Dec 15, 2008
December 15th, 2008 by alexlockwood
Shaun Milne, founding Director of digital publishing company Planet Ink, shares his decisions and ambitions for new online-only magazine ecoforyou.
Why did you go for a turn-page magazine format?
There were a number of good reasons, not least it is a fairly straightforward skill to learn. We purchase the technology on license so we don’t need to know much about coding, we can just concentrate on the journalism and design side.
Also we think it adds a familiar process to the art or reading. People are used to turning the page of a newspaper or magazine, and this allows them to retain the ‘idea’ of that. We see it as combining the traditions of print with the best of the web and hope to build a community around it. At this stage not everyone has had a chance to play with digital magazines yet, so there is a certain novelty factor. [Read more]
Sep 22, 2008
September 22nd, 2008 by Paul Bradshaw
Last week I was at a magazine publishers talking about social media platforms, when it was put to me that the platform I was talking about was “mainly used by Valley types”, and why should journalists invest time in a platform when the majority of readers of more conservative titles don’t use it?
It’s a recurring question – so much so that I have decided to present my answer here. I’d welcome any additions. [Read more]
Sep 3, 2008
September 3rd, 2008 by Paul Bradshaw
In a guest post for the OJB, The Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation give an overview of how news organisations are treating cartoons online.
Cartoons have long been an essential part of British newspapers, so why do so many of those publications fail to do justice to drawn content on their websites?
The digital display of the web is a visual medium and cartoons and illustrations thrive on it. Yet many newsprint employers have not been quick to develop the advantages that drawn imagery offers as a digital communication tool and as existing sticky content for their sites and products. [Read more]
Sep 2, 2008
September 2nd, 2008 by Paul Bradshaw
Barely four months after launching its own blog, Hellomagazine.com* is inviting readers to “become official hellomagazine.com online bloggers“. I spoke to Online Marketing Manager David Witcomb about the detail behind it:
Why the decision to move into reader blogs so soon after launching the first hellomagazine.com blog? [Read more]
Aug 6, 2008
August 6th, 2008 by nataliechillington
dispatches is a new current affairs quarterly with a companion website, Rethink-Dispatches.com featuring original content as well as extracts from the magazine.
Virtual Intern Natalie Chillington put forward a few questions to editor and art director Gary Knight about the online side to dispatches. [Read more]
Jul 15, 2008
July 15th, 2008 by Paul Bradshaw
Independent free music magazine Bearded is launching a curious initiative to try to fund the magazine through reader donations. ‘BeardAid‘ asks readers to “give £2 a month in exchange for exclusive music content, free magazines, discounts and free entry to Bearded gigs as well as a host of freebies.”
So, a music club then? Well, only if you’ve got your Old Media hat on. Because the magazine is explicitly inviting readers to be part of their project, rather than simply paying money. I’ve spoken before about ‘punk capitalism‘ and this seems to me to be another example. Not only that, but it’s another symptom of the disintermediation of the media industry – more on that later. [Read more]
Jul 10, 2008
July 10th, 2008 by Dorien
Belgian women’s magazine Flair has recently launched a mobile version of its product, writes Dorien Aerts.
How does it work?
Once you sign up you are sent a text message containing a link, from which you download a mobile application of Flair. When you start the mobile application, you find a very attractive interface (for girls at least) with fashion articles and information about events. [Read more]
Apr 28, 2008
April 28th, 2008 by Paul Bradshaw
Matt Wardman has an interesting post on the Economist having its PageRank cut by Google (translation: Google punishes Economist for unknown transgression by giving its website less importance and therefore, probably, lower ranking).
Here’s what he says: [Read more]
Apr 24, 2008
April 24th, 2008 by Paul Bradshaw
Dennis’s online-only (and hugely successful) magazine Monkey is set to launch another website next Wednesday (at MonkeyMag.co.uk) with a focus on the social. It’s “for readers”, you see.
A press release says the website
“will be centred around the same type of great video found in Monkey, while also encouraging readers to interact with the site by posting their own ratings and exchanging comments on the clips. The website will also offer daily content not found in the mag, competitions and exclusive chances to vote for what you want to see featured in upcoming issues.” [Read more]
Mar 27, 2008
March 27th, 2008 by Paul Bradshaw
Charlotte Dunckley is a final year journalism degree students who has already launched a fanzine and is in the process of turning it into a commercially viable magazine – Things.
She recently popped in for an ad hoc tutorial and I asked her about her web strategy.
“I don’t have a website,” she replied.
“But you have a blog?”
“Yes.”
“Facebook?”
“Yes. And a MySpace page. With 800 friends.”
“So you do have a web strategy.” [Read more]
Interview: Shaun Milne, ecoforyou magazine
