Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Four Magazines and Their Online Counterparts

While contemplating how to approach the issue of print versus online media I thought, what better way to analyze the differences between the two then to compare a publication to its own online counterpart. For this purpose I have selected TIME, Entrepreneur, People, and Wired magazines to compare and contrast. I chose to use a variety of different types of publications in hopes of gaining the most accurate perspective possible.

TIME

An American weekly publication that caters to news junkies on the go, stories are detailed and concise, often focusing on politics and other stories of great national and international interest, advertising is abundant yet nonintrusive, and by the types of advertisers I assume the average TIME reader is of a higher socioeconomic status than the average American citizen. Some of these advertisers are Cartier, Garmin, BP, Bose, RosettaStone, and Ameriprise.

TIME.com

TIME magazine’s online counterpart is TIME.com, due to the nature of the beast the online edition is a daily instead of a weekly and also covers a broader scope of material in greater detail. I would attribute this difference to a lower cost of production. Much to my surprise, the layout of TIME.com is very inconsistent from one page to the next making it more challenging for readers to navigate and become comfortable with the site. I personally prefer the print version of this publication due to the mediocre layout of the online version.

People

A celebrity news magazine crammed full of middle of the road advertising such as Cover girl, TNT, JC Penney, L’OREAL, AVON, Clinique, and Tide to name a few. This publication seems to be equal parts advertising and content. It is obvious that the magazine’s target audience is primarily women, with a middle to lower end income, and make household purchasing decisions. Most of the magazine’s content is straightforward and speculative, keeping readers abreast of celebrity news. Though, a small percentage of its content is speculative and would fall into the category of gossip.

People.com

People magazine’s online counterpart People.com is very much in sync with the publication, the website is loud, noisy, and full of intrusive advertizing. When moving from page to page the layout is at times inconsistent, not lending itself to the reader. The content of the website seems to be more speculative then the publication, carrying more “gossip” and timely celebrity news. I will never type people.com into my browser again; the online version gave me a headache.

Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur magazine has a great shelf presence with a thicker paper and a glossy finish, I feel as if I am consuming a higher end product just by touching the physical magazine. The content is specific to its viewership, featuring individuals pursuing new and innovative business ventures, and the story length is a bit lengthier then the previous two examples. Advertizing is abundant, yet tasteful; most have heavier copy and focus on very important business decisions.

Entrepreneur.com

I must admit that I prefer the online counterpart of Entrepreneur, it’s clean, minimal advertising, a synch to navigate, and offers an extraordinary amount of information that its print publication does not. I would recommend this site to anyone whose looking for popular business related articles. I feel as if I’ve lost nothing and gained a lot by switching to the online version.

WIRED

WIRED is a fun, contemporary, technology publication that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Though WIRED has a healthy helping of advertising it is often humorous and lends value to the publication (which I find to be a rare occurrence). Content is “of the times” focusing on emerging technology and trends, often incorporating interesting perspectives and humor.

WIRED.com

WIRED.com is an even better version of its print self. Content is updated daily, consistently providing cutting edge stories that are both informative and entertaining (if you’re into learning). WIRED.com has perfected the use of whitespace in its layout by creating an easy to navigate website with minimal advertising and seamless flow. I feel as if I’ve lost nothing by ditching the print version for the online version.

-Shawn

7 comments:

Mary McClain said...

I coulnd't agree with this post more; with the exception of the online version of Time, the articles accessible online by Wired, Entrepreneur, and People are much more entertaining and fun than reading the paper version. The colors and layour of each magazine online further increases my reason for selecting the online versions as opposed to the paper versions!

Mary

Ashley Hardin said...

IN regards to your comparison of the TIME print version versus the online version, I woul have to agree with your comment. The online version is more difficult to navigate than most online versions of magazines and the layout is not very user-friendly. I would much rather spend the money to buy the print version on TIME than navigate the magazine online.

Ashley

Van said...

I believe that one reason most of the online magazines are easier to use and more attractive to users is because of the fast-paced world we are living in. Magazine companies are meeting this demand by improving their online websites. Also, why spend money when you can obtain the same information, typically in more user-friendly styles, while simultaneously not having to spend a penny? My choice is online magazines--Time, People, etc.

Leroy79 said...

I would rather have the physical magazine to look through. Unless it was streaming quotes from the stock market for my trading account, then I would want it online.

Alex G said...

While I agree that the online versions tend to have less advertising and a better layout, I travel a lot. Therefore, I typically choose the print version when viewing magazines. It is too much trouble to take my heavy lap top everywhere I go, so I plan on using the print versions.

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The CEO Views said...

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