The Industry Standard – it’s back in the form of a blog
For those of us then in the dotcom industry or for those of you that just followed our roller coaster ride, you recall The Industry Standard . The magazine told is what was the hottest and we hoped to hell we or at least something to do with what we were working on would get coverage. It was on the newsstands in every airport. When all us dotcomers went away, The Industry Standard went away. Guess what? It’s back. This time in the form of a blog.
Jimmy Gutterman, one its former editors posts to The Industry Standard :
It’s 2004 and you’re reading new writing on this website. Something must be terribly wrong. What year is it? Did you hit your head? Did I?
Don’t worry. We writers may suffer delusions of personal grandeur, but this modest weblog is not the first step in some eventual resurrection of The Industry Standard. It’s not 1999 anymore. But there still is an Internet economy, as Google’s forthcoming IPO will remind everyone. Why not look at that economy with the Standard’s logo smiling at the top of the page? Server logs reveal that many people still visit this site; let’s give you something fresh to read.
What else is different? Back then my work was vetted by Amy Bernstein, Eric Savitz, Pat Sullivan, and Jonathan Weber, four of the sharpest editors I’ll ever have the pleasure to write for; here we’re merely blogging, and a spellcheck applet is the only thing between us and you. Readers of The Standard will now be forced to learn how my copy reads without an outstanding editor protecting you.
I’ll be in this slot for a week, to be relieved next Monday by another blogger who was associated with The Standard during its heyday. For all of us, this is a chance to remain associated with a brand that still means a great deal to us, in whatever form. None of us are getting paid for this (at least I’m not getting paid; compadres, let me know if I’m getting a raw deal). It’s a hobby. Hey, it’s either this or clean the kitchen.
I agree with Jimmy – we are seeing signs that the Internet economy is coming back. I see this latest development with The Industry Standard as a key one. As a lawyer I’d be looking at new ways to use the Internet. A Web site alone was for the days when the The Standard was on every newsstand – today it’s a blog.