Webzines

There is an article in the NYTimes on webzines, magazine type information for the web. The article says, “People still like flipping a page and experiencing great photographs on paper,” said Imran Amed, the publisher of The Business of Fashion, a Web news site. But a Webzine, he said, “can be much more dynamic, change its content faster, create dialogue with a bunch of people passionate about the same topic, and push the envelope in getting them to interact.”

The article goes on to site speed of access and a clubby feeling give Webzines an edge with readers whose need to track down the latest cult jean or downtown boîte borders on compulsion.

The challenge for a Web magazine is to find ways of reaching a target audience. "Most online publishers are self-styled cyberfrontiersmen, struggling to differentiate their sites from the wilderness of chatty blogs, columns and newsletters, few of which have a distinct identity," the article says.

As we move to providing more of our information in a converged format on the web, we also need to be able to differentiate our site from others. We need to pay attention to what Amed says...be dynamic, change content quickly, and dialogue and interact with our clients who are passionate about our information. We have great research-based information. We know our content is good and relevant. We need a distinct identity.