Glossy, alluring, smooth. The bright pictures and ridiculous promises jump out from grocery shelves, newspaper stands, doctor's office waiting rooms and even toilet-side magazine racks. Magazines are a very tactile and sensory experience. The pictures pop, the pages are full of interesting and eye-catching articles and advertisements, and I, as a consumer, enjoy holding the product and turning the pages. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but it makes me feel like I actually bought something.
For these reasons, I think electronic technology will not have a great impact on the magazine industry.
Both e-books and magazines online have not worked very well. Reading on a computer hurts the eyes and readers enjoy the tactile experience explained above. Subscription and payment issues are also a real problem. However, I think there IS a future for trade magazines--those that are for very specific industries and professions--online. If the consumers of these magazines are only subscribing for the information therein, and if there is not as much enjoyment in the ownership, feel, etc., then I think that selling these magazines online would not affect sales negatively. College students do not complain about having articles from which they can research online instead of only available at a library.
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