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Is This The Future Of Publishing?

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Always at the bleeding edge of design and content for the magazine industry, Wired Magazine is now formally promoting where they think publishing is going…

People will always love paper (I think) and this is not Wired calling for the death of the traditional magazine. This seems much more like an excellent brand extension.

Is this the future of magazines? What do you think?

(hat-tip: Ricardo B. Giuliani).

31 comments

  1. At some point, I think it is. Everyone’s just quibbling about the timing, in my view. As much as I can appreciate a paper magazine… it’s going to come down to the planet’s welfare and the amazing convenience and experience of an iPod-like pub (Julien’s view of the current version notwithstanding 🙂 )

  3. I think media has a great future – not death. As you point out, there needs to be an integration with and extension of print. The opportunities are vast … we will have to monitor the users behavior/reactions and listen to their wants and needs.
    Thanks Mitch,
    Social Steve
    PS – I am not just saying this … I am a true believer … I start a position at a large media (magazine) this coming Monday to head up their social media efforts. 🙂

  4. I am not convinced that people will always love paper. Hardware manufacturers and software designers are just now starting to scratch at the surface of what’s possible, and it’s going to dramatically change how we interact with news and media. Why bother with a print magazine that has to be shipped to readers to be consumed before ultimately being recycled when it can be downloaded directly and near instantly to your favorite device? Add to that the fact that the digital version is more interactive and easier to share, and you have the future.

  6. This is the future of everything “paper”. Some day we may even see a positive effect on our environment. If you’re manufacturing a magazine rack you may want to re-design it into a wine rack!

  7. I love paper, but I don’t think magazines will be printed on it once the digital technology really kicks in. It will start out slow and then within a couple of years EVERYTHING will change. I can’t wait.

  8. This is a website, not a magazine… I don’t need a new device to interact with a website…
    When it comes to digital paper, ok, that’s innovation… (kinda Mag+) And btw who wouldn’t skip the ad’s? I want to read the articles, not advertising…
    Just an opinion

  9. Yes, this is the future because … it is two-way engaging.
    It MUST …
    — incorporate video
    — allow me to clip and make notes on articles
    — read an article to me … from text to audio (so I can digest the information quickly)
    — allow me to ‘send to’ Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn and anything else social
    It truly is like moving from radio to TV, like was stated in the video; however, the revenue model from radio to TV was basically the same.
    The revenue model is still not clear. Google is helping us better understand what the revenue model might look like, but I still don’t think it is settled.

  10. Great video from a great magazine. Mitch, I’d really like to hear where you think traditional textbook publishing is going. I know what Seth Godin thinks, but how do you think the consumer experience as promoted by Wired will translate into the student experience. When will media-rich, less costly textbooks be commonplace?

  11. I’ve heard from some fairly reliable sources that the Sports Illustrated project has been scraped. There’s a big difference between developing the hardware and developing for the software. I spoke with Chris Anderson from Wired last week and he said that the content you see above will be available on all platforms. So, they’re not developing the tablet… just the content to put on these devices.

  12. It’s interesting how more than one person said they would like this technology so that they could skip ads. I find magazine advertising so highly relevant that it’s almost like content to me. I actually enjoy seeing the ads in magazines like Fast Company, Wired, Inc., etc… Am I alone on this?

  13. They think publishing is going digital? Shocker!
    Am I being negative or are these mock-ups just glorified blogs with fancy interfaces? Isn’t a magazine just a collection of blog posts categorized and released at the same time?
    Putting the same content on a new piece of mobile hardware won’t mask the fact that it’s just a different front end to what blogs have been accomplishing for years.
    PS: I love Wired.

  14. I love this. Love it.
    I have to say. When I get a typical magazine I can’t stand how many ads are in the thing. I dont know. Maybe I’m reading the wrong magazines.
    But this to me, looks awesome. I have no problems with the ads in this format.
    I’ve been reading a fly fishing magazine online for a while now called “thisisfly.com”
    They do an amazing job and the ads are relevant and enjoyable.
    This reinvents magazine advertising. If I see a pair of pants advertised for Banana Republic and I can click through and order them right from my iPad, it’s a double win. This also creates new and more exciting ways for the advertiser to do their thing.
    An option to pay more and turn off ads would be cool.

  15. I like glancing at the ads too. However, I think not offering an equally profitable option to the end user would be flat-out dumb. They didn’t have that option before going digital; now they do.

