Don't Believe Everything You Read?

Play the Avatar above, and click here to listen to my latest blog entry. Then, don't just take my word for it. View Zinio's demonstration.

One for all? Or Two for Some? The Online Strategy of AAAS and Science Magazine

For three years now, I have had a window seat to the trend in phasing out Web sites and “e-zine” electronic newsletters, and segueing to interactive digital publications. I have watched some publications maintain their Web sites and/or newsletter, all while the technology of interactive digital magazine interfaces became a more viable and all-encompassing alternative. Those familiar with my blog and/or were present during my demonstration last week of digital reader interfaces have observed the functionality of its features. Together we’ve deemed it an ideal solution for merging the accessibility of a Web site with the interactivity of new media and the Internet. As a publishing professional on the brink of seeing my publication into the digital world, I am particularly interested in exploring why some publishers continue to manage both.

One such organization is the American Association for the Advancement of Science, publisher of the weekly, Science magazine and html-based Web site, Sciencemag.org.

I visited the offices of Science magazine back in 2005 to observe their magazine production workflow as field research. AAAS and Science magazine was one of the first publishers to migrate to a workflow system where they produce their own press-quality PDF files in-house for direct transfer to printer presses. Having been one of the first publications to make this transition, they were also the first to view their PDF files through the emerging technology of Zinio’s digital reader interface. It was during this visit that I got my first glimpse of the electronic, page-turner interface I’ve since become so familiar with. Then, Science was way ahead of the trend. A staff member candidly admitted that their migration to the digital interface was nothing more than a modest acceptance of a new media as part of their communicative strategy—to stay on the cutting edge of science and technology, in line with the goals of their mission statements. Key among them, their aim is to:

• Enhance communication among scientists, engineers, and the public;
• Increase public engagement with science and technology
  

Both individually and combined, Science magazine and Sciencemag.org stay true to carrying out the organization’s mission. Making Science magazine available via a digital reader interface would enhance the reader experience for an audience obviously in tune to the dynamics of technology and change. Yet, three years later it is still providing the static replica of the print version, with the exception of the search and link functionality.

John Meyers is the director of marketing at AAAS and oversees the advertising and marketing efforts for the digital version of Science. Meyers admits, “Science hasn't really exploited the full potential of our digital issue yet.”

Use of Multimedia

That “full potential” that Meyers speaks of is namely the rich media feature. It is a capability that exists in many if not all of the digital magazine interfaces, allowing for the upload of audio and visual supplements to editorial and advertisements; music; podcasts, webcasts and real simple syndication feeds to make the digital reader experience more personalized and interactive. Meyers is confident that such integrations into the Web-based Science are on the horizon.

That is because, interestingly, rich media is heavily incorporated into Sciencemag.org in the “Multimedia Center” section. Oddly, this section includes the “Science Signaling” podcast series, images and slide shows, and even interactive versions of posters and illustrations from Science, and other interactive environments from their companion sites.

The extent of their use of the digital interface for Science does at least have some semblance to the participatory component of new media. They have incorporated interactive business reply cards to solicit membership, a strategy that is at least an efficient use of the capability, recognizing that through their digital edition and the virtual “newsstand” that “distributes” these digital editions, they are reaching audiences beyond their constituency with just one click. Still, it makes no use of the creativity needed to drive a digital magazine to reach that “full potential.”

One for all? Or Two for Some?

Perhaps AAAS recognizes that their audiences of scientist and engineer subscribers and readers have different expectations of new media than a good portion of their public. There is quite reasonably an age and social gap in the AAAS publics. While that key demographic of new media users aged 18-34 might be more apt to the interactive and participatory components of digital magazine interfaces, it should be considered that those aged 35 to 64 might be more inclined to access their content via Sciencemag.org, where they are in control of engaging or abandoning the interactive elements.

