Martin. rowling. kipling. marks. tolkien. sebold. scott fitzgerald. hosseini. collins. martel.
digitized
With 65% of magazines offering digital editions of their publication (McMillan, G. 2013), which is the best format to capture the audiences attention and rekindle the love for magazines? The first technological leap for magazines was onto the web. A long (and in some cases unsuccessful) process which saw the print copies repurposed and reformatted into webpages that answered to the screams of their audiences for an ‘instant fix’ of information. For most women’s glossies which are published monthly, the wait for new information on celebrity gossip and new fashion trends was not a wait they cared for. The webpages allowed the magazine company to publish constant, up-to-date content to recapture the audience which was straying to other free webpages who provided the content they needed at a better pace. In recent years, websites have needed to adapt their websites to be accessible on tablet and smartphone devices due to the upsurge in people who access the internet alternatively to the standard desk/laptop computers: from 2012 to 2014, Nielson bookscan reported a decrease in PC usage verses an increase in smartphone usage in 14-17 year olds. (Nielson, 2014). This shows how with evolving generations are encouraging the evolution of publishing — pushing them towards digital, 21st century devices. Soon after this, tablets such as the iPad and the Samsung Galaxy came to revolutionise the way the public accessed online content. These devices could offer the audience easy to access, faster content on the move. This should make it the perfect device for magazines. However, in 2013 the tablet still only accounted for 3.3% of total magazine circulation — a disappointing figure considering tablet sales are still soaring with around half the population expected to own a tablet by 2017 (The Press, 2013).
In a recent lecture, Leander Reeves stated that ‘the WAY that content is delivered changes its meaning’ or ‘the medium is the message’ (Mcluhan, M. 1964). Whether the content is delivered through websites or via applications, I believe that the meaning really mostly stays the same. It is simply how the audience can interact with that content that adapts its meaning. Therefore sharing, commenting and interacting with other social medias is the most important feature of a digital magazine product — by sharing, the audience take part in self-distribution for the magazine. ‘51% of respondents have re-tweeted to a magazine editor’s Twitter. 42% chat with friends on Facebook while reading a magazine and share what they’re reading.’ (PPA, 2014). So, with the heavy decline in print, digital magazines continue to grow through a variety of mediums (ABC, 2014). The only thing that publishers must ensure is that audiences have the ability to be social within their mediums — sociability is the key.
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