According to Wikipedia, Digital Magazines Do Not Exist
Isn't it time that we came together as an industry to create a positive sense of awareness for our industry?
Isn't it time that we came together as an industry to create a positive sense of awareness for our industry?
While conducting research for this column I came across some interesting, yet startling facts. First, the interesting: there has been quite a bit of buzz in the digital publishing arena recently:
According to the Mequoda Group, over 65 percent of all magazines have a digital version (get the free download here).
Yes, digital magazine awareness, readership, engagement, and even advertising is up.
Now the startling news. With over 13 years of history and growing, Wikipedia shows this entry when you search for digital magazine(s):
The page “Digital magazine” does not exist. You can ask for it to be created, but consider checking the search results below to see whether the topic is already covered.
How can this be? A few variations of digital magazine exist, including: digital edition, and even online edition, but neither captures the essence and volume of activity or realistic state of the digital publishing industry. None of the articles speak to the technology platforms that are growing as a result of offering such rich, engaging, and high-quality content. There are no mentions of how digital magazines are creating alterative ecosystems by supporting in-app/in-edit purchasing, or full-page advertisements. It seems crazy to me.
The past decade has shown a credible rise in consumer interest for reading and accessing content digitally. Higher engagement rates, increased time spent accessing each issue, interest in advertising, and more.
Isn’t it time that we came together as an industry to create a positive sense of awareness for our industry?
Here are three things that I think any professional in the digital publishing/digital magazine space can do to help elevate our stance:
If Wikipedia doesn’t recognize a set of words frequently discussed by two industries, how can we ever gain massive consumer adoption?
Contact me if you would like to discuss any of these ideas or add your own.
Image on home page via Shutterstock.