Monday 15 December 2008

What’s in an mZine?


Publishers have been engaged in a commercial arms race since Caxton first hawked chivalric romances to the nobility of C15 England. Our recent past is more obscure. Who was the first online publisher is a debatable question. My favourite candidate is the magnificently named ezine ‘The Cult of the Dead Cow’ popular in the hacker community of the ‘80’s.

The publisher of ‘Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye’ would find modern online publications remarkably similar to their print forbears. Video and hyperlink aside the home page serves the same function as a magazine cover – promoting brand and articles within.

Sadly the print metaphor does not extend to mobile. MZines are developed for browsing but they lack the space to display content. The ease with which titles could be launched on DOCOMO’s i-mode platform further delayed the emergence of a truly native format.

Apple’s iPhone allows users to download apps which separate presentation and content layers creating a much richer mobile experience. Through products such as Stanza iPhone has become the world’s most popular eBook reader. However iPhone comprise a small fraction of the total mobile audience, insufficient in numbers