• by Larry Dobrow , Featured Columnist, August 7, 2007

So wait -- is Business 2.0about to go the way of the dodo bird, or isn't it?

Will we be forced to endure another Barbaro-like death watch, replete with whispers about deep-pocketed mystery saviors and last-minute reprieves? Will scorned staffers offer media blogs salacious glimpses inside the adrenalized corridors of editorial power ("Editor Josh Quittner once politely asked me to hold the office door for him when he was carrying out a heavy package! He thanked me immediately afterwards! What an inconsiderate ass!")? Answers, man, we need answers. By "we," I mean "people who aren't me."

I'm assuming it's a goner, not because I have any inside information -- my last conversation with someone besides the guy at the bagel shop took place three fortnights ago --but because of the whole where's-there's-smoke-there's-firings thing. I hope I'm wrong, as Business 2.0 has done a fine job in recent years of chronicling the technology world's post-bubble pratfalls and steady reemergence.

Given the mag's uncertain fate, I don't see the point in writing a straight review of the August issue, which is either Business 2.0's penultimate moment of publishing glory or just another day at the office. Instead, here's some unasked-for advice aimed at the new owners (in the event that Time Inc. can stir up a buyer) or the buzzards (in the event that the mag goes under, thereby freeing competing titles to appropriate its best ideas and/or people).

Keep... the informal, conversational tone. Unlike many other business-of-technology publications, Business 2.0 scrupulously avoids BIG STATEMENTS! designed to PROVOKE AND ENLIGHTEN! The stories don't dilly-dally, nor do they overreach. While some might quibble with the idea that a business mag might occasionally inject an un-business-mag-like detail (a giggly bit about a VC chieftain eyeing a Norwegian electric car) into its serious stories, the sporadic spasms of levity serve the title well.

Ditch... the columnists, or at least define their mission much more narrowly. Right now, none of the three ventures too far beyond bland reports on unconventional people thinking unconventionally -- personality-free versions of the mag's features, basically. Business 2.0 desperately needs a few commentators with a sarcasmatron or even a mean streak in their editorial tool kit.

Keep... the global perspective. Business 2.0 may or may not have left its heart in Silicon Valley, but nowadays the mag does far better when it focuses its attention outside these borders. The August issue serves up three such features, all prime examples of the type of reporting a publication like Business 2.0 oughta be doing: a visit with American entrepreneurs in Rwanda, an examination of the revival of the Samsung brand, and the unlikely surge of a Canadian provider of nuclear energy.

Ditch... the gimmicks. Business 2.0 sure loves its ostensibly catchy cover teases: this month's "29 Best Business Ideas in the World," last month's "50 Who Matter Now," the recent "Next Net 25," "11 Coolest New Products," "3 French Hens," "2 Turtle Doves," etc. Enough. Lists are the last refuge of the unimaginative.

Keep... the "What Works" featurettes as quirky and concise as they are now. While every business mag publishes some variation on "toolz u can uze," Business 2.0's entries (bits on a guy who's been working on the road since 2005 and a company that produces military-weapon simulators) strike the right balance between work and whimsy.

Ditch... the simplistic advice. The August issue spreads out its "29 Best Ideas" over the course of 50 or so pages, pulling down the mag's IQ in the process. Few of the pointers would feel especially profound in a high-school textbook; in a supposed high-thinking business mag, they're laughable. See if you can spot the fake "best idea" out of these four:

1. "Seek out familiar venues that need hip new ventures."

2. "A home office is not the only alternative to corporate drudgery."

3. "No idea is too simple if it meets a burning need."

4. "Focus on the most promising group of prospects."

Keep... looking for photographers and designers, because the ones Business 2.0 has on hand aren't cutting it. It's depressing that a mag of this stature carries photo bylines like "courtesy of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co." I have no idea if Business 2.0 has the cash to send photographers out on the road, but the difference between poached corporate shots and artful original ones is often the difference between a half-decent publication and a good one.

*****

(Answer: #4 is the made-up "big idea")

MAG STATS
Published by: Business 2.0 Media Inc. (a Time Inc. subsidiary, dontcha know)
Frequency: 11 issues per year
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