|
Jimmy
Durante used to complain that when it comes to show business, “Everyone
wants to get into the act.” The same seems to be true today about
the Internet. Everyone wants to be there, but like a lot of aspiring performers,
not everyone is sure why. That’s certainly true in the marine industry,
where a flashy Web site is now often considered as important as, if not
more important than, a good product. A few marine companies and publications
appear to be actually making money off the Web, but many seem to be there
mostly because they feel they can’t afford not to be. How much of
this is solid business acumen and how much is herd mentality remains to
be seen.
At PMY,
we’re trying to avoid the herd mentality while recognizing the benefits
to our readers and ourselves from a Web presence. But we’re proceeding
slowly, trying to determine just how important it is to today’s
boater. To help us do that, we recently conducted a survey of our readers’
computer and Internet habits, which yielded some surprising results. Not
surprising given your affluence and business savvy is the fact that more
than 70 percent of you own a computer and nearly 40 percent own three
or more. Some 93 percent of you report having Internet access, with the
majority using it to send and receive e-mail.
So clearly
PMY readers are computer-active. But when we asked respondents
to name the top 10 marine Web sites they visit most frequently, the highest-ranking
site was named by only 14 percent of readers, and the number-two site
was named by only six percent. Both of these sites, incidentally, sell
marine gear and services. The boatbuilder site that ranked highest was
visited by only about three percent of PMY readers.
We take
these results to mean that PMY readers are active on the Internet but
are not surfers. That is, you use the Internet as you do catalogues: to
purchase specific pieces of gear. You do not appear to wander about in
cyberspace not sure of what you might stumble across. This is hardly surprising
given your busy schedules.
Studies
like this are important in helping us determine two things about you.
First is where the Internet fits into your boating life. Do you find it
a practical tool for buying gear, planning a cruise, comparing insurance
rates, or buying a boat? What does the Internet do well for you, and what
does it fail to do well? Second, based on that information, what kind
of Web site could we build that will best serve your needs, and how should
that site relate to the magazine?
We’ve
drawn some preliminary answers to these questions. It appears that you
use the Internet primarily as an adjunct to the magazine when looking
for information on boats and gear, but the magazine remains your primary
tool for gathering information. That certainly seems to be the case with
boats, where the magazine, boat dealer, and boat shows remain the key
components of your purchasing process. And while the number of actual
boat purchases via the Web is so small as to be insignificant, some 13
percent of you say you have purchased marine electronics and gear on the
Net over the last year.
Because
the magazine is still king, whatever we do eventually put online will
no doubt augment it, not simply replicate it. Perhaps that means running
more of what you’ve told us you love: product reviews, maintenance
tips, and cruising information. It does not mean cluttering an electronic
PMY with information like weather forecasts, which you can get
more completely in other places.
Whatever
this new PMY Web site we’re currently building may eventually
turn out to be, you can be sure it will not replace or duplicate the good
old portable, user-friendly, printed magazine. Supplement it, sure. Enhance
it, by all means. But until you can roll up a computer and stuff it in
your back pocket, PMY in print is here to stay.
|