|
||
Monthly Editorial by Marc Mickelson | ||
April 1999Random Thoughts on AudioI read something interesting thats worth sharing:
The author doesnt stop there:
My interest in such strong ideas, as the editor of a collection of websites, is understandable. These words are part cheerleading and part common sense to me. I see the paradigm shifting around me, and I see how it worries some people and invigorates others. Heres some more:
Its easy to be arrogant when youre right, and this author is right. I find it especially interesting that there is so much said in print about the online world. In our little corner, Audio magazine published a feature article on various audio-related websites, and I can say that we were not only happy to be included in this article but also to be dised by the author. We are very unlike Audio, and thats OK. I could go into detail here, but this would only bore the savvy among us who know how SoundStage! and Audio differ. For some reason, though, our differences were points of conflict for the author. So it goes. However, whats surprising to me is that Audio would want to comment on us to begin with. I mean, were a competitor of sorts, and although we do things differently -- not only in terms of what we cover but also how we cover it -- were not wrong, and neither is Audio. Were happy to coexist. We get mail every day praising us and taking us to task; so does Audio. We work hard to put out a monthly magazine of the highest quality, plan months ahead for content, and listen to our readers, imagining what they want. So does Audio. We have a large staff. So does Audio. Were free; Audio isnt, but theyre cheap enough to be almost considered as such. We cover trade shows and do it while were at the show. Audios staff attends the CES (weve seen them there), but the magazine doesnt always publish an article about the Show. On the other hand, Audio often publishes in-depth articles about audio companies and the people who built them, and this is something we don't do. We both publish equipment, music, and movie reviews. We both cover new products. We have our own voice, and so does Audio. So what about the passages that litter this editorial? Who are they from? Before I tell you this, I want to make one more point about the Internet and publishing: although anyone with a little computer savvy and server space can be on the Internet, thriving is difficult. The Internet is in its infancy, and as it grows, it will become both more competitive and more lucrative -- and the latter will continually drive the former. Will Audio need a place in cyberspace to call its own? Absolutely. And when it happens, we will welcome them -- the more the merrier. Finally, Doug Schneider wrote the words I refer to, and he did it almost a year ago. The millennium is coming, and so is the shift that Doug predicted, faster than we all might think. ...Marc Mickelson |
Copyright © 1999 SoundStage!
All Rights Reserved