The Evolution of the Magazine
Laura Brunow Miner has some thoughts on magazine publishing:
Robin Sloan was kind enough to call Pictory, my recently launched project, the future of content. But I think what he really meant is that it’s the present. Sports Illustrated and BERG have put a lot of time and brainpower into creating really impressive examples of future possibilities, and rumor has it that Gannett spent a year with IDEO developing the experimental online magazine The Bold Italic.
I can confirm that that’s exactly what Gannett did with The Bold Italic (I know a few of the people who have been working on it first hand in the tower next next to us).
Meanwhile, I’ve been in my sweatpants next to the cat food bowl for the last eight months working on Pictory. They did massive user research studies to discover that online users are missing high design, large photos, and editorial polish on the web, and that people respond to personal, human stories. I thought about what people would care about seeing in an online photo magazine, and we ended up with some of the same conclusions.
And yet, I love Laura’s approach so much more. True, The Bold Italic has different aims and its own merits, but I like lingering over each of Pictory’s showcases to let the photos and stories sink in. I like that I can enjoy the content regardless of where I call home or what experiences I have. I like the thoughtful curation and blatant disregard to that certain absurd idea.
Really, I just want to watch Pictory do nothing but thrive.
