would the last tech journo please turn off the lights

have been mulling over doing some kind of review of the year in tech based on the interviews I’ve done this year. you know the kind of thing – on demand is so 2004, this year it’s all about aligning business needs with IT. i may still do that but as I look back over the year something more pressing, and indeed even closer to home strikes me – where are all the technology publications and tech journalists in ireland disappearing to?

in april long time rivals scope (publishers of computerscope, channels, smart company and pc live) and cpg (publishers of irish computer and consumer goods title shelflife) announced they were merging. having worked for Scope for over five years and contributed to them since, it was a surprise move for me. frank quinn, scope publisher, had always maintained that having cpg around was good for business as it stopped other entrants to the market. irish computer subsequently consumed channels leaving us with one less title. the deal has been presented as a merger but as anyone whose studied mergers knows there is always a winner and a loser in any merger and I have my own view as to who is playing what role in this one.

silicon republic’s two most senior journalists – ian campbell and brian skelly - departed the company last month in an apparent cost cutting measure. what that means for silicon’s only standalone title, knowledge ireland, (the rest of its' content appears online and as the irish independent’s tech coverage) remains to be seen. the title has only been around since may 2004 but I think it added something useful by taking a strategic rather than technical view of it – yes I was a contributor.

on friday I received the news that enterprise ireland’s software focus, a fortnightly email newsletter on the irish software scene is to cease publishing after seven years. produced by newsmail – basically john sterne and cormac sheridan who ran the excellent weekly it’s monday for many years before punting it to che golden in 2002 – it was unique in providing comprehensive coverage of the challenges and successes experienced by local software vendors. (on a positive note their final issue is a review of those seven years and is well worth reading)

there’s also been a worrying flight of journalists to the world of pr. this year we lost one of the most experienced, technically knowledgeable and insightful hacks, mr david d’arcy to the world of pr. editor of computerscope for almost ten years, where I learned a huge amount from him as editor of sister title pc live, dave is now with hill and knowlton pr where he handles clients such as hp and the irish software association. matthew clarke, a stalwart of enn for many years, has jumped to financial dynamics where he will handle cisco initially.

i’ve joked to a few other journalists that our ex-colleagues will soon have no one to pr to. what’s not very funny is that prophecy seems to be coming through. much of the shrinking of the market is because tech companeis are investing there money in marketing areas other than run of page ads in trade and specialist publications.

i’d be very interested to hear the views of the pr community on this one. let’s hope 2006 sees some much needed new launches and investment rather than mergers, acquisitions and closures.

Comments

[Piaras Kelly]

Yeah I find it quite interesting because 2005 was also my first year in PR. I'd say it'll certainly annoy you a lot more than us initially because I'd say you'll be receiving a lot more calls from PR people trying to land coverage for their client somewhere.

In fairness though tech publications are on the front line in the war between paper media vs electronic media.

Existing online Irish media could also perform better. I subscribe to a variety of feeds and am annoyed that Silicon Republic don't have one. In this day and age I would have thought that it was vital to incorporate RSS.

Also it has to be said that the quality of reporting is disappointing at times. There's guys like Fergus Burns at Nooked doing some great stuff with RSS, but nobody seems to be that interested. Fair enough it's nothing something that the masses understand at the moment, but blogs and podcasts are getting decent coverage, yet the underlying architecture behind them isn't? Once IE7 launches Irish journalists will be playing catch up.

In my opinion tech journalism in Ireland is stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment. My concern is that the publications that remain are going to be even more overstretched and suffer further as a result.

Prehaps though in 2006 we may see a tech blog emerge to challenge the online editions?

[Damien Mulley]

How odd that some many tech journos are going when there appears to be a tech surge again. Are those that are most about tech far more in tune with the online world now though with their RSS readers and daily reading of techcrunch?

[Roger]

Good chronicle of recent IT media developments.

i’ve joked to a few other journalists that our ex-colleagues will soon have no one to pr to.

Well there's always our new website, Press Release Ireland, at
http://www.pressreleaseireland.com/

I'd say over the past 5 years there has been a huge swing away from national print media by IT professionals who now get most of their info from the web. The result is that offline there is a move towards consumer IT - gadgets and other products that dovetail with consumer products. So IT sections have the latest on iPods, laptops and printers.

[john collins]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Piaras, you're right about the "annoyance" factor - lot more calls from prs this year. In the past they all but ignored freelancers but now I get offered exclusives on a regular basis.

You're point about Nooked illustrates the dearth of outlets - they aren't mainstream yet, but given the amount of foreign and indigenous software companies based here there should be a publication covering what's happening. Software Focus did that in a very factual manner but now that's gone.

Personally I think the role of blogs is in complementing other media. Whether that's keeping in touch with readers during the month if you are a traditional monthly IT title or as part of an alternative publishing model. But I don't see an Irish tech blog on its own paying the bills for even one not to mention a couple of journalists - which you would need if you ever want to go on holidays again.

Going to stick my neck out here - I find the "superstar" bloggers - Scoble and the like - to be very self referential. Blogging about blogging and Web 2.0 - it may be cutting edge but you are writing for a very small/elite audience.

Roger - nice site. But it only moves the problem. PRs distribute to you - but who will you distribute to if there is less specialist media?

[Piaras Kelly]

Yeah I don't read the likes of Scoble, but I do read the likes of Gizmodo. Flicked through the latest section of PC Live to see all the iPod accessories - shame I read all about them on Gizmodo in what seems like an age ago.

One of the main reasons why we'll see tech publications stick around though is because companies do like to see themselves in print rather than on a computer screen.

[Damien Mulley]

Wouldn't say you're sticking your head out at all. Scoble is Scoble. A lot of people get pissed off by him. His site is fantastic for networking. 15,000 readers or something isn't it? There can be a varying mix of personal, political and Microsoft PR but he is a great information router. Much like Joi Ito was before World of Warcraft and other things consumed his time.

I find the likes of Scoble can bring new tech and new people to light, which feeds into the likes of Slashdot a week or two later, then hits the Register a week or two after that and is then seen in the mainstream press about a month to two months later.

With Scoble and others it can be very wheat from the chaff. The likes of Techcrunch is good for learning about new companies but it reminds me so much of the last bubble.

If someone were to do a time delayed summary of tech blogs it might work. Generally by the end of a working week all errors in stories have been fixed enough to be deemed good quality.

I can't see an Irish Tech blog making anything but pocket money for the next few years. Not until we rise above the 37% net usage figure.