Monday, November 19, 2012

How the Magazine Industry Went Digital



In my COM 400 class, my group presented on the topic of how social media modified the magazine industry. Prior to this decade’s enormous social media boom, readership for magazines was simple. It involved paying for a subscription and getting a print copy of the niche literature to your home or office. This was the extent of interaction between the magazine and the reader. With only a goal of boosting readership, there was no need for two-way communication of open discussion between the two parties. That is, until social media completely changed the playing field.


We live in an entirely altered universe where reading a print copy of a magazine is not only becoming an ancient form of readership, but it is one of multiple options for the subscriber. Magazine applications on smart phones and iPads are becoming an easier way to get your subscription to you. But most importantly, social media has opened the door for a wholeheartedly new engagement between the publication and reader. The options for communication are endless: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Augmented Reality, Tumblr are just a popular few. 

           Our group began researching the usage and effects of social media on the industry. With the help of Twitter, Google + and LinkedIn, we coordinate a schedule to finalize a perfect presentation. PearlTrees and Google Hangout were amazing supporters for furthering our communication and research. Twitter proved to be a viable source for contacting professionals in the magazine industry. We conducted interviews via social media outlets that would help give us a strong backbone for our arguments.

           During the presentation, social media showed its particular strength when our entire class tweeted/Facebook posted/Google Plus'ed up a storm along with our hashtag #socialmags. When we handed out iPads to our fellow peers, they first hand experienced augmented reality and online publication’s connection to Pinterest and other online blogs and Facebook pages. Magazines even tweeted back at individuals in our class by the end of the presentation!

            Once we concluded our presentation, we were able to track how many people around the world were paying attention to our presentation notes. Slideshare allowed us to publish our final product online as well.

            This group project not only taught me how social media affects the magazine industry, but how you can take a boring presentation to a whole new collaborative level. Being able to share our thoughts with not only our class, but also the entire world, proved to be an amazing experience. This class will forever change the way I disseminate Powerpoints and information in formal educational/business settings.

Check out the final hashtracking report here.

Also, take a look at my Storify of the presentation to see live story tweeting during the event:






Check out the actual presentation, thanks to SlideShare!


Check out my PearlTrees!