Whether the content is viewed via the digital version or the html version, neither audience is shortchanged. Science magazine’s content mirrors that of Sciencemag.org, from the tables of content, to the letters, to the research articles. In fact, the latter offers more, as observed earlier with Sciencemag.org’s multimedia section. If the reason for maintaining both the Web site and the digital interface lies mostly in demographic considerations, I am still prompted to ask, “Why then, does the digital magazine not incorporate the multimedia elements that give digital interfaces the flair and luster that appeal to their digital subscribers?”

Sciencemag.org uses its multimedia section largely for its podcast and webinar series; both are constants on the site. The other multimedia that appear—the various images and slide shows—have neither continuity in, nor connection to Science magazine content. In a sense, they have no home in the print or digital editions, making their inclusion on a Web site that is maintained daily rather than weekly a more feasible solution. Reasons for maintaining both Web site and digital edition might also be a matter of accessibility in this case. If I can use my experience as a publishing professional to make sense of the numbers, it is likely that less than a quarter of their members subscribe to the digital version. In contrast, the entire AAAS constituency has member-access to Sciencemag.org. AAAS likely uses real simple syndication feeds for the podcast and webinar series. For the prosperity of the ongoing series, maintenance of Sciencemag.org is essential.

Merging the Media

So it can be said that in cases like AAAS and Science, the online strategy should lie in fusing the editions rather than abandoning one. AAAS already does a commendable job of promoting the digital edition on Sciencemag.org. Where it falls short, it stops shy of providing a preview of the digital edition. Organizations like AAAS should do their due diligence in selecting the right provider for their digital edition. Some interfaces, like Zinio, make their digital reader available exclusively through their digital newsstand, making the digital edition a seemingly separate entity. Other interfaces, like iMirus, mask the digital edition as a link from the existing html-based Web site. In other words, the digital edition would have opened from a link or icon from the Sciencemag.org Web site. I am of the opinion that this would have been a better strategy for Sciencemag.org.

There are best practices for promoting, still, that AAAS might consider incorporating. I suggest that AAAS:

• Engage readers aged 35-64 indirectly by promoting the features and benefits of the digital edition in the content of Sciencemag.org. This would work best, however, if the digital reader interface was an extension of the Web site, as I mentioned above. The accidental or intentional perusal of the digital edition could yield a familiarity and comfort with the interface.
• Find another home for the podcasts and webinars. As I mentioned, they have no observed connection to Science or Sciencemag.org. Moving them to the main AAAS website might eliminate the ongoing need for maintaining Sciencemag.org.
• Cross-promote digital editions through the Web sites and all communicative efforts, with a link or URL that directs publics to sample editions and a subscription form.
  

There is a reason why “the truth is in numbers” is such a popular saying. For AAAS, the decision to phase out Sciencemag.org in favor of the simplicity of their digital edition is a matter of where the most readers are.

The New Face of Print – A Primer: Digital Magazine Interfaces

Introduction

Interactive, digital interfaces take static, print magazines and bring them to life by making publications available online, and incorporating the interactive capabilities of the Web and rich media. With page by page synchronicity to its print counterpart, the experience of reading a magazine is enhanced. The idea of old media and new media colliding is fully apropos in digital magazines. Print magazines collide with rich media—namely webcasts and audio supplements, active links and the interactive capabilities of the Internet.

Do you want to archive an entire volume of your favorite magazine so that an article or phrase is searchable when you need it? You can through a digital magazine interface. While viewing an advertisement for a high-tech gadget have you ever wished you could see the gadget in use? You can with a digital magazine. When these media collide, print magazines come to life as a new, hybrid medium.

History

Digital readers are gaining popularity today, yet the technology that powers digital magazine interfaces has been around for nearly a decade.

