xanthian@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Kent Paul Dolan) (10/03/90)
davewt@NCoast.ORG (David Wright) writes: > > We got our October BYTE the other day, and it had even less Amiga >oriented articles than the previous issue. If there is a change coming, I >haven't seen it yet. > > Can't these magazines understand that x*(computer_type) where >x>amigas_sold does NOT mean that more of that readers will read the magazine >than Amiga owners? Actually, they're a bit cleverer than that. They do readership surveys. Both Byte and Computer Language ran surveys, found out that their readers mostly owned IBM-PC clones, and promptly dumbed down their magazines to match their reader's presumed interests. What never seemed to cross their minds, in either case, is that the fact that a reader might _now_ own the cheapest computer on the market does _not_ preclude the reader being _intensely_ interested in knowing where the leading edge in affordable (and even unaffordable) home computer technology is, for later planning, day dreaming, wish list building, or self improvement. Similarly, since the smart computer purchaser buys the machine on which the software he needs, runs, knowing about available programs on a wide variety of machines is crucial to intelligent buying decisions. Learning only about the latest whizzy spreadsheet program on one family of hardware leads to thinking that is all the market has to offer, a self-fulfilling prophesy. Think of it as broadcast TV market strategy ported to the paper publishing field: aim for an audience with a sixth grade mentality. Pfaugh! Kent, the man from xanth. <xanthian@Zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> <xanthian@well.sf.ca.us>
UH2@psuvm.psu.edu (Lee Sailer) (10/04/90)
>Actually, they're a bit cleverer than that. They do readership surveys. >Both Byte and Computer Language ran surveys, found out that their readers >mostly owned IBM-PC clones, and promptly dumbed down their magazines to >match their reader's presumed interests. >What never seemed to cross their minds, in either case, is that the fact >that a reader might _now_ own the cheapest computer on the market does >_not_ preclude the reader being _intensely_ interested in knowing where >the leading edge in affordable (and even unaffordable) home computer >technology is, for later planning, day dreaming, wish list building, or >self improvement. Similarly, since the smart computer purchaser buys >the machine on which the software he needs, runs, knowing about available True, but this assumes that the magazine business is about selling ideas to the readers. It isn't. The magazine business is about selling readers to the advertisers. Good articles are merely the way a magazine manufactures the product. lee
peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY) (10/04/90)
I feel I should tell a bit about the situation here in Germany,
because there are similarities and differences.
The paper with the longest tradition is called mc. It is well
reputated, very technically orientated, but ignores Commodore
and Amiga nearly completely. They are full of PCs and Macs (and
a bit of STs). Perhaps because of this concentration this mag
still has a rather small volume, ca. 100 pages.
Then there is the much younger c't. It's also very technically
orientated, but far more open to the complete world. They are
not at all Commodore orientated, but they know the Amiga, and
everytime it makes sense, also the Amiga is mentioned. Besides,
they also cover the Atari ST in a similar way. This mag is the
best one today in this country, it is nearly 400 pages thick.
The funniest thing is that they cooperate with BYTE! Every month
they have some of the real interesting BYTE stuff (UNIX,...)
of the SAME month translated, a good service.
And then there is our CHIP magazine. Very thick also, but for me
appearing having only 10 % the contents. Big, colorful images
with very little background information. It's not recommended
and probably not planned for the techies. But it seems to sell also.
At last there are some smaller publications (like Computer Persoenlich
from Markt & Technik) that are aimed to the general application
market. I don't want to discuss these and the specialized mags here.
My conclusion is that when a publication gives a true overview
of the current state of the art like c't then it sells. If I can,
then I'll encourage all the others to the same policy.
--
num_Germanies--; num_Countries--; num_free_people+=1.7e7;
Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel // E-Mail to \\ Only my personal opinions...
Commodore Frankfurt, Germany \X/ {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterkhgschmie@faui41.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Henning Schmiedehausen) (10/06/90)
In <472@cbmger.UUCP> peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY) writes: >I feel I should tell a bit about the situation here in Germany, >because there are similarities and differences. [... stuff about mc deleted ...] >Then there is the much younger c't. It's also very technically >orientated, but far more open to the complete world. They are >not at all Commodore orientated, but they know the Amiga, and >everytime it makes sense, also the Amiga is mentioned. Besides, >they also cover the Atari ST in a similar way. This mag is the >best one today in this country, it is nearly 400 pages thick. >The funniest thing is that they cooperate with BYTE! Every month >they have some of the real interesting BYTE stuff (UNIX,...) >of the SAME month translated, a good service. [... stuff about other german magazines deleted ...] >My conclusion is that when a publication gives a true overview >of the current state of the art like c't then it sells. If I can, >then I'll encourage all the others to the same policy. Yeah! I think, you're right. (Strange, two germans talking in English) I read c't since the first issue and I'm addicted to it. Even stranger to see, that a Commo official is praising c't (only 5 - 10 % are about the Commo Amiga and they've been real Atari freaks for almost three years (Uni Hannover supports their PEARL project on Atari Computers and Heise Verlag (the publisher) is in Hannover :-) ) But, if you want a special magazine for the Commo Amy, you should choose the 'Amiga Magazin' from Markt&Technik (this is the magazine, which published the interview with Helmut Jost). Though they do have a large part about games, there are also many interesting articles about Amiga Tech and Amiga News. >-- >num_Germanies--; num_Countries--; num_free_people+=1.7e7; HAH! WHAZAT? You look TV? You remarked the german unification? GO BACK TO YOUR COMPUTER!!!!! No, seriously! It's REALLY good to see, that even the guys at the Computer companies don't think allways about 'How make it faster and cheaper? How to beat *B* and App__ ? Keep up the good work! Henning ___ _________________________________________________________________ ONLY //// |Henning Schmiedehausen | You can call me | Opinions are ___ //// |Glueckstr. 3 8520 Erlangen| Dr. Music, 'cause | mine, Typos \\\\ //// |Germany | Music is my name - BOC| and Grammars \\\X/// +--------------------------+---------------+-------+------+ are \XXX/AMIGA|hgschmie@faui41.informatik.uni-erlangen.de| HACK IS BACK!| yours
cpca@iceman.jcu.oz (C Adams) (10/06/90)
In article <472@cbmger.UUCP>, peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY) writes: > num_Germanies--; num_Countries--; num_free_people+=1.7e7; num_people_to_sell_Amigas_to+=1.7e7; // !!!!!! Good Luck! ******************************************************************** Colin Adams Life's funny but I don't laugh Email Address - cpca@marlin.jcu.edu.au ********************************************************************