Many of these first efforts will fail, unavoidable victims whose efforts pave the way for others. A scant few will adapt and survive, and maybe even thrive in their new milieu.
The case study described in Part 2 contains first-hand observations of the Hip Webzine during my internship with Hip Communications. As such it presents an inside look at one of those pioneering efforts, an early foray of a consumer magazine into the Internet.
Like other webzines publishing today, the Hip Webzine appropriated some of the characteristics of controlled circulation print publications for itself. Initially intended to be a revenue-generating undertaking, riding the World Wide Web's steep growth curve, at no point was the Webzine truly self-supporting. Unable to earn revenue from subscriptions or newsstand sales, the Webzine explored advertising as another revenue source, with minimal success. Production and operating expenses for the Webzine were covered by Hip Communications' other Web-related activities, primarily Web site design and consulting. As these activities grew, demanding more attention from Hip staff, interest in the Webzine waned, and it lingers now in a limbo state.
As an early member of the emerging online culture, Dick Hardt seems to have had a good sense of the audience he hoped to reach through the Webzine. Logfile statistics suggest, however, that he had less success in producing a publication that would hold the interest of that audience. Those readers who were enticed to visit the site found little that would induce them to stay for any length of time. "Sex & Scandal" articles - always successful at attracting interest - were the only columns which consistently drew readers. Yet even these articles were rarely read to completion.
What the Webzine lacked was a well-defined editorial vision and focus. While it is necessary, it is certainly not sufficient, to merely be aware of the emergence of a new and growing market. To reach that market, and to hold it, the publisher must also have a clear and detailed understanding of the needs and desires of the target audience. Webzine publishers must deal with the classic problems facing all publishers. Driven by a sense that they have something to communicate, and spurred on by an awareness of an audience they would like to reach, publishers must still find the proper business framework in order to survive.
As a real-world case study, working with the Hip Webzine provided an opportunity to study the way in which Web readers interactions with hypertext publications on the Internet. The Perl scripts which I wrote to analyze the Webzine's logfile data raise more questions than they answer. Despite this, they serve as prototypes for more carefully controlled research in this field at some later date. Many things remain to be learned about readership patterns in hypertext publications, and I believe that important insights about the nature of reading in general can be gained through such study.
As the technology of the World Wide Web matures, the pioneers will gradually give way to the settlers, and a broader range of consumer magazines will make their way online. Great things are predicted; only time will tell to what degree the current optimism is merited.