Media industry-focused research and advisory firm Outsell, Inc., US, has published its 'Information Industry Outlook 2009: No Guts No Glory,' offering predictions, analyses and key themes for the information and publishing industry. The report cites Apple, Elsevier and LinkedIn among the 30 innovators to watch.
Despite the well-known tribulations of news and some B2B trade publishers, and the effects of the global recession, Outsell projects steady growth of about 3 percent each year for this industry. Growth is expected to reach $400 billion in 2008 and $412 billion in 2009. The report advocates steps to fend off the challenges presented by recessions, which tend to exacerbate poor performance and accelerate land-grabs for market share. Execution, Outsell says, is critical, especially when it comes to content, platforms and experiences; business model focus; social media/communities; and strategic product marketing and operational linkages.
The Outsell report recommends 10 essential actions. It warns of the myth that ad-spending will fund 'all things web' while issuing caution about knee-jerk reactions to the 'crisis du jour.' Among others in Outsell's '30 to Watch' are BBN Ad Network, Blurb, British Medical Journal, BrownBook, CNN, Collexis, Critical Media, Data Explorers, Demand Media, Exact Editions, Flat World Knowledge, Google, The Guardian, Hakia, Hulu, IHS, LiveMocha, MarketTools, Nature Publishing Group, Public Library of Science (PloS), Safari, Thomson Reuters, Wood MacKenzie, and ZoomInfo.
