Storied dotcom era magazine returns as blog

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dot-com era business magazine The Industry Standard will return as a blog and community Web site in December amid a surge of wealth and investment in technology and the Internet.

At its height, the self-described "newsmagazine of the Internet Economy" was so jammed with advertisements, some readers began complaining about its lack of portability.

The Industry Standard then became a part of the story after controlling shareholder International Data Group shut it down in 2001 shortly after the Internet bubble burst.

Speaking at the Future of Business Media conference in New York, IDG Communications Chief Executive Bob Carrigan said on Tuesday the relaunch was an "experiment" that would feature bloggers, some editorial content and also rely on its community of readers for contributions.

"The Internet economy is more important than ever," Carrigan said at the ContentNext Media-sponsored event, adding that a sponsor had bought the site's advertising inventory for a substantial period of time.

"We're going to have fun with it - it's an experiment," he said.

Founded in 1998, by former Wired magazine journalist John Battelle, San Francisco-based The Industry Standard was among the top print publications that tracked the explosion in investment and hype in the first generation of Internet businesses.

The launch comes after one of the last of the titles born from the late 1990s Internet bubble economy shuttered.

Business 2.0, a Time Warner Inc-owned magazine, shut down in September after failing to find an appropriate buyer.

(Reporting by Kenneth Li)