When one peruses a digital magazine, he or she finds that the experience is much like viewing a PDF file—the portable document format that revolutionized the way we reproduce and share electronic documents. That is because digital magazine interfaces are built on the technology of PDF files, coupled with Flash technology—a software that emerged around 1996 and is commonly used to add animation and motion or interactivity to Web sites and pages. Merging PDF viewing with Flash technology created a digital reading interface. Then, around the year 2000, these digital readers were being developed for consumer use, led by Zinio—a digital interface provider that maintains the largest percentage of the market share for digital publications. By 2004, other interfaces began to emerge. Among them, Texterity, iMirus, Nxtbook Media and Olive Software, all interfaces that exist today.

A New Medium Emerges

The trend of making print versions available as a digital version is increasing at a remarkable pace. In less than five years time, four major providers of digital interfaces have grown substantially in the number of titles with a digital version. Zinio, for one, has seen a 215 percent increase in the number of titles between 2004 and the beginning of 2008—from 275 to 868. Another provider, Texterity, though it has a smaller share of the market, saw an amazing increase of over 1000 percent—from just 50 titles in 2004, to 600 in 2008! While these numbers seem low, the figures are a force to be reckoned with when one considers how that figure translates into digital subscribers. Zinio now has a stable of over 1000 titles and over 4 million digital subscribers!

The success of digital magazines can quite reasonably be attributed to the change in readership. Yet while reader demographics change, the usability of print publications has not changed. Analysts at Baxter Research Center say that there is a “new generation” of readers that want a “high-fidelity” experience when reading publications, according to reader responses—one “that combines elements of both print and online media, to the comfort level younger readers have with all things digital…” Audiences aged 18-34 are a key demographic in digital subscribers. Studies of these groups show that they are largely responsible for the Web 2.0 identity, having pioneered the transport of the Web from the information age to one of collective information. When we speak of participatory culture in new media and Web 2.0, we have learned that it is that key demographic that delineates that culture—those that become providers of information and content rather than just consumers; those that make the medium a means of two-way communication rather than one-way. So in the case of interactive, digital magazines, merging magazine content with the functionality of a Web site is what readers want, and access to information on their own terms sums up the digital magazine experience.

But we certainly cannot talk about the digital magazine experience without listing some of these interactive capabilities. Tables of content become linked portals to article openers, allowing readers to jump to preferred sections of the magazine; key words become searchable; editorial content and advertisements are enhanced with video demonstrations; Web sites and other URLs in advertisements are launched upon click, making the most of transmedia campaigns and making product demonstrations and virtual tours possible; music, testimonials and other audio is integrated to personalize the reader experience; text to speech capabilities read page content aloud to users; blogs are hosted—masked within links on letters-to-the-editor pages, yielding to participatory culture and encouraging contributory content from readers. The features are substantial and growing as publishers and contributors get more creative.

Many of these interfaces allow readers to access digital magazine editions and the integrated features with readability both offline—when downloaded to their computers, PDAs or iPhones—and online through Web browsers. Digital readers and interactive interfaces run the gamut in service, the most popular among them hosting online, digital “newsstands” as a means of providing both sales and distribution via the password-protected digital reader. Few opportunities like this exist for lesser known publications. Digital interface providers provide a rare opportunity for product positioning. In this virtual newsstand, a reader with a particular interest in say, antique cars, could visit a provider’s virtual newsstand. Here, a simple search of “cars” will produce search results for all specialty magazines related to cars. A smaller publication then, is given the same visibility as its more popular counterparts. This is a positioning strategy that does not exist for many small publications at traditional newsstands and retailers. iMirus, Nxtbook Media and Zinio all offer this virtual newsstand. Zinio however, makes the potential for visibility even more rewarding, as it has also fostered an exclusive relationship with book retailer Barnes & Noble to sell publications as the premier “e-tailer” on behalf of publishers both great and small.

Also high among reader survey comments is the need for scanability and improved portability. Many readers like to archive articles for future reference and/or share with their colleagues. They want to do this: 1) in a way that does not compromise the quality of the piece in terms of resolution; scanning a printed article does not always produce the best output, and 2) they want to do this in a way that does not comprise the condition of the magazine; those who archive their magazines in volumes will want each edition to remain in its pristine condition, a guarantee one does not have when he or she shares with a colleague. Digital formats address each of these needs in a screen optimized, shareable solution. According to Mark Grimms, marketing director at Nxtbook Media, these readers “want to be able to search when they want to search and browse when they want to browse and contribute when they want to contribute.” This desire to contribute is the key characteristic in what we observe in the participatory culture that prevails amongst users and diffusers of new media.

