Magazines vs. The Web @ [H] Consumer

J

Jason_Wall

[H] Consumer Managing Editor
Joined
Jul 22, 2005
Messages
2,138
We get a unique perspective from Josh Norem, who spent five years "behind enemy lines," as it were, at Maximum PC. Now that he's seen both sides of the tech industry, he's sharing some thoughts on why he thinks the magazine world might just go the way of the dodo - and in the not too distant future, either.

There is definitely a level of pride and craftsmanship (not to mention time and money) that goes into every page of every magazine issue. But will nice photos, a good presentation, and great writing be enough to save the magazines in the long run? For the sake of my former colleagues, and friends, in the magazine business, I hope so. But a more sober assessment would be that tech magazines aren’t long for this world, and simply cannot compete with their online contemporaries.
Click to expand...

Thanks for reading!

Please support [H] Consumer and DIGG this article.
 
I liked the article, however, it didn't touch on the one real thing the magazine still has over the web article, in my opinion. Which is the easy of reading and mobility.

Computers are getting smaller and hotspots more common than ever, but it's still much easier to sit down and read a magazine while on a bus or on a train than pull out your computer and read an article that you probably would have had to saved beforehand for reading later. It might sound kind of old fashioned, but I feel that that ability still has an appeal to many people.

Myself, I love reading and I love writing. I don't mind a twelve or page review of something if it's interesting and touches on things I care about (though, particularly on games sites, I've read some just horribly written articles, that seemed to have no editing or even a cohesive structure). I do like the polish and the brevity of some magazine articles, but I prefer just more information. So the Web is my preferred source of information.
 
Only once I've bought a hardware mag, "CPU" or whatever. To my disgust, it had glossy centrefolds of Anand, Bennett and other community celebrities that really turned me off (well, it was actually columns with large pics). Interestingly, the attitude towards hw websites reflected in the mag was kind of condescending, as if the content of the sites was below magazine standards... I don't know, cause I've only read the mentioned copy and was not impressed.
 
i was expecting another pointless article like the mac one - thanks for surprising me with a good write up! interesting read as usual;)
 
I go way back to the Jon Phillips day with Maximim PC subscriptions (it's best days as far as i'm concerned) but stopped subscribing not too long ago when the 1 to1 ads -- of which no less than 15-18 pages were usually plastered right in the middle of the magazines. It was a maximum (pun intended) degree of eyesoreness for sure. MaxPc could go all-web (save a quarterly magazine) with recaps of the best of the 3 months worth of ideas, or bi-yearly, but build and maintain a high profile tech site where enthusiasts can gather and share and MaxPc can get articles out quicker and with more word wrappings and other sundry articles that they couldn't previously fit in the mag. That's what it's really about imo, and quite frankly -- reliable or not (web tech sites) that's probably where many magazine staffers go at times for advanced information (and still do).
 
I'm with zone_86 on this one. I am also a long-time Maximum PC subscriber, having received my first issue when the magazine was still named "Boot". It was always a highly-entertaining read, and still is in all honesty. I read [H] everyday, and usually Anandtech, Tom's Hardware, etc., but my issue of Maximum PC is still a highlight of my month.

However, recently, they've been running HUGE ads. It started with a "Mobile Gaming" spread that in reality was nothing but a huge cell phone commercial. That was a pretty big turnoff, then it slowed down a bit and everything was well. Most recently, they've done it again with huge spreads for 1&1 web hosting, which IMHO has no place in a magazine centered on PC enthusiasts. PC World, sure, but most PC enthusiasts aren't going to be looking for a business-oriented web host. Pages and pages of "real life testimonials" are not why I subscribe to the mag and I certainly don't enjoy ads like that when they split a feature article of the mag right down the middle like the 1&1 ads have.

I always have and probably always will enjoy the editorial content of Maximum PC, but the ads might just kill it for me.
 
Nice read and right to the point.
Mags still have that portability that was discussed earlier and are great for the airport or some other long trip. The information unfortunately is usually dated as was discussed in the article.
Today, speed seems to be the thing, and correctly put......free wins out every time.
Web reports are usually very well detailed, which is a big plus for me and with the click of a button I can get several opinions, not just one.
 
are people just realizing this now?? I've given up on print magazine's YEARS ago.... mobility?? Do what I do.... print it out, read it later! :D
 
There's just something about reading from a physical book or magazine that technology will never be able to touch.

