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Java Pro Magazine needs help

« H E Yakov Fain :: email
posted Friday, 7 October 2005
I usually write for JDJ, but I read everything and anything that has the J-word. I read most of the online Java sites like theServerSide.com, JavaLobby.com, ibm's publications, and others. They all have great contents, but do not give you this nice feeling of reading a fresh and glossy Java magazine during you morning commute. I have access to all JDJ artcicles about a month before  the printed copy arrives, but you can't compare reading plain looking online articles with professionally laid out and illustrated ones, and I re-read these articles again. In print. In the USA, we still have two of such magazines: JDJ and Java Pro. But it looks like we may lose one soon.

Yesterday I've received the first (or second ? ) JavaPro magazine published this year. It was a  sad experience... It was super thin, packed with some junk CD, and half of the content was some marketing BS.

The first signal that something was not right was when last year they started to force you to login to read anything on their site (they'll just let you reading the first couple of paragraphs of the article). I understand, they need your e-mail to re-sell it for vendors. But could not they collect your emails in a more elegant way?

JDJ has tons of advertisement on their site, they are obsessed with Flash, but there are plenty of good technical articles there as well. Some women use a heavy make-up, some do not, but in the end of the day, all of them take a shower and give us men (or I should say partners) exactly the same thing: The Content :)
If you do not like the into-your-face ads, ignore them and go straight to the content. But JDJ is trying all bleeding edge technologies: videocasting, podcasting, live streams, Flash tricks, etc. I stay with JDJ, because I like the publisher. He works 24/7, he always has some "crazy" ideas, sometime the Web content is a bit buggy, but he's trying... The only problem he has, is too much tobacco smoking...

I always respected the JavaPro writers, but the problem seems to be with the magazine's editors/management.
If you do not live, breeze and eat your magazine, it won't make it.
I really want to see more than one Java periodical IN PRINT. I do not want Java Pro to die, really!





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comments (2)


1. DAR left...
Friday, 28 October 2005 10:05 am

+1.

I always liked JavaPro and, often liked it even more than JDJ. JDJ was usually larger in size (with both more articles and more ads) but the signal to noise ratio was much better with JavaPro. (i.e., more good content per page; JDJ often has a habit of running "articles" that are little more than a thinly-disguised ad for a vendor product.) Plus they had some great writers who wrote some great stuff on some great topics. (e.g., Daniel Savarese). I am sorry to see them fade.

IMO, it seems like marketing failings to me. I don't know if that's from lack of marketing savvy or lack of adequate funding, but they're just not getting their word out. JDJ, frankly, is in your face all the time - constantly emailing you and such. Definitely annoying! Nevertheless, you won't forget about them. JavaPro seems to have just quietly faded into the woodwork.

Plus, IMO, a web presence is very important. I no longer subscribe to the print edition of either magazine (I only read my tech stuff online now), and again JavaPro either doesn't have a great site or keeps it very quiet.

It really is a shame. There's nothing better for the reader than different viewpoints. And, frankly, nothing better for the publisher and writers than a little competition. Helps keep you focused and doing your best work.

DAR


2. Brett Spell left...
Tuesday, 22 November 2005 3:06 pm

I always liked Java Pro too, which is why I wrote a number of articles for them over the years. Unfortunately, they never paid me for the last one I wrote, and I've come across places on the web where other authors have had the same experience with them. If they had just told me in the beginning that they couldn't afford to pay I might have still written the article for them. However, I do object to them saying that they'll pay and then using the "check's almost in mail routine" indefinitely. It's one thing to try to deal with hard times, but there's no good excuse for being dishonest.