Publications both great and small can offer a digital edition, extending their reach and visibility both domestically and internationally at a minimal cost. The range of costs for creating a digital version is from $250 to $2000 a month, and the byproduct of this low-risk, low entry-cost add-on is priceless. Digital subscribers, reader surveys find, are a substantial sample of dedicated subscribers. One publication, Landscape Architecture—the magazine of the American Society of Landscape Architects—found that 22 percent of its readers would prefer to receive a digital copy to supplement print editions. Additionally, 23 percent of the readers surveyed said that they would opt out of receiving the print version, to receive only the digital version. If such results are generalizable for all publishers and publications, this is good news for those who manage production and distribution costs, especially during a time when fuel surcharges and shipping costs are skyrocketing, and the pressures of “going green” mean costly transitions to environmentally friendly paper and ink sources and supplies.

Earned Media and Advertising for Strategic Communications

So what are the considerations for strategic communications? As public relations and communications practitioners, we know the value of both earned media and strategic advertising. The opportunities for both lie within digital magazines.

Marcus Grimm, marketing director for Nxtbook Media says there are three truisms that are generalizable for many of the publishers of interactive digital magazines, and their interfaces. First, Grimm warns that publishers should not have unreasonable expectations about the number of digital subscribers versus the number of visits to a Web site. He suggests that, just as many readers will not pick up a print magazine when they know they have little time to digest, the same behavior is engaged when reading a digital version—a behavior he refers to as “magazine mode.” Alternatively, web sites do not require the same time investment or commitment, allowing users to access specific information and depart quickly. Conversely, the traffic that a digital magazine receives will be engaged much longer, having entered that magazine mode. The last truism—the “click-through” rate for digital magazines is much generally higher than the click through rates on the publications’ corporate Web sites.

These truisms are good news for communications professionals, providing measurable assurance that they are reaching their key demographics. A 2006 survey conducted by Texterity, Inc. and BPA Worldwide revealed that most readers take some form of action after reading an ad. Among those surveyed:

• 83 percent looked at an advertiser’s Web site
• 41 percent forwarded advertiser information to a friend/colleague
• 37 percent contacted the advertiser for more information

Communications practitioners will effectively reach a key demographic of consumers 18 to 34 who are tech-savvy, and in tune to participatory culture and active engagement. Knowing that readers are so inclined to visit active links, strategic communicators will want to include links to Web sites in news releases and advertisements. And if access on their own terms sums up the digital experience, as mentioned above, then the incorporation of real simple syndication feeds is a Web site extension that practitioners cannot afford not to integrate. Through the use of this tool, timely information is always one click away whether a reader is perusing a current or archived digital issue. We have already discussed the increase in visibility for smaller publications; this visibility is equally beneficial for communications practitioners and their campaign efforts as they are able to advertise in smaller, specialty magazines with lower advertising rates but the same reach potential.

Encouraging readers and adopters of new media to migrate to digital versions of their favorite publications is undoubtedly in our favor as communications practitioners. A captive audience; the integration of audio and visual supplements, RSS feeds, enhanced ads, and many more bells and whistles; increased visibility; decreasing production and distribution costs—all at a nominal fee, and all while the publisher still needs to supply only a PDF of the magazine... This is the new face of print magazines—an interactive, digital interface.

