Simplify: Why Do Magazines Still Exist?
on 03.01.08, 06:39am in simplify • comments (4)
Back in 2005, I asked “Are Magazines Dead?”
(Side observation: my friends often say that I think most things are dead. )
As I continue to work through my simplification purge of 2008, I was cleaning up around the house and noticed that the only magazines we get these days are Entertainment Weekly (due to some expiring airlines miles, I think I get this through 2012) and an assortment of cooking magazines that my wife has subscribed to. And every week it’s the same: EW comes in the mail, I flip through it in 10 minutes, then toss it into the trash.
The only magazines that seem to survive longer than a week and clutter the house are the cooking ones. Why?
I started to wonder why it’s so hard (or if they even exist) to just get issues of reference magazines (like Cooking Light, for example) as PDF’s that I can store like other media on a local network location. It’s insane that we still buy cookbooks, etc. when all this just feels like a “search”.
Sure, certain magazines (like Make) have digital editions, but I want PDF’s that I can store and keep rather than a crappy online viewer…
WHY CORNER (March 1, 2008 @ 9:24 am)
Well said!
Randy (March 1, 2008 @ 2:49 pm)
What else would people “steal” while lurking at Borders? They don’t want to take the time to read complete books - they don’t *buy* anything while they read there… there would be chaos if they couldn’t oogle magazines. Pop in there on a Saturday: you’ll be amazed at how many people love glossy paper.
In all honesty, I think it’s because of the ad business which has fallen into a nasty cycle that no one is willing to end, least of all magazine publishers.
Brett (March 3, 2008 @ 4:36 am)
I find it difficult to balance the notebook computer on my knees while on the commode. The one place I get 80% of my magazine reading done. I really like your idea but most are not ready yet. It seems so many people still print out electronic files they receive. Seems silly to me and a great waste of paper. Plus, I read cook books to learn more about cooking, not necessarily for the recipes (e.g. Alton Brown ). Recipes are all over the web, I am surprised with the how popular cooking has become over the last decade in media, that Google hasn’t made a specific search for them yet, like so many areas.
thinktwice (March 3, 2008 @ 6:42 am)
I used to read PC Mag and others through a offline reader called Zinio or something. It even worked with my Gemstar Ebook reader (RIP). Gosh I loved that thing.