Today marks the start of 2013, and as a magaziner, I’m excited.
As you all know, even though I do occasionally include a dose of print love on this site, my focus here has always been and continues to be digital. As a Canadian living in Japan, it’s thanks to the iPad and the transition of magazines to digital form that I’ve been able to re-embrace my regular intake of magazine reading, in an affordable manner.
And it’s been exciting to see this happen.
There’s no one way to produce a magazine in digital form. Experimentation is rampant, and it’s fascinating to see what works and what doesn’t (well, it’s much more fun to see what works than what doesn’t). For me, it’s gotten to a point where I have trouble keeping up with everything I want to read, and that’s a good feeling.
The New Yorker, someday, I will revisit you.
Death of print? No, of course not, but this survival of the fittest that is taking place is long overdue, and I am not at all saddened to see a digital-only Newsweek — although I do realize that as mainstream titles make similar moves, it’s bound to affect distribution, making it much harder for independent titles to find shelf space (but more and more, I think web sales are taking care of this).
What do I want to see in 2013 in the magazinespace? I want to see something I wasn’t expecting. I want to be blown away by some fresh new title, or be shocked by a current one.
So big thanks to everyone in the magosphere — the sites and friends who cover this world — for keeping me informed, for recommending great titles, and for joining in on this nonstop obsession for a medium we all love so deeply.
Magazines in 2013: More readable, more accessible, more beautiful. In short, more.