For More Information

iMirus
Nxtbook Media
Olive Software
Texterity
Zinio

Sources

BPA Worldwide and Texterity Inc., “Business and Consumer Digital Magazine Reader Survey”

Baxter Research Center, “The State of Digital Magazine Delivery”

Folio Magazine, “Vendor Survey Reveals Readers Satisfied with Digital Magazine Editions”

Landscape Architecture Magazine, “2008 Readers Survey”

Marcus Grim, “What To Expect From Your Digital Magazine”

Rob Gallagher, Senior Sales Director, Zinio

Steve Zdanowicz, Senior PreMedia Specialist, Brown Printing Co.

Where Print Media and Rich Media Collide

Relatively fresh off of completing my reading for the required book review, “Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide,” I am inspired to take a moment to pinpoint my own observances of media convergence with digital magazines.

I received a comment on my first blog posting regarding the magazine industry’s use of the digital publishing software, in query of whether online magazines might evolve away from the model of providing an electronic magazine that is nothing more than an electronic replica of its print version, to one that takes full advantage of the interactive capabilities of the Internet.

The answer is yes.

I have praised the digital versions’ page-by-page synchronicity with print versions, but that does not even scratch the surface of the features of a digital publication. So let us examine a few of the countless possibilities where print magazines converge and collide with Web features.

Ranking top among the interactive capabilities of digital publications is the effect on advertising. One might say that this is where print advertising collides with television, and converges with the Internet. No longer a static, print display of a product or service, the interactive features of digital publishing software embeds rich media Web casts in the advertisement. Upon clicking on the advertisement, the reader is launched into audio and video of the featured product or service. This interaction makes panoramic scanning, close-up scrutiny of the details and intricacies of the product, and even demonstrations of the product or service’s usage possible. Anyone who has worked for a revenue-generating publication knows that advertisements are synonymous with bread and butter! The income potential with features such as this one are inestimable. Sales representatives are now able to sell this feature as an add-on or “bundle” in advertising sales.

From what we have observed in the growing use of interactive capabilities of the Internet in real estate and car-buying—with their panoramic “tours” of homes, and simulated test-drives—we are already witnessing the growing popularity and viability of this feature among certain audiences and demographics. There is also the added possibility of commentary and testimonials here, giving readers a truer sense of the sustainability of a product/service for example, along with the comfort of knowing that one isn’t simply taking the advertiser’s word at face value. This puts the power in the hands of readers, which we’ve learned is the epitome of participatory culture.

Another example… Few magazines are without a Letters to the Editor or Op-Ed section. Letters to the editors of publications give readers a voice and are perhaps one of the earliest forms of the participatory component—and even civic engagement in some instances—that we know. So many of us have thoughtfully composed our praises or disappointments to the editor of our most-read publications, or toiled over a thoroughly poignant opinion piece that never sees the light of day. Imagine the feeling of now seeing one’s piece published online by way of a blog-style letter to the editor.

I am only beginning to wrap my mind around the possibilities of using digital publishing’s features for audience engagement and to evoke that participatory element. On Saturday, we will delve into this further when we take a hands-on look at a few digital magazines. So for now, I leave the blog open to your comments and observations. What lies ahead in the way of interactive digital publishing, and audience participation or civic engagement?

"Convergence Culture"

It was said by Professor Graf in a recent class lecture and it is an observation by many—technological advancements and the usage of new media are simply improvements on existing technologies and platforms. When we speak of “new” media we observe that much of it is molded from the form of a preexisting media. As a publishing professional, one of the most innovative technologies I am observing today is the interactive digital publishing capability; taking static, print magazines and bringing them to life via the Web and the incorporation of rich media. Having made this technology the focus of my online advocacy class projects, I was intrigued by one title among the list of recommended readings. I found it interesting, how it parallels this idea of old media and new media “colliding,” as the digital publishing interface was just that—a collision of print magazines with the Web, the interactive capabilities of rich media, and the participatory dynamic that uploading rich media will foster.

