Popular Science Sells 10,000 iPad Subscriptions in First 5 Weeks

I look forward to their ability to make this work. Its been interesting to watch the Economist, the WSJ, Popular Mechanics, the Daily, all of these toe into the e-periodical world.

In rockets, there is a point of maximum turbulence (or dynamic pressure) where the rocket is going faster and faster and being buffetted by the atmosphere but the atmosphere is getting thinner and thinner. The danger zone is where the force of drag (as a function of velocity and density) reaches its maximum. Rockets die here, and its the point you have to survive if your rocket will be successful.

For electronic publications that point is where the electronic version subscriptions have cannibalized enough of the print subscriptions that the cost of printing the publication has gone up so high to start losing money (remember that printing, like other manufacturing, has fixed costs that as you print fewer and fewer become a larger and larger component of each issue).

Success will be defined where the publications gets through that point and digital subscriptions take over paying the bills even when you eject the entire print business and drop everyone who won't subscribe to the publication digitally.

How a publisher survives transitioning through maximum dynamic subscriber pressure (to coin a phrase) will define successful publishers in the 21st century. (my opinion of course)

They have a $14.99 1 year subscription until Mar 31. Loved the magazine as a kid. The iPad could add an interesting dimension to a science magazine.