Plus, who the heck wants to drag their laptop into the can!

S&M
 
price...?

$5 for a mag, or free web sources, where people can interact live about the topic..... and editors / publishers can contribute more to the topic after the fact.

Magazine? sorry got to wait to next month to do a renag or have a slight editorial on last months topic after many emails and letters are sent in.

it just cant compete
 
There's still a place in my heart of Maximum PC... I mean, their opinion has to count when they give the KickAss award. But the problem is, once college started and I had tuition to worry about, leafing through it quickly at the news stand became my only connection to the hardware world - until I realized that [H] kicked more ass than any piece of hardware Maximum PC ever reviewed... I do still check their website every once in a while, though. I'd love to see them go fully web based. More information is always a good thing.
 
RCGodward said:
There's still a place in my heart of Maximum PC... I mean, their opinion has to count when they give the KickAss award. But the problem is, once college started and I had tuition to worry about, leafing through it quickly at the news stand became my only connection to the hardware world - until I realized that [H] kicked more ass than any piece of hardware Maximum PC ever reviewed... I do still check their website every once in a while, though. I'd love to see them go fully web based. More information is always a good thing.
Click to expand...

Hey man, me too. They are a magazine though, and they literally have ZERO resources to devote to their website. And it shows, as it's only updated every few weeks and the content is often quite old. For example, check out "in this month's issue" They post reviews whenever the guy (mike b) can get around to it, but they are busy with the magazine.
 
Magazines just don't have the up to date information that the Web has,and too many cater to advertisers.I feel I can get more unbiased reviews on products here.I think the print media in general just can't compete with the immediacy of the Web.
 
i love getting techie news off of sites like [H] as much as the next guy but i still subscribe to max pc and some gaming mags because i can read them on so many places that i dont have internet accessability like in my car when im parked somewhere, my toilet, my bed, any place where you have to wait for a long ass time like getting your car serviced, etc. Plus I don't always have the time to scour the net for the best reviews and articles so the mags are a good way to get them all in one place. And finally as much as I would love to buy the hottest newest most expensive hardware, I can not afford to, so I have to hang back at least 1 generation in hardware tech anyway so a 1 month delay in a review of the latest hardware means nothing to me since im not buying the brand new stuff anyway, but at least ill know about it for the future! in the end, both online and paper mags have their pros and cons, and ill use both accordingly. And honestly, If i have access to a pc and im home, 95% of the time i'd want to be gaming instead of reading boring tech. reviews and articles :p
 
Ever since I read the first of the System Reviews here on HardOCP, I canceled my subscription to MaxPC. The only thing that was MILDLY interesting about that rag was their willingness to toss money and buy an Alienware system and tell me how fast it was. As I eventually learned, however, a fast PC is easy. Stupidly, stupidly easy. The fact that MaxPC never even TOUCHES the support line, tells how they ordered it, or anything besides "lol it has a Pentium ^_^" quickly got old.

The only "pro" the magazines will have, as mentioned before, is the ability to take them to the bathroom. And the fact I can use a copy of Maximum PC as toilet paper, if I run out Charmin. That's one thing Bennett can't do yet.
 
I have had a MaxPC subscription for a couple of years and I love the mag! $12/year is not bad at all. The magazine has reviews for hardware that I had not seen reviewed on-line yet.

I read both [H]ardocp and MaxPC and find both very enjoyable. There is something special about reading MaxPC, I enjoy it and will continue to do so for many years to come.

With that said, magazines are not what they used to be obviously. I remember the days of waiting so anxiously for my PC Gamer to come in the mail :cool: However, places like [H]ardocp have definitely changed that.
 
Moose&Squirrel said:
There's just something about reading from a physical book or magazine that technology will never be able to touch.

Plus, who the heck wants to drag their laptop into the can!

S&M
Click to expand...

I'm with you on that.... I don't have a PC in my bathroom.

Also, to whoever said Magazines are expensive... not so if you look for deals. I have paid $7 for a year's subscription; I have also got freebies.

The worst thing about Mags vs the Web is the information time delay- that can be a bummer.
 
Articles are only as good as the people writing them, either in print or web. People are going to find a source they trust and go with it.