That book is “Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide.” In it, author Henry Jenkins presents an unexpected series of examples whose social influence was paramount but either overlooked (at least by me!) or underplayed. The book speaks largely to the cultural trend today, when a single event and/or medium somehow prompts unsolicited involvement and interaction from a large, voluntary audience, and how—in the cases incorporated into this book—the event and/or medium takes on a life of its own, if you will, largely due to the audience’s involvement! In turn, audiences create new ideas and uses by way of new social media. These new uses then influence or otherwise impact the original work. With this convergence a collectivism emerges within audiences in the most unlikely of places and it incorporates those characteristics most prominent in Web 2.0—collective intelligence and the participatory element.

Survivor is the first of the phenomena noted in “Convergence Culture.” The reality television series gained popularity quite suddenly, but even more remarkable was the level of involvement it prompted from many members of the viewing audience.

“Spoilers” were soon identified—a group that would make poignant use of collective intelligence and the Internet, server hacking, satellite photos and other means to heighten their level of involvement with the show. This group of plot spoilers aimed to share their knowledge, putting the outcome of the show in their hands and out of the hands of the producers, in a radical attempt to unveil many of the show’s secrets prior to its network airing. The spoilers’ participation segued from watching and studying the show for clues to influencing production. Show producers would soon become both cat and mouse planting clues and misleading viewers to stay one a pounce ahead. Ironically, the spoilers’ presence within their fan base—or lack thereof—would be the ultimate litmus test of the show’s popularity.

With the television show American Idol, unprecedented audience participation also occurred, but the participatory element differed from Survivor in that the show’s creators designed and so anticipated participation. Readers should not be mislead by the title of the chapter—the focus is on the concept of building a brand by way of allegiance, loyalty and water cooler gossip, and there are a number of reality shows—The Apprentice, namely along with a few less mainstream television shows—who used this formula with success.

The text-your-vote function, which merged telephone use and text messaging with the television-viewing experience, is a significant example of convergence worth incorporating into the book. But, the author, having spent less time on this than other points in this chapter must have found it less thrilling. With this particular example I find that—as new ideas are built on older ones—it equates to the call-in formats for radio and television. It is a new mediation of two-way communication and audience participation.

The next three chapters segue to film and introduce The Matrix, Star Wars and Harry Potter franchises as examples. From these film industry empires, Jenkins points out the evolution of creative works that can quite reasonably represent “pro/am” at its best. It is in these chapters, I believe, that Jenkins presents his best examples of convergence. With these examples the films yielded a spawn of amateur projects through other channels and media. Many of those works then gained substantive notoriety.

The Matrix, Jenkins tells us, is one thread in a media web of comic books, anime cartoons, and video games that fully tell the Matrix story—what he refers to as trans-media storytelling. We learn that in viewing the Matrix film, the majority of us only received a fraction of the story. But there is an underground Matrix cult amongst us in the theatres that “got” it—that is, they are receiving the full story by way of the parts told by the various media outside of the film. Subsequently, some members of this cult are taking this idea of trans-media storytelling and creating their own plot derivatives in other media.

Under normal circumstances, the word “imaginative” would not be used to describe “unoriginal” creative works, like the Matrix fan fiction, and amateur filmmaker Evan Mather’s web-distributed films like, “Quentin Tarantino’s Star Wars.” But Jenkins helps us see otherwise. Spending a great deal of time on the advocacy efforts spearheaded by Heather Lawver, the teen creator of a Harry Potter inspired, fantasy-based “school newspaper,” Jenkins helps us fully see their inventiveness through the fan fiction and fantasy websites that evolved from the Harry Potter empire. Targeted initially for copyright infringement, the various creators of these Potter spin-offs banded together to provide a reasonable defense that fan fiction and the like took these franchises from cultish to mainstream because of their pervasiveness and subsequent popularity. It is a timely and effective transition to the last two chapters, where the book moves on to focus on new media in advocacy and for political agendas, coming full circle with its relevance to the online advocacy component of this class and, perhaps, the original intent of the book even.

