Sports Illustrated, Time, and Cosmopolitan are all top-selling magazines. As we all should know, print media such as magazines and newspapers are dying off because of what you are doing now- reading free media from the internet( let it be known that I didn't think of that saying myself, I stole it from this guy's blog). With this, questions arise on what will happen to these failing magazines so I took the initiative of exploring the world wide web to see how I could answer that question.
I was logging into my MySpace page when I saw an advertisement to read Revolver Magazine's free digital issue (warning: digital issue contains profanity). As I was digitally "flipping" through the magazine I found it very interesting. It is laid out just as if you were reading a magazine. At first I was weary at how the text was small, but, after clicking on the page it zoomed in and it was easy to read. Although I am not a fan of death metal bands like Dying Fetus and Suicide Silence that Revolver is known for covering, I thought it was a good idea for them to make digital magazines. I imagine they would be cheaper to produce, save paper, and it is right on your computer. What I think would be negatives are the jobs lost for the people involved in printing and not owning a physical copy. There is something about buying digital print that doesn't seem worthwhile. You can't hold it or cut out pictures.
Another idea I found about the future of magazines came in a different form. As you can see in this video, last year Esquire came out with a prototype of a magazine using e-ink. This made it possible to make small amounts of animation to make the pictures move. This turned out to be kind of a flop because people didn't seem to care about the animation and price increased. However, if they ever succeed to make it wirelessly receive the new information, I think that could be a good idea.
The final idea I found came in the form of Mine Magazine. As a ten week experiment this summer, Mine Magazine consisted of a selection of five sets of articles from eight major publications sent to you in one convenient magazine (physical or digital). This is a good idea because you only got what you wanted. However, once again, you can find all the information on the internet.
So do you think these are good ideas? Would you buy these? What do you think the future of magazines is coming to?
I think digital issues of magazines are a good idea for magazines to stay competitive in this increasingly digital age. Personally, I don't really read magazines and have never subscribed to a single one. a digital issue would not make me more or less likely to read a magazine, but I could see how busy, on-the-go type people would prefer the digital issue. You also bring up a good point about saving paper. As people are becoming more eco-friendly this is one way the magazine industry can do their part.
ReplyDeleteZach,
ReplyDeleteI worry sometimes about this topic since I am a Professional Communications major as well and have always enjoyed writing. Will there even be a job for me when I graduate? Digital copies are interesting and I have looked at a few versions from a few different magazines that I read. Do I like them better or think they compare to a printed copy? Definitely not. First (and maybe I’m the only one) but like the small child that I am I like to get mail. It makes me feel somewhat important and gives me something to look forward to. Second, I like to have that copy in my hands and be able to take it with me and read it whenever I want.
The more we got into this class, the more I thought about what will happen to all those magazines in print. I have always enjoyed keeping up with the celeb gossip that is printed in US Weekly but thought the price of a membership was too much. My alternative- they offer it on the internet for free. I usually just look at the pictures and read the stories and style guide so this seemed like a better option for me anyways. You can bypass all the ads in the paper and only read what you want. Like you said in your post, you get what you want. I definitely think the future of magazines is going to be in digital form, however, I don’t think I would pay for a magazine subscription on-line. Like you stated, you can’t have the pictures and other info you might rip out and keep. I like to keep pictures from magazines for inspiration because I paint and I find some cool photos from the magazines I buy. It will be interesting to see where the magazines go in the future.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of having a digital magazine – I would still get to read the articles and see the images yet I could increase text size or zoom in on a photo to help me read the magazine better.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found interesting is that on Amazon the new Dan Brown book The Lost Symbol Kindel Edition, electronic, sold almost as much as the print edition.
When it comes to my textbooks I usually try to purchase the electronic or pdf versions so that I always have my books with me just by taking my pc along – no more lugging bulky books on the airplane now I turn on my pc and start studying.