I’ve had a lot of fun over the past few years as an investor in NewWest.Net. I’ve learned a bunch from Jonathan Weber – the founder – about the intersection of Internet media and print media.
NewWest.Net launched in 2005 as a local and regional online publication about growth and change in the Rocky Mountain West. The company then launched a conference series which has been quite successful. Recently they came out with their first print product, The New West Magazine.
It’s a reversal of the old-media way of doing things; the Web site is the center of the enterprise, a general-interest publication with local and regional dimensions, while the print mag is a brand extension that is focused tightly on the growth and development story. New West founder Jonathan Weber has always advocated a multi-platform approach for journalism-driven publishing, and it’s easy to see how The New West is print does some things that can’t be done as well online, even as NewWest.Net online does lots of things that can’t be done in print.
The conferences continue to be a key part of the mix as well: New West’s new conference, Designing the New West, Architecture and Landscape in the Mountain West, will happen April 24-25 in Bozeman. Even in an online-centric, social-networked world, there’s no substitute for in-person gatherings – or for the look and feel and portability of old-fashioned print. Subscribe today (free via questionnaire or $9.95 if you don’t want to fill out the questionnaire.)