Posted on Jan 1, 1997

Jim Spanfeller '79


Jim Spanfeller '79
left Union intending to write the great American novel.

He hasn't done it yet, but that may be because he's in the middle of the Internet world.

Spanfeller was recently named publisher of Yahoo! Internet Life, a new and highly-successful national magazine devoted to the World Wide Web.

A joint effort between Yahoo Corporation, which operates one of the
most popular directories on the World Wide Web, and ZiffDavis Publishing, Yahoo! Internet Life is an entirely new dimension in publishing. It brings the Internet to the newsstand (or vice-versa), offering reviews of Web sites as well as tips on navigating the Internet and enjoying the information superhighway.

Spanfeller says, “We are attempting to be the Rolling Stone of the Internet. Yahoo!
Internet Life is a chronicler of places to go that are cool and fun. But even more so, we are involved with the culture and entertainment-the lifestyle, if you will-of the Internet.”

Beginning as a quarterly in February 1996 with a circulation of 100,000, Yahoo! Internet Life moved to a monthly format in September, and Spanfeller has announced plans to increase circulation to 300,000 by March 1997.

Working for such a non-traditional and quickly-growing magazine offers new challenges for Spanfeller, whose experience is with more traditional magazines such as Newsweek. The on-line version of the magazine can be updated daily, allows readers to chose their own depth of coverage by exploring or avoiding additional links to more information, and is a quickly searchable venue.

Most importantly, Spanfeller says, is that its format is interactive. “You can work with someone to give them what they want,” Spanfeller explains.

Spanfeller's position of managing circulation, sales, and the overall business success of the magazine seems removed from his original
goal of writing a novel. So how did he get there?

After Spanfeller left Union, he says he “went the Hemmingway route” and decided to become a journalist. He began writing for Soho Weekly News, but soon realized that he could influence more people as a publisher.

So he switched to the business side of the paper, advanced quickly, and, after travels in Europe, took a job at AMP Marketing Systems. He was soon recruited by Newsweek to be the publisher of Newsweek On Campus, a publication targeting college students. From there, he went on to Newsweek, then Playboy, and finally Inc., a magazine for small, mid-size growth companies. There he was recruited by Ziff-Davis to join the staff of Yahoo! Internet Life.

Perhaps the most danger-ous-and exciting-aspect of Yahoo! Internet Life is its dependence on the Internet. To critics who say the Internet is a fad that will lose popularity within a few years, Spanfeller says, “I think the Internet is going to change the world.”

Noting that it is five years old and already has 28 million users, he says, “We are still in the embryonic stage of growth.” Its impact, he contends, will be greater than the introduction of television.

If Spanfeller is right, his magazine has great potential.

Is he ever going to have time to write that great American novel? “I ask myself that question all the time. I certainly hope so.”

But maybe now he'll write it in hypertext.