Scarcity, Permanency, and Print

When it comes to digital content, a premium is placed on being able to update minute by minute.

The most recent news, the latest commentary, and a real-time feed of reactions frame what’s online.

But when it comes to print, trying to follow this model is as daunting as it is misguided, says Wired editor-in-chief Chris Anderson.

“We are not the web,” says Anderson. “[Print] is like a movie, rather than television … they don’t show it to anybody until it’s done.” 

When you work for months on a product—researching, editing, packaging—the result is curated for your readers. At the end of the process you’ve got a permanent, unchangeable product.

But Anderson says this isn’t a curse—as those who knock print are apt to call it—in fact, it is a blessing.

In print, what’s on the front cover matters, because it’s not being changed minute by minute. You need to live with what you place there, and that puts a higher premium on getting it right.

Anderson calls magazines “events” and “events can mobilize the marketplace in a way a stream can’t.”

The full interview:

What do you think of what Anderson has to say?