David Speakman wrote:
A paper edition of WP, in my opinion, would fail to sell. It loses all of WP's strengths, including:
- WP is not paper
- WP is constantly changing to be up to date
- WP is accessible wirelessly via the Internet
As a venture capital journalist for the past seven years, I am skeptical. Traditional paper encyclopedia companies are going out of business.
I think that some skepticism is warranted, of course. But consider this: our cost model is radically (radically!) different and lower as compared to a traditional paper encyclopedia company.
Judging from publishing industry statistics, http://www.publishers.org/industry/index.cfm
the paper book per se is in no danger of extinction -- sales continue to increase year-to-year.
Publishers make money all the time, even when they have to pay for the content. Drive that cost to zero, as we have, and it seems inevitably lucrative.
--Jimbo