Issuu and Online Magazines

Magazines are expensive and take up space. Though the aesthetics of a coffee table piled high with intriguing mags is unbeatable. What to do?

Issuu seems to think the next step is online magazine publication. But after perusing the site I feel they are too far off base. It is nice to have so many publications at your fingertips with high resolution photos and nice page turning graphics, but do these traditional forms of print have any reason to be on the web?

I immediately felt that looking at magazines in my web browser was awkward. Not only do I hate reading from a computer screen, but the intricate lay outs caused me to have to zoom in and get lost with copious scrolling. It just wasn't as satisfying as actually holding a magazine.

It seems to me that if you want an online publication, there are more aesthetically pleasing ways of doing so on the web. Blogs are quite prevalent, and online comics have begun to develop standards of their own. If you want a publication, you can have one, but do it right. If you want to publish a magazine, stick to it's strongest point and keep it physical. I want to hold "Stop Smiling" in my hand, not in my note book.