Can InfoWorld Survive The Transition From Print To Online Publishing?

It has been confirmed (by Rafat) that InfoWorld will cease to publish in print. Colin Crawford at IDG foreshadowed this rapid transformation. The news about InfoWorld is extremely significant for two reasons.

First, if InfoWorld can make the transition from print publishing to online publishing without going out of business, without diminishing its value to readers, and without laying off a lot of people, it will prove to the rest of the publishing industry that folding the print publication does not mean folding the business. Of course, there’s a big gap between a B2B magazine making the transition and a local newspaper making it across the chasm. But we’ve got to start somewhere.

Second, the first of my 2007 predictions has come to pass. And it’s only March. Google shareholders better hope this isn’t the beginning of a streak.

(Matt McAlister, who used to run InforWorld online, has some must-read observations)