I would gather my pile of trade magazines plus general ones like The Atlantic, MIT Technology Review, and MIT Sloan Management Review every Sunday through the 80s, 90s, and into the 2000s. My boss at Airstream in the late 70s taught me about clipping articles and saving them in notebooks. I had a program management/project management notebook for years.

These memories returned recently when I went to the mailbox only to find it empty. I still receive the two MIT magazines although I have already read the articles online. I think I only receive one trade magazine in the mail—and it isn’t much larger than a comic book of my youth. I’ve found very few articles worthy of clipping for many years. (The ones I wrote, of course—but I jest.)

We learned a bit about the publishing industry when I took several writing classes at the university. I looked at the health of various markets by looking at the magazine stands in bookstores and grocery stores.

A magazine publishing company recently had one of its publications send a series of emails to marketing people. I am not sure why I was on that list. I’m not going to advertise anywhere. This magazine dropped print several months ago. It is digital only. Now they offer a deal—PR professionals can sign up (and pay) to be able to upload press releases directly onto its platform.

And then yet another magazine in my market just announced going digital only.

Two trends have hit the US industrial technology market. And my friends in Europe tell me it’s similar story there. First, companies have developed their own mailing lists, once the exclusive sales platform for magazines. Then, companies have decided to hire people to blog and do their own content creation. They don’t have to rely on magazines giving them space to promote their products. Therefore, media in our market suffers from lack of income as their customers ceased needing their platform.

Both the PC and the IT markets have gone through similar cycles of consolidation and lack of advertising. All of you are used to getting all this information for free. Paid newsletters are succeeding in certain niche areas—especially news and politics. 

Another part of this market situation involves you, dear readers. The market for technology does not seem to be growing. You’re not switching suppliers having opted in for the safety of locking in to a single source. Suppliers are increasingly “preaching to the choir.” Not to mention that consolidation has drastically reduced the number of suppliers.

I keep looking for a disruptive force to enter the market. I don’t see it, yet. The cool, innovative (mostly software) companies establish themselves just long enough to be attractive for acquisition.

What do you see for the future of the industrial technology market? More of the same? Do you see any disruptive forces on the horizon? Will AI be it? Apple Vision Pro? Hit reply and let me know your thoughts.

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Gary