Last year it was announced that MapQuest was moving into print maps. Wise commenters on that entry noted that it was not the first time that MapQuest had moved into paper, and in fact they had earlier laid off their workers on the print side of the business during the dot-com bubble (the company started with printed maps in 1967). Now it seems that, a bit more than a year later, they’re dropping the print side of their business, shedding 40 jobs and selling its publishing arm to former employees, to focus on their all-digital efforts. Again. It’s never a good sign when a company keeps changing direction, 180 degrees at a time. Via Cartography.

See previous entries: MapQuest’s Mobile Strategy; What’s MapQuest Up To?; MapQuest Goes Paper.