MacAddict.com changes Web dosage
MacAddict.com, the Web site of the irreverent Mac magazine published by Brisbane, Calif.-based Imagine Media, has been the epicenter of attention on the Mac Web since outgoing Content Editor Rich Pizor posted a farewell message on the site Thursday.
Although his message was interpreted by many fans as a requiem for the site, and MacAddict magazine itself, Executive Editor David Reynolds assured ZDNet News that the only layoff was, in fact, Pizor.
"There's going to be some changes with MacAddict.com," Pizor wrote. "David Reynolds and the rest will still put out the best damn magazine on the planet, and (webmaster) Niko (Coucouvanis) will still be around to make sure the site doesn't disappear overnight. And I'll see what I can do about sneaking in the occasional rant or review."
In a response posted to MacAddict.com on Friday, Reynolds stated, "MacAddict.com is not going away, but we will be changing some things. We're going to be looking at what we do well, dropping what we don't do particularly well ... We don't plan on going anywhere for a long, long time."
Reynolds told ZDNet News that the changes to the Web site are part of an effort to try a new business model. "We tried this model for a while, but now need to pull back and concentrate on what we do well."
The new online mix will include humor, commentary, and product reviews, while the site will be redesigned to approximate the print magazine more closely in look and feel.
The site will continue to feature original content, as well as material from the pages of the magazine.
Although Reynolds declined to discuss budget numbers, he said the changes at MacAddict.com reflected a "... slowdown in the Internet space," but denied that this slump was specifically related to Apple Computer Inc.'s (aapl) recent financial woes. "The magazine is plenty healthy," Reynolds said. "This is limited to the online area."
Pizor's farewell essay sent Mac sites around the Web racing to toll a bell for MacAddict and its Web site. Technically, the layoff at MacAddict.com could be considered a 50 percent reduction of the staff, which previously comprised Pizor and Coucouvanis.
Reynolds said Coucouvanis, who has been with MacAddict for three years, will continue in his current role as webmaster, while also taking on additional content-related duties.