This is my web2.0 analysis for my online magazines course. I’ve reviewed the websites of three magazines.
From a user’s perspective, the Walrus website is easy to navigate and offers a number of web2.0 features. These include access for linking to RSS feeds, which allow users to subscribe for e-mail updates of any or all of the following web content: feature articles, blogs, discussion threads, news and events, and podcasts. This is valuable to users because it saves them the step of seeking out the information of particular interest to them; they are automatically informed as new content is posted. It’s also helpful that users have the choice to specify what type of content they wish to receive (i.e. the service creates a customizable experience for each user). And the RSS icon itself is easily identifiable–appearing on the toolbar at the top of each page, as well as at the top of each story/blog (under the head and byline). Also appearing at the top of each story are options for bookmarking (for future reference) and/or sharing the content. For example, users may bookmark articles/blogs/podcasts to their Delicious, post them to their Facebook profile and/or e-mail the link (along with a message) to a friend. The site offers a wide variety of social media options, making it convenient for web users, each of whom may have different preferences. Other web2.0 features include blogs, podcasts, and comment boxes (which are located at the bottom of each story/blog). Walrus readers look to the magazine to provide insightful commentary, so the blogs (which are written by a number of different writers, each with a different area of interest) are a value-added service, acting as supplemental content to the magazine’s feature stories. The podcasts perform a similar function–delivering extra content in the form of interviews, readings, and radio spots–but are particularly useful in that they add an audio option. Web users can listen to audio files while they are occupied with other things (e.g. making breakfast, folding laundry). And, of course, the option to comment upon articles and blogs is a key component to making the user’s experience a participatory one. Readers can voice their own opinions, engaging the magazine (and other readers) in conversation. That the Walrus features provocative content means that it will usually elicit responses, so it is important to have this type of forum.
For the publisher, having a site that offers additional content not found in the print version of the magazine (blogs, podcasts) is important because it builds the profile of the magazine, and can draw more readers (and, possibly, subscribers). The RSS feeds are particularly valuable because, once a user subscribes to them, the site is no longer sitting passively, waiting for its readers. Rather, it becomes more of a living entity–one that reaches out to its reader. For editors, having the comments feature is important because it serves as a direct link to the reader. Editors can monitor responses to stories (and non-responses), and thus gauge what type of content generates buzz/interest and what type leaves the reader cold. For marketers, of course, the entire site functions as a great marketing tool, since much of the content serves as a supplement to the print magazine. The bookmarking/sharing tools, in particular, are useful from a marketing perspective because the reader/user–through the act of posting a link to a Walrus blog on their Facebook or MySpace page, for others to see–becomes the promoter of the magazine. For advertisers, web2.0 tools allow them to have dynamic–rather than static–ads, which link to their own respective websites. If a user clicks their ad on the Walrus site, they will click through to the advertiser’s site.
Users of the Chatelaine website have a number of web2.0 features at their fingertips. These include bookmarking/sharing tools (included at the bottom of each article); six blogs (about topics such as cooking and healthy living); instructional videos; live streaming music; reader forums and photo galleries; RSS feeds; interactive tools (such as digital scrapbooking tools and money-management calculators); contests and quizzes; and a personal recipe box (for registered users). As this is a women’s lifestyle magazine, it seems appropriate that much of the functionality is designed to enhance the quality of the user’s life. For example, having a blog devoted to one woman’s battle with breast cancer is educational for women in general, but may be of special benefit to readers struggling through similar circumstances–people like to be able to relate to personal stories. Many readers of the magazine are busy moms, so features such as instructional videos (e.g. “how to make omelettes” or “how to cut down on your grocery bill”), money management calculators, and a recipe box, are valuable because they help simplify and/or organize daily tasks. Such readers–particularly mothers with young children–may also appreciate the scrapbooking tools, which enable them to create personal mementoes using photos, text, video, and music. Of key importance is the emphasis on user participation and creating an open, shared environment: the wide range of reader forums encourages readers to exchange recipes, ask questions, and discuss topics ranging from “home and garden” to “sex and relationships”; the regular reader quizzes and contests are fun diversions; the galleries allow readers to upload their personal photos; and the bookmarking/sharing tools mean that the user can take any information of interest and post it to the social networking site of their choosing. It’s also a boon to the reader to have customizable elements such as the live streaming music, which allows them to choose–according to personal taste–from a variety of musical genres.