  16. I think there’s a huge advertiseing opportunity with this type of a magazine. From regional to user specific to expired ads that like the kindle would automaticaly update advertisers latests ads via wifi (providing user allows for ad update – don’t want another 1984). 
    It also going to allow for more peoples art to appear in issues. 
    Very cool skys the limit. Now all we need is to get our iPhones and ipads to start playing Flash etc.
    You probably have seen this very cool magazine aswell by Bonnier R&D worth looking at
     http://vimeo.com/m/#/8217311
    Thanks Mitch and thans Jason for the YouTube link

  17. I’m with you Mitch I enjoy the ads in some magazines also let’s not forget fashion magazines there 70 percent ads(not a real stat – pick one up and you’ll see what I mean). I find myself asking my wife why does she pay to read these magazines and she tells me like most of her freinds for the ads and fashion.
    This new technology is just gonna force ad makers to get that much more creative in there content.
    It’s a whole new world and I love it 🙂

  18. I agree with those that think not only is this the future, it’s the tip-of-the-iceberg future. The word “magazine” is already an archaic description of what the potential is here. It’s taking the best of story-telling, the best of graphics and video, the best of digital user experience and the best ways of sharing.
    I also believe that in the past, magazines were something you read, in the present they are something you share, and in the future they will be something you act on.
    Advertisers will be smart to step up and figure out how to make the ads themselves engaging — to think of them as content first. An ad doesn’t have to look and feel like an ad, it doesn’t have to be intrusive, it can combine all the best of a great content experience if people only have the creative foresight to make it happen.

  20. Wired has made an excellent brand extension. People definitely love paper, but digitalizing a magazine is eco-friendly. I thnk that is cool.

  21. this is just a more interactive, tailored blog isn’t it?
    if more than 15% of web audience were going to click on flashy ads – they’d be doing it already…
    the iPad is starting to resemble the publishing industry equivalent of DRM in music – out of touch execs mistaking a new technology for a last chance to create a walled garden
    iPad good – glitzy whizz bang blogs….not so much….

  22. The smart advertisers make their ads relevant and engaging. I’m with you, Mitch, I read the ads, too. It’s where I see trends, new products and examples of good design.

  23. I agree, advertising in magazines are much less intrusive than any other media. Specially when they are well designed and addressed to the readers.

  25. We MUST LOVE advertising otherwise the Super Bowl ads would not generate as much commentary as it does every year.
    I guess people are just happy with having a choice.

  26. Isn’t it about content? Book form, magazine, online or app. People follow the content. The medium (paper, rock, iPad) allows more people to access this content.
    Maybe the question is whether or not one influences the other?

  27. The medium is still the message. If you want sustained attention, you still need to hold a book or journal in your hands. You can see even in these examples that really following the text is an afterthought. But if you want to jump/surf around, if you’re picking up a magazine to “read” the ads, the digital version will serve you just fine.

  28. Hello,
    Is the future of print media?
    It was interesting to watch some of the editors at Wired Magazine comment on this new playing field where the economics can now be reset. Where the value is not greater due to the interactivity the user will have online with the new media.
    However I remain skeptical of this ‘revolution’.
    Now don’t get me wrong I do believe that the technology is going in the right direction but I do not believe in the idea that there is going to be a massive shift in the way the consumer connects with the media that is already in place. Now Wired Magazine is sitting pretty to say that the impact a partnership with Adobe will have on the future of their magazine primarily because and correct me if I’m wrong their demographic is for lack of better word ‘tech-savvy’ (I’m laughing at this retarded comment – but moving along).
    I’m interested to see the response from the Mom and Dad’s of this planet who are not used to the 360 degrees views of new cars or the browser which allows me to view any page of the magazine issue through totally organic movements of the finger. (Ever watch you’re father play with an iTouch? – I wouldn’t call that organic).
    Long story short I hope that this new medium moves my generation (I’m 23 years old) into a new platform for advertising and does reset the economics. I’m an International Marketing student at the John Molson School of Business in Montreal Canada. This would allow me and other fellow colleagues have as much room as our predecessors in Marketing had in the times of ineffective “gunsligger” Marketing (i.e. Let’s put a billboard on a highway somewhere and watch slow sales figures).
    Thanks for the read.

  29. Personally, I’m incredibly impressed with the demo in that video. It creates an entirely new method for readers to process information, somewhere between “magazine” and “website,” and I’m fascinated by the potential for innovation that a new hybrid consumption process can inspire.
    I wonder how long it’ll take before the media on both sides of that hybrid line, from print to web, are consumable in multiple formats within the the same reader. If you could scroll through YouTube in all directions, how would that change the way YouTube presents its web content? How would it change the way you design your own site? Would websites adopt more “print” techniques, or vice versa?
    Hooray for the rejuvenation of information intake.

  30. I think you said it best. We all expect magazines to be a little more flashy in their ads, much more so that emails.

  31. I’m a graphic design student writing a dissertation on if print media is relevant any more, I’ve been researching peoples views and agree that right now, people love paper, they like the feel and the hold, flicking through. Some people argue that a hand held magazine prompts people to go online. I think in this time, print is not be dead, but when the new generation becomes the UK’s 9-5 workers i think print will become an extremely small proportion as the internet is more second nature. It’s where they go first. Especially as everybody is going eco friendly.
    If anybody has any information, statistics or opinions that could help me it would be greatly appreciated.

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