter already has around 10 000 subscribers. The printed issue has a whopping 25 000 subscribers. We will of course try to shift all the readers over to the newsletter.
It’s not a surprise that print is dying. The advertisers who fund the publications have lost enthusiasm and it’s clear that print is becoming less and less viable in almost every case. Even when readers like print, it’s just not an economic option as the closure of the print edition of EE Times US showed. In fact Gote said:
“…the move away from paper is quite a simple one for us. We’ve seen the trend for years and we had plenty of time to prepare. “
In his email, he also mentions the fact that Elektronik i Norden brought the concept of controlled circulation to the Nordic market. Elektronik i Norden is focussed on building the circulation of the email newsletter: let’s hope that publishers continue to focus on the quality of circulation, ensuring we know that the people reading the publications and viewing the adverts really are potential customers.
Elektronik i Norden to produce show special
September 10th, 2010
Elektronik I Norden will produce the annual Embedded Special for the embedded conference Scandinavia, to be held on October 19-20, and for the Scandinavian Technical Fair (October 19-22). Both events are co-located in Stockholm.
Swedish readers of EiN will also receive the Embedded Special as an extra section to issue 8 (published October 1st), and it will also be available online as a digital magazine.
EiN gives email newsletters to all magazine readers
December 9th, 2009
The publishers of Elektronik i Norden has added all subscribers to the paper magazine to the circulation of their weekly email newsletter, creating a total circulation of 17,347 covering Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.
I think this is a pretty pragmatic approach. Although the culture of data protection might mean that a few of the new recipients don’t want the emails, I’m sure that most subscribers will find the content valuable and advertisers will be delighted to have another effective promotional vehicle in Scandinavia.
Editor interview – Gote Fagerfjall, Elektronik i Norden
November 18th, 2009
I was delighted to be able to talk with Gote Fagerfjall of Elektronik i Norden. This publication is fiercely independent, which has allow them to innovate over the years, including being one of the first titles in our sector to add social media features to the site. EiN has managed to create a great blend of the conventional and new, and Gote’s views on the future of print and the difference between the IT and electronics industry are fascinating.
In the past you had a close partnership with TechInsights/CMP, but have remained very independent. What advantages are there of being a relatively small publisher?
Independence is important for many reasons. The most obvious one is the need to react quickly to changes. This is much easier in a small organisation. A small organisation also tends to be more efficient, which is very important these days.
How successful is the digital edition of Elektronik i Norden? Do you think digital delivery is the future of magazines?
The digital edition is doing OK. We’ve been running our own system for almost two years now and everything seems to be working nicely. Now it’s time to take a few more steps, but we’ll come back to that later.
Digital delivery is of course extremely important, but it doesn’t really replace the printed paper. New stuff seldom replaces old stuff (the telephone didn’t replace the railway, even though some people thought it would).
On the web we have an online edition plus a digital version of the paper. The digital version of the paper could be seen as a substitute for print, but in reality this is not the case. Maybe we will see 100 percent digital delivery in the future, but I’m not convinced.
Is it difficult to create a title for both print and digital delivery? Does the readability of the digital version suffer?
It’s not that difficult to create a title for both print and digital. The online edition is of course different and the digital version of the paper is quite readable on a normal screen. The tabloid size is not a problem.
This year has been tough for all publications in our industry, and Elektronik i Norden is one of the titles that has reduced print frequency. Can local-language titles service small markets survive?
Yes, it has been a tough year. But the reduction of print frequency is actually something we have been discussing for several years. Combined with the online edition, one printed paper per month is OK.
Local language titles makes a lot of sense. It would of course be possible to have a localised version of an international paper, but in reality it wouldn’t be much cheaper to produce (if at all). The electronic industry in our area is quite healthy and local presence and local content is vital.
Elektronik i Norden has been one of the pioneers in adding social media features, with the comments facility on your website. It seems, however, that many stories don’t attract comments. Do you think the comments are successful, and how do you decide this?