For the publisher, the website’s plethora of web2.0 tools is valuable, chiefly because they have the potential to keep the user occupied. If users are busy creating scrapbooks, filing recipes, and engaging in discussion forums, then visiting the site may become habitual, and they may, in turn, feel a certain brand loyalty to Chatelaine. For editors, the reader forums and quizzes are key. Knowing what the readers are talking about, and what’s important to them, makes it easier to develop appropriate editorial content for future magazine issues. From a marketing perspective, the contests are a great way to invite participation among readers, generate excitement, and partner up with advertising sponsors. The site is particularly useful for advertisers: ads not only link to advertiser sites, but many of them are interactive, as well. Advertisers may also wish to sponsor one of Chatelaine’s contest promotions, since contests–which blend in with the editorial content–are a great way to reach readers in an unobtrusive way.
Much like Chatelaine, Style at Home offers its readers a variety of web2.0 tools through its website. These include bookmarking/sharing tools (located adjacent to each article/blog); RSS feeds (links to which appear at the top and bottom of each page); seven blogs on various home and garden-related topics; reader forums; comments boxes (beneath each article/blog); polls, quizzes, and contests; and, for registered users, the ability to “clip” and save articles of interest to their own personal profile on the site. Through this profile, registered users can also access past e-newsletters; keep track of polls, quizzes, and discussions in which they’ve participated; and manage their subscription(s) to Style at Home and its sister publications. These profile features–in particular, the “clipping” tool–are of great value to the user, because they allow the user to customize/personalize their web experience (taking from the site only what they find useful) and keep it organized as well. (Organization is likely of great importance to Style at Home readers.) Because the reader’s online life is not limited to the Style at Home website, though, it’s just as important (perhaps moreso) that the site offers a wide range of bookmarking/sharing options. While the website’s profile tools are handy, many users may prefer to bookmark articles/blogs of interest to their Delicious or Google Bookmarks, so that they may keep everything (from various online sources) together, in one place. In terms of participation and interactivity, the comments boxes offer readers the opportunity to give input on editorial content (or, at least, feel like they are involved in that process); the forums allow readers to exchange recipes, decorating tips, and home renovation experiences; and quizzes serve as fun ways for users to learn more about themselves and their personal style (e.g. “How eco-chic are you?”).
For the publisher, the online profile tools are particularly valuable: because they simplify the subscription management process, and consolidate the publisher’s four home and garden magazines into one interface, there is an increased chance that readers may subscribe to one or more magazine titles (and/or buy gift subscriptions for friends). As well, the option for readers to subscribe to RSS feeds means that the publisher can monitor which magazines and blogs are most popular/successful. For editors, discussion forums may allow them to identify emerging trends, while reader comments offer all-important insight into the reader’s receptivity to their editorial content. Useful for marketers are the cross-promotional ads they can run to and from the websites of their sister publications, the bookmarking/sharing options (which carry the magazine’s name and content beyond the limits of it’s own website, and before the eyes of potential new readers), and the online contests (such as “Home Makeover” contests, which invite reader participation). As with Chatelaine, Style at Home uses web2.0 tools to feature interactive ads. For example, an Ikea mattress ad invites readers to select a character–rock, angel, bear, log or baby–that they would sleep like (on a new mattress), and then a costumed man acts out the process of the character doing just that. The ad is entertaining and memorable, but would not be possible without the help of web2.0 technology. It would be important to major advertisers such as Ikea that the site on which they advertise is sophisticated enough to show an interactive ad.
Filed under: Review Tagged: | Chatelaine, Magazines, marketing, Style at Home, Walrus, web2.0