If I was to sum up the objective of this text, it is to underscore the power and potential of audiences and fan participation and more specifically, young audiences and fans—those using grassroots media to mobilize in order to get the mainstream media to publicize, as the text mentions with the materialization of the Internet into political campaigns to attract youth voters, and among youth advocates to foster support. This segues to an interesting old media/new media collision with the idea of “democratizing television.” Here Jenkins shares with us Al Gore’s attempt to create a television network that fosters youth participation through citizen journalism. In this example we see collective intelligence and participatory culture merging with a traditionally linear and mainstream corporate media. Certainly not a stretch when one considers the political interest and demographic makeup of viewers of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.

It is not everyday that one’s required reading incorporates such novelties as Survivor, American Idol and The Matrix in research! If nothing more, I found it an interesting read, but had some difficulty in taking the research of these oddities seriously. The book does challenge us to identify our own observances of media converging. I was surprisingly engaged at times, and even found myself searching for comparisons and contrasting elements in the fan base and lifestyle that emerged from the Star Trek franchise. Today, fans of Star Trek have organized a Trekkie experience off-screen and here on earth and that began with simple convention gatherings but has since transcended into Internet chat rooms, and now—according to my Trekkian cousin, virtual worlds and even “Second Lives.”

So, I’d encourage the cohort to read “Convergence Culture” as it offers an inventive and entertaining way, through our familiarity with pop culture, to adapt us to what we are still beginning to understand and apply with new media and online advocacy.

This One's A Page Turner

As a communications professional in the publishing industry I have witnessed a number of advancements in technology that have lent themselves to making design, layout and printing more efficient. I am happy to say that I remember and can appreciate the days of scanning photographs, and piecemeal layout. I have even observed the intricacies of typesetting—although it was relatively out of practice well before I would enter the publishing industry. I am thrilled to now be a witness to and user of the improvements of press-optimized, digital art; desktop publishing and layout applications—from PageMaker to Quark to InDesign; computer-to-plate printing solutions; and now PDF workflow systems that put the power of creating press- quality files in the hands of in-house art directors and production managers rather than expensive, third-party pre-press vendors. But perhaps the most revolutionary technology in the publishing industry to date—in the magazine industry, namely—is the digital publishing capability.

The features available in digital publishing interfaces are remarkable to say the least! Most incredible is its page-by-page synchronicity with its tangible counterpart. While many publications offer their content online, few actually match the look and feel of the print form fully. Rather, most online versions mimic the appearance of online news sites—with columns and a mainly two-color appearance with few graphic images; many online versions offer little to match the experience of perusing the print version. Many function as nothing more than a teaser for its print version. With a digital “page-turner” magazine however—if I may use apropos technical lingo—WYSIWYG!

What you see in the print version is what you get in the digital version. From the inside cover advertisement, to the table of contents, to the back cover, and everything in between, an online viewer and/or digital subscriber is not shortchanged. In fact, the experience is enhanced. Advertisements become interactive—animating the artwork and the products featured, and adding active links directly to advertisers’ websites; editorial text can be downloaded to a reader’s iPhone, or it can be converted to audio via the software’s speech application; persons featured in articles can provide audio and visual “how-tos” and other supplements through pod casts.

Like so many industries where technology made production more efficient, many are at risk of losing their job or function. The scenario mentioned earlier—moving third-party operations in-house—has become such a trend that many pre-press operations have all but abandoned their services for magazines, focusing on textbooks and dense reference works instead—publications who are not on the brink of yielding to digital publishing interfaces.

So it can be said that those like me—in the print magazine industry—are in a precarious position. In revolutionizing digital publishing we are butting and possibly deprecating the print industry. In the weeks to come, I will examine digital magazines—the good of them, the bad and the ugly—at a time when so many print magazines are considering the transition to digital. There are countless positions on the matter. While some say that the future of print literature is compromised, there are others that say that no matter the advances made in technology and accessibility to digital communications, nothing compares to portability and the feeling of ink on your fingers and paper between them. Join me in this adventure from the print world into a digital one. What do you think—can print publishing and digital publishing co-exist? Can we have the best of both worlds?