iMac spurs new publication
On the cusp of the launch of Apple's iMac, a new online publication from the publishers of Macworld is scheduled to launch as well.
Called iMacworld, the Web-based publication will provide coverage for information that isn't normally covered by the Macworld print publication or the MacWeek Web site, according to a letter posted on the site. As the name suggests, the site also intends to focus on the iMac, posting information such as new product release information and reviews.
Interest in Apple's two-toned consumer system has sparked a mini-revival of sorts among Web site publishers. Already, at least half a dozen sites devoted to news and pictures of the system have sprung up, with iMacworld just the latest addition.
The new sites are starting to multiply just as the number of print publications have been thinning out, aided by the lower cost of online publishing.
Just this May, MacWeek, the only weekly print publication devoted to covering the Macintosh platform, became Emedia Weekly and will cover Windows- and Unix-based machines--and generate ad sales from a growing market segment. The online site continues to specialize in Mac-related news and products.
Earlier still, there have been other consolidations in the Mac publication market because of declining ad revenues. In August of 1997, Ziff-Davis and International Data Group entered into a joint venture that consolidated the MacUser publication into Macworld.
Apple's iMac won't single-handedly resuscitate the market for Mac publications, but the new sites devoted to the product are among the early indications that in the remainder of 1998 customers are going to rev up Apple's sales --and perhaps a few publications as well.