Printing Industry Commentator Dr. Joe Webb Starts New “Blog” at DrJoesBlog.com; Offers Observations About Trends in Printing, Publishing, and New Media
www.DrJoesBlog.com features the analytic commentary of Dr. Joe Webb, 27+ year printing industry veteran, commentator, and consultant. The “blog” is aimed at executives who are curious about the trends of the printing, publishing, and new media markets, anxious for a thoughtful, contrarian analysis and perspective.
Harrisville, RI (PRWEB) April 14, 2005 -- Printing industry consultant,
futurist, and commentator Dr. Joe Webb announced the availability of his blog,
www.DrJoesBlog.com, focused on the discussion of printing,
publishing, and new media trends.
“Blogs have achieved mainstream status
in relatively short time. They have become essential for executives and
decision-makers who want to stay on top of news and opinion for new actionable
ideas for their industry and are looking for a competitive edge,” said Dr. Webb.
“When we look back at this period a few years from now, we will realize blogs
served as incubators for many new media publishing ventures.”
Dr. Webb is
known for his often contrarian ideas, which help managers and executives
question their assumptions and “common wisdom,” improving their strategic
planning, and enhancing their ability to see new opportunities. He posts new
items to the blog two to three times a week, sometimes more often. “Blogs are a
free-form structure; as I get ideas based on the news or industry analysis, I
can post them without delay and not be concerned about the time or space
constraints of traditional media.”
Dr. Joe Webb’s industry and economic
commentary appears every Friday, exclusively at www.WhatTheyThink.com.
“The blog supplements my weekly column, where my economic commentary appears
exclusively. There is such an intense level of change in the printing and media
industries that I found my column could not contain it all. Blogging also
creates a closer, more immediate relationship with my audience.”
In 1997,
Dr. Webb became known as “Dr. Doom,” as he forecast that the Internet would
negatively affect commercial printing shipment after 2000. The industry peaked
in annualized shipments at $120 billion in August 2000 and then started its
decline. “It dropped rather precipitously, losing about $8 billion in shipments
before the tragedy of 9/11 and is now down about $25 billion since then. It’s
still declining on an inflation-adjusted basis, but much more slowly,” according
to Dr. Webb. “Thankfully, some vendors and printers listened back in 1997 and
1998, and they prepared. Today, low-debt, high utilization printers with the
right technologies are doing well as their weak competitors suffer or go out of
business. Vendors who had the right market expectations were able to adjust
budgets and deploy resources to new markets; those who didn’t had serious
financial problems.”
Today, Dr. Webb sees an industry that is re-shaping
itself. “Print is one medium among many, and marketers are using print to
stimulate use of other media, such as direct mail being used to drive traffic to
e-commerce sites.” He also feels that the use of offshore-printed materials from
China and India will continue to grow, saying “the industry has to get ready for
the time when one-quarter of our printing comes from other countries.” He also
feels that U.S. printers should find ways to invest overseas, because “those
markets are growing at a rapid rate, and print volumes can grow as those
economies expand, even while commercial volume here is
declining.”
“Print’s viability as a medium is by no means assured in the
long term, as broadband availability grows and the ability to access information
instantly is a normal expectation of consumers and businesspeople. But, it’s not
as though e-mail or other new media don’t have their own problems. Surveys show
that depending on the campaign and Internet providers involved, up to 60% of
e-mails are not delivered because of filtering and spam prevention and other
security tools. When mailed, print materials have over a 99% delivery rate.
Should people trust an electronic medium that promises a range of deliverability
of 40% to 99%, or one a traditional one that can guarantee nearly 100%
deliverability? E-mail’s low cost and convenience make it a valuable tool for
communicators, but its problems mean that diverse, multiple communication
methods are essential to be certain that communications reach their intended
targets.”
Dr. Webb has advised companies involved in the printing and
creative markets since 1987. He earned his doctorate at the NYU Center for
Graphic Communications Management & Technology, and holds an MBA in
Management Information Systems from Iona College. His undergraduate work in
marketing and managerial sciences was completed at Manhattan College.
In
1995, Dr. Webb founded the TrendWatch marketing information service, which was
sold to Reed Elsevier in 2000. He has conducted numerous proprietary projects,
multiclient studies, and association research programs throughout his consulting
career. He started in the industry in 1978 with Agfa-Gevaert’s Graphic Systems
Division, and worked at Chemco Photoproducts (now part of Konica) until
1987.
In 2003, Dr. Webb started a column in the industry-leading news
site, www.WhatTheyThink.com. His observations in “Fridays with Dr.
Joe” have become a “must-read” for the entire printing industry. The column
includes his analysis of the economy and advice to industry management. He’s
fond of saying “I’m not an economist, but I get to play one on the Internet
every Friday.” The column highlights his debunking of industry myths and “common
wisdom” with hard data and analytic thinking.
Dr. Webb’s work was
recognized by GAMIS, the leading market research organization for the printing
industry, when he received their Neil Richards Visionary Leadership Award in
2004.
Dr. Webb, in conjunction with other leading industry consultants
and thought-leaders, is in the process of completing a major research project
about the commercial printing industry of 2015. He is available for private
consultation, sales and planning meetings, and keynote speaking
events.
Consulting and speaking inquiries are handled through Naselli
& Associates. Contact Mr. Vince Naselli at 1-732-568-0316 or at
vince(at)naselliandassociates.com
Additional contact information:
Web
site: www.drjoewebb.com
E-mail newsletter sign-up: http://www.sfminc.com/email_signup.html
E-store: http://store.yahoo.com/drjoe/reports.html
Contact Dr. Webb
by e-mail: http://www.sfminc.com/contact.html
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/4/prweb228428.htm