Good article BTW :D
 
The only thing mags and new papers are good for is reading something while on the crapper.

Now mags could compete with online if products like the sony e-book reading were cheap and could do color. The mag/news paper could then publish their stuff in pdf, and you could take it with you.
 
I've subscribed to MaximimPC since it became maxpc. Sure, they don't have the article out quite as fast as the websites, but it's not too far behind considering the lag they have to deal with.

I'll be keeping my sub as long as the mag is in business. I don't have a monitor in my bathroom as much as MS might want me to and I find the articles interesting and well written. The range of topics they cover exceeds that of any single website.

I too don't care for those huge multipage ads but I don't mind them if it is the reason I can have a 1 year sub for just $12.

Another reason I want the mags to live on - I keep a folder that I put articles I find useful into for future reference. I was keeping entire magazines, but the pile started getting too big.

Long Live MaxPC!

p.s. I think it's great Josh has come to the [H]!
 
I come to [H] often now and I love the reviews, but if it weren't for CPU magazine, I don't think I would come here that often. I love the reviews in CPU, and they used to (maybe they still do) have a column a month written by Kyle. That's what brought me here. Also in defense of CPU, their website is pretty good and has more in depth reports and charts that they couldn't print in the magazine. Anyway, I'm sticking with CPU, and I'm sticking with [H]!
 
QwertyJuan said:
are people just realizing this now?? I've given up on print magazine's YEARS ago.... mobility?? Do what I do.... print it out, read it later! :D
Click to expand...

QFT! I just wish the magazines would bomb faster. What a waste of paper.
 
I never read Boot/MaxPC regularly, but I used to have subscriptions to Computer Shopper (back when it was bigger than some of my textbooks), PC Mag, and my favorite, PC Gamer. All of those pubs are shadows of their former selves (do they even print Computer Shopper anymore?). I remember when seemingly each issue of PC Gamer proudly proclaimed itself "OUR BIGGEST ISSUE EVER!!!"

I got a free subscription to PC Mag a while back because I forgot to uncheck a box when I placed an order at Newegg. Pathetic. The are covering cars ferchrissakes. I am exactly as interested in PC Mag's opinion of a car as I am Car and Driver's opinion of a computer. In accompaniment to their increased scope (cars and TVs too!), the magazine shrank dramatically. Back in the day each issue was at least 1/2" thick. Now they are lucky to break 1/4" and half of it is, of course, ads. Then at the end of each article, page, letter, etc is a reminder to check out the REAL piece online at pcmag.com. Why don't they just send out postcards every couple weeks that say "Visit pcmag.com!!!"? I do have to give PC Mag credit for having a decent website, though. The content is useful and though they really don't print much on paper anymore, they do get points for having more online than in print.

I wish it were so with PC Gamer. They, too, have shrunk incredibly since their heyday, but there has been no compensation with online content. When the magazine was great, the website was actually useful, too, with a big database of the reviews that had been in the magazine. Then they tried that dailyradar.com crap (I don't think the online review database has been updated since then). That flopped (as it should have), so they went even further downhill with gamesradar. Maybe Bint (it would be hilarious if he were British) needs a clueradar.com. At least the quality of their print material has remained consistent.

The magazine industry is miles ahead of the record labels, though, for realizing they need to adapt to new distribution methods, rather than trying to legislate profits for outdated business models.
 
I find these days that my tech magz end up in the recycle bin more and more.
I would say 100% of my reading resources currently are web based.
If you don't know how to find the data you want then your truely not ready for a full content life.


It's all about advertising dollars to reach your site:
Traffic = Cash
Consistant traffic, years of evidence, and maybe a dominance thing here and there = More cash.

HardOCP with it's years of traffic and a few dominace things here and there and a living viewing community has to make a pretty penny.

If you tie in Google Ad words and other advertising money tie ins you could easily be making millions a year. Of course it all depends on how you want do things. Credibility is always the hardest to own and recieve. I think HardOCP does well in this category. Although, an opinion is always an opinion and facts are facts.
 
Magazines may have had their day, but the way of the [H] is better.

I started reading PCGamer off the shelves at Borders in 1998 and that helped me start building my own computers. Soon after I started reading [H] and I got subs to PCGamer and over a period of 3 years the magazine got smaller, the articles shorter, and the ads more numerous, while the articles at [H] just got better and better. I compared a PCGamer from 2006, the so called BIG issue, to my normal issue from 2000, and I found the normal issue was 1/3 larger and had less ads.

