"A magazine does serendipity really well—you can flip to a random page and find something new that you never would have thought to search for. Magazines should be tactile, inspirational, and beautiful. They should be an experience that takes you somewhere unexpected" -
8020 Publishing
Publishers of Jpeg Magazine
As you may well know i used to work on a project with one of the most inspirational people I've ever met. Me and this person crafted some really interesting ideas about how magazines should operate, today, in the world of online print and electronic media. It seems that everyone is making a move to emulate the blogosphere and incorporate (even more pop pseudo journalism) participatory web principles (pronounced "Web 2.0") to capture an audience who'se attention span is shrinking by the moment.
My point being, I have loved magazines since i can remember. It was like a book but every month another one is brought to your door step of you discover a new issue of a new magazine you had not previously noticed. A book you can walk by it forever and never be intrigued by the same title and the same cover picture. I agree, magazines do serendipity really well. They encourage you to flip and find interesting tidbits, to read and feel the progression of images to convey a concept. Shorter than a story, a concept. I like to read in the most traditional sense as well, but great magazines are sharp, smart, provoking and timeless. If you cannot imagine magazines as timeless you need to stop reading Harpers Bazaar and USweekly.
And now we live in the age of the electron; why would i pick up a magazine when i can get my information faster, i can get infinitely more information, i can read and download 7 magazines, books and periodicals at a time. Magazines, newspapers etc are trying to compete with the web on these issues, when they cannot nor ever be able to. I can see something snap a photo on my phone and send it to channel 11 news right now.
Not only that but i will not get started on the magazines industry's pathetic slant away from being content driven. Everything except The Economist, just about is geared toward advertisers and adver-torial (pronounced "product placement"). It's like the print version of late night talk shows, no one goes on those things to hang out with Jay Leno, they go on to hawk their latest movie or newest project they want you to buy into; and some of us watch and buy feeling like we've participated in something, but most of us are dissapointed that we can't get through the day without being treated like a fuckin corporate psychology experiment.
The strength of magazines lies in the aesthetic. The quality and craftsmanship of the words, images and concepts into a meaningful whole. You cannot address the whole complexity of anything in one magazine, no matter how simple the issue and how thick the magazine. The flow of information should lead a user from print to the web and back again.
My former project, which is now defunct and my new conceptual love child, fly.paper are built around the production of a mass amount of content. Since a magazine has finite pages in it, there is a demand, to be in it and a prestige. How fly.paper works is we have contests and contest winners are featured in the magazine, both written/literary and graphic submissions. This is where the idea of quality and craftsmanship come into play. Since people get paid and are featured they are inherently excited about it. They tell other people (pronounced "brag" or "publicize") about the money, they show them the magazine and we have another person ready to get paid. I dont know m(any) artists who aren't down for $50 for free. We've got their attention not with ads and juicy pipe dreams but with good old fashioned content in the new digital age. Everyone wants to know who's featured, why did they make it, why didn't i, imma do this imma do that. There will be CONTROVERSY and DISCUSSION.
8020 has it right. It's not about web vs print. 99% of publishers are not using the web to have conversations with their readers or inviting them to contribute in a meaningful way. Ok at the end of a Times article you can comment. As if anyone ever reads those things. I sure dont and i consider myself to be a reader. word.
Ue the web to enable your magazine, newspaper, periodical, newsletter, weekly pamphlet or even book. Using one medium at the exclusion of the other is cutting your nose off to spite your face.