Social media features are nice, but we haven’t been pushing them up to now. I’m certain comments will be more common in the future, but probably not at all to the extent you see in the IT domain.
In similar industries such as IT, independent blogs have become a significant medium. Yet in electronics there are few independent blogs, with most blogs part of the online presence of a large publication. Why do you think electronics is different?
Again, the electronics industry differs quite a bit from the IT industry. This has always been the case. It might change a bit as the software content grows in the electronics industry.
What changes do you expect to see over the next three years in the European electronics media?
The online electronics media will mature over the next three years. Plus we might see a few “glorified blog sites”. News will probably still be the basis of the sites, but we will see more online workshops, online exhibitions and other new ideas where interactivity is important.
The future of the printed electronics media is harder to predict. It depends totally on the action of the advertisers. But from the reader’s perspective, I think a combination of print and online is essential. It’s so much faster to leaf through a paper and most of the time you really have no need for interactivity. Reading a technical article on the web takes at least twice the time compared to reading it in printed version. And if you want to read outdoors or on the bus/train there still isn’t an alternative to print.
What is the one thing you’d like to change about the way companies do PR in the electronics industry?
I would like the companies to check where the designs are actually made. Then they might realise the importance of using and supporting the European electronics press. Most European papers have a hard time and one way of cutting costs is to discontinue the printed version. I think this would be very bad for the electronics industry.
There is so much to do and so little time to do it. I enjoy kayaking, sailing, cycling, reading, listening to music, carpenting and quite a few other things. And in a little while I will walk into my house and watch the latest episode of Simpsons.
What’s your favourite gadget?
My favourite gadget for the moment is probably my netbook. But I’m waiting for a much smaller and lighter version.
Elektronik i Norden to continue combining issues
May 9th, 2009
Following-on from the announcement earlier in the year, Elektronik i Norden will combine issues for the remainder of the year, cutting the number of published issued in 2009 to 11. Although it’s always disappointing when a publisher reduces frequency, it’s good to see EiN taking the action they feel necessary to survive in the long term, and I hope to see a return to higher frequency in 2010.
EiN combines issues
February 16th, 2009
Given the tough economic conditions, it’s probably not a surprise that Elektronik i Norden has decided to combine issues no 5/6, 7/8 and 9/10. This still leaves them with 15 print issues planned for 2009, although presumably issues might be combined in the second half of the year if advertising revenues don’t pick up.
EiN wants your comments
January 17th, 2008
The new Elektronik i Norden website was launched at the beginning of the year, and is a dramatic change in terms of look and philosophy from the previous EE Times-driven site. Designed using the impressive and trendy Joomla! open source content management system, the website has been designed with a very uncluttered look and feel. Interestingly the site allows users to make comments on all stories published, not just blog postings.
At Napier, we really liked the site. We think the “comments everywhere” approach is a great opportunity to Swedish engineers to discuss the key issue and understand other engineers’ views on differnet topics. Additionally we’re told that there has been a lot of interest in the newsletter, and have already had hundreds of engineers sign up via the new website.
Read Elektronik i Norden On Line
February 1st, 2007
Elektronik i Norden has launched an online version of the magazine that is available on the home page of theEiN website. You don’t have to be a registered subscriber to access the magazine, and it’s easy to print out individual pages.
The system EiN is using is by Weblisher, which is developed by Swedish company Textalk. It looks much like other systems, although doesn’t create hyperlinks for web addresses or email addresses, although they can activate an area of the page (e.g. an advert) as a link. Despite being simple, we liked it – the system is fast and the search is good, although currently only searches within the issue you are viewing. Some of the screen area is taken up by sponsorship, although with modern large-format displays this shouldn’t be a problem. Läs den på nätet, as they say in Sweden!
Tony Barrett to retire from representing Elektronik i Norden
May 9th, 2005