Making Appropriate Electronic Publishing Decisions

Digital Publication & Publishing Goals

Spread Content

Priorities: Inexpensive production, externally indexable, standards-based, easy to interconnect, low maintenance cost, low "re-production" costs, lowest reasonable denominator browsers
Dismissables: Fixity of design? Graphical nuancing? Intricacy of interface?

Recover Costs
or even Profit

Priorities: Reproducable & extendable production sequence, minimum of labor-intensive steps, highly flexible, rapid to enhance, easy to update, easy to index, easy to secure/identify in "chunks" for chunk resale
Dismissables: Browser level issues? Standards? Startup cost? Integration with outside world? Customer requirements paramount.

Impress & Attract Authors

Priorities: Image, flash, cleverness, sound & light, spin; uniquely appropriate/developed interface to content
Dismissables: Cost, time, browser, bandwidth, audience

Strengthen Customer/Member Ties

Priorities: Utility, functionality, breadth; enabling tools, facilitation mechanisms, ease-of-everything for members (only?)
Dismissables: Cost recovery mechanisms? Journal "identities"?

Support Print Sales

Priorities: Easy access, links to online catalog, lowest common denominator browsers, attractive presentation.
Dismissables: Intertextual linkages, "three-dimensional content," deep use utilities, repetitive use mechanisms