I have only gotten my news from online for a long time now and I will not change anytime soon. Great article, and keep up the good work.
 
IMO the web side is both really good and can be bad too. For every 3/4th of great info there's about 1/4 of non-accurate bad info -- you just have to sift through the turds to get to the good stuff sometimes. While many times the 'turds' remain on the the tech websites (moderation depending), mags have the benefit of being able to sit back and editorialize and filter out any crap (usually). But [H] does it better than anyone else that I could find. [H] also has the most interesting articles as well in my opinion (mag or web).
 
i've been reading maximum pc since it was Boot. in fact, i still have the very first issue of Boot and the "Boot Disc" that came with it.

you'll have to pry my print magazines from my cold, dead hands. i, for one, will never take a computer with me to the shitter. paper only please, no plastic.

but yeah, print in the form that we currently know it is dying, but i don't think it will ever go completely away.
 
jstnomega said:
With the departure of Alex St. John, boot magazine was never the same.
Click to expand...

For me it was when Andrew Sanchez passed away in 1999. His reviews were excellent and he told it like it was with no BS. I quit subscribing not long after that.

Josh, did you ever meet Andrew Sanchez?
 
dark_reign said:
Josh, did you ever meet Andrew Sanchez?
Click to expand...


No, I actually got my first job at Maximum PC because of his death and the open position it had created. I came to work there right after that.

I was shocked and very surprised that someone so young could just go home sick one day and never come back. Everyone at the magazine was very sad.

They still have a picture of him up on the lab wall, and Gordon still uses "andrew's screwdriver."
 
I don't see print mags as dying anytime soon. The printed word will have its place for a very long time yet. However, the current business model just isn't going to cut it depending on what they are trying to cover. With the advent and subsequent popularity of internet hardware review sites, print mags will never be able to match this. They can't get the information out there in a timely fashion in comparison and that is the downfall.

I'm not saying they can't still do something with the print mags. Something just needs to be devised and used. I don't have the answers for it, otherwise I'd probably be a rich man. I think it will take a good web presence of some kind along with the print mag. Interactivity is key right now. The print mags need to find a way to add this and that is where the internet comes in of course.

I don't see the internet and hardware (or software) review sites as the death of print mags. I do see it as the death of the current iteration of print mags. They must change to survive. Some of them will change and fail while others will change and be successful.
 
I enjoyed MaxPC a great deal when I had it. And now I finally know why Josh Norem's name sounds familiar! I think the advantage of print is the variety and quantity you can get with a good mag. Sure it only comes once a month, but there were several hardware reviews, some tech how-tos, game reviews, the Watchdog...

The Web is more up-to-date but if you look at the actual article output per month on a given site, not just news bits or links to other sites' articles, the sheer amount (of articles, not pages per article of course) actually tips toward the print mag's favor--not to mention you get it all in one big hit that you can lose yourself in for hours, not just trickles. So there are pluses.

But I like good content wherever I find it, hence why I'm here at the [H].
 
My lovely wife got me a sub to CPU last summer for 2 years,but [H] is my main source for tech news,etc... Speaking of CPU,what happened to Kyles articles ? Does he not write for them anymore ? :confused: I agree of course that print will never be able to compete with the net pubs like [H]...
 
Manny Calavera said:
My lovely wife got me a sub to CPU last summer for 2 years,but [H] is my main source for tech news,etc... Speaking of CPU,what happened to Kyles articles ? Does he not write for them anymore ? :confused: I agree of course that print will never be able to compete with the net pubs like [H]...
Click to expand...


Nope, I quit. They did not like what I had to say on some topics and wanted to edit my articles so I quit.
 
Ha, that explains it. Didn't they like your series on how hardware reviews based on benchmarks suck?
 
I have been, and probably still will be for awhile, a long time reader of Maximum PC. That said, it's not really where I go for information on hardware. That's not to say that the articles aren't great, but by the time they're out, I already know what I want to about the hardware.

On another note, Josh, I can't tell you how glad I am to see you at HardOCP. I've been reading your stuff for a long time, and I've always enjoyed your writing style. I thought your comments on Vista were dead on; and I can't wait to see your future work here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top