If you’ve ever viewed a digital magazine, I’ll bet you have a strong opinion to contribute to the ongoing digital magazine debate. Some people love the ingenious page-turning software, while some people are offended by the difficulty of reading such small type. Others prefer the basic PDF solution, mainly because it’s practically free. But as we all have more experience with digital magazines, many of us are coming to the realization that what’s ideal for print is not ideal for the Web.
As Publishing Executive E-Media Strategist Eric Shanfelt stated in his recent article, Why Digital Magazines Don’t Have to Suck, “Ultimately we need to come to terms with the fact that Online is not print.”
In this insightful article, Shanfelt reacts to his media executive friend’s proclamation, “Digital magazines suck. They’re not print, and they’re not Web. It seems like a lazy way to get online instead of investing in a really good Web site.” I agree with Shanfelt’s assessment that the ideal digital magazine is easy to read on a computer screen and uses interactivity (i.e. video, audio, animation, etc.) to provide a rich, in-depth experience.
If time and budget were a non-issue, we would all create custom magazine Web sites. But that’s not reality, and that’s why DCP offers digital magazine solutions for every budget. We’re hoping that over time more organizations will decide, like UC Hastings College of the Law recently did, to invest in interactive magazine Web sites. What they’ll create is not just a digital replica of their print publication, but a lively meeting place for their most loyal audience.
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