October 2008

In addition to the modules on various business topics published on this site, a regular update on corporate e-learning issues will be posted monthly; review Purpose. Readers should be aware of and read the associated Health Warning before acting on this update. Your commentator is Bob Little, click for Biographical Details.

Alex Welsh – who, with Ian Lee-Emery, was one of the founders of Head Light Communications - is rumoured to be about to leave that company to become a talent management specialist for a large corporate. Comment: It is rare that a ‘poacher turns gamekeeper’ in the corporate e-learning world – although, last year, Vaughan Waller gave up a career as a well respected and world renowned independent consultant to join the international accountancy firm Moore Stephens as its e-learning professional. Usually, the traffic is the other way: in-house specialists who want to indulge their passion for e-learning with more than merely one paying partner become consultants. Maybe times are changing and life is not so lucrative for e-learning’s independent consultants.

For some years, trade magazines have been having a hard time, as advertisers move to online advertising, direct (e)mail advertising and other means of promotion. The world’s current financial crisis has just made things worse for the beleaguered publishers. The October edition of E-Learning Age, the e-learning sector’s major trade publication, not only runs to a mere 36 pages but only four pages or so of these appear to be taken up with ‘paid for’ adverts. Human Capital Management fares slightly better – again on a diet of just 36 pages – with around eight pages of paid for adverts but, taking into account HCM’s smaller circulation than E-Learning Age, these are likely to generate far less overall revenue for the publication than those generated by the E-Learning Age adverts. Add to that the potential extra costs of E-Learning Age’s publishers’ ‘day in court’ – scheduled for November – over disputed advertising contracts and it is not difficult to predict a ‘more rocky than ever’ time for the technology-delivered learning industry press. Only the profits from the E-Learning Awards dinner (on 6th November) – rumoured to be in the region of £20,000 to £30,000 – seem able to keep E-Learning Age afloat. Comment: Each industry probably gets the trade press it deserves. Over the last few years, suppliers and vendors – with only a few exceptions – have shown a marked reluctance to support the trade press with adverts. Instead, they have preferred the direct (e)mail and internet advertising options. They may be about to kill off their industry – or at least the publications that make it visible to the wider business world.

Some may say that it is rare for this blog to get its predictions absolutely correct but, a couple of months ago, this blog predicted: ‘One company reputedly ripe for sale is FutureMedia – with Scandinavian firm Edvantage rumoured to be in the lead to buy the company.’ (see Merger and take over fever) Well, it was true. The deal was done for an undisclosed cash sum and shares. The newly enlarged Edvantage – based in Oslo, Norway – now has annual revenues of some £12m and a customer base of over 200. Comment: From a PR point of view, it was lovely to see the spin put on the deal by FutureMedia’s CEO, George O’Leary. He commented: “We are excited about taking a minority ownership stake in the company (Edvantage).”