I might add a few personal observations on digital pubs:
1) I believe that top shelf content is really THE key to retaining readers in
digital media.
2) I believe use of digital media is generational -- no offense intended, but
the greater the age, the less likely digital media is used. But a lot depends
on having the right device. With the right device (usually a tablet), digita
media is more acceptable as the age rises. (next bullet)
3) I believe acceptance and use of digital media is based on having an easy to
access, comfortable to use (for each user) digital device. For example, digital
media was of little value to me personally (except for archiving) as long as I
had to read on a Windows PC. I consider (a very personal opinion IMHO) a
Windows PC to be a very inflexible reader for Digital media. Highly functional,
but not convenient. It's not easy to carry everywhere...and as a result I
rarely read digital media. But when I got my iPad 3 tablet, digital media came
alive for me. I always have my iPad 3 with me, and thus I always have all my
reading materials with me -- magazines, books, etc.
4) A great concern of mine for digital media is archiving. If the content is
important to me, do I trust the publisher to be available in 5 or 25 years
when I want to look up an article in a back issue? If not, then I prefer the
publisher to distribute pubs in PDF form, or some other form I can download to
my PC. Then it can go into my pesonal digital archive. Also recognize most
digital devices like tablets have limited storage. So likely a user would only
have the last 1-4 issues on hand. All the rest need to be either available for
instant access via the publisher's digital archive or mine.
5) I know that in the paper era I over-subscribed. Meaning a lot of pubs I
never read, or skimmed only occasionally. With digital media at least for me, I
have substantially reduced digital subscriptions to a small set of publications
that have I consider as having substantial amounts of great content (my
definition of great ay not be the same as yours). Not just acceptable content
-- but pubs where most of the content I consider above average. These days I've
reduced the list of pubs I read consistently.
6) Reading digital media for me is now convenient, but I skim less, looking for
more higher quality articles to spend my reading time. And for it to be
considered, digital media MUST be readable offline (without an internet
connection except to load). And preferably the latest issue pushed to my device
-- not that I have to remember to download. But even in these I don't read
always read the whole pub. But by having digital media, I can always read it
when it is of interest. I will say that most of my reading has moved to the
digital device -- why? it's very simple. It always with me. Paper media I have
to go and find, remember to take with me, etc. Here's a sample
Read in digital media:
Paid subscriptions:
Boston Globe (daily)
Model Trains - 2 mags (RMC, 1:64MG)
1 current weekly news magazine
1 photography mag
1 home theater mag
Consumer Reports
Free subscriptions
Model Railroad Hobbyist
PRR Keystone Modeler
A few top shelf club newsletters (e.g., Pioneer Valley S
Gaugers News)
1 Current events weekly mag
S Scale SIG journal
Read in Paper Media
Model Railroad News (I will soon switch to reading in digital media
form)
Read in Paper Media (much less frequently, would prefer digital media):
NASG Dispatch
S Gaugian
FWIW, one person's opinion.
Michael Greene
PS I was able to fund my iPad 3 purchase, simply based on home delivery costs
for the Boston Globe alone. Simply changing from daily delivery in paper form
to Sunday in paper form and all other days in electronic form, saved me more in
one year that the price of the iPad.
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 21, 2013, at 11:16 AM, [email protected] wrote:
>
>
> My problem with the online version is that therre are just too many online
> sources for me to keep up with. Too many yahoo, Facebook, and website
> sources. I do not have time to keep up with all of them.
>
> I agree that the publications I received were extremely well done.
>
> - Earl Henry, Nashville
>
> In a message dated 3/21/2013 10:10:12 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
> [email protected] writes:
> Hi,
>
> My thoughts and feelings .......
>
>
> I believe that it was just a loss of interest in the Modeling Guide.
>
> While the previous owner really did it in, it had it failings long before
> that when two excellent S scale people tried to make it successful.
>
> Bob (Nalbone) did an excellent job on publishing his version of the Modeling
> Guide.
>
> It was very professional in every way, the S scale gang didn't pick up on it
> and the advertisers just were not interested.
>
> Then when Bob went over to digital it was the end.
>
> For some reason when publications go from hard copy to digital they
> eventually die.
>
>
> Our LVSG ROUNDTABLE died because we went to digital under Stan Furmanak.
>
> Before the switch, when I published the hard copy of ROUNDTABLE, we mailed
> out sixty five 10 page quarterly issues and could have done more.
>
>
> Our main central Pennsylvania newspaper THE PATRIOT NEWS just went to three
> issues a week and also went digital.
>
> It'll be interesting to see how the advertisers look at the paper down the
> road.
>
>
> Yes, it is hard to understand, perhaps we just don't look at our computers as
> much as others think we do?
>
>
> "S"incerely,
>
> Bill (Fraley)
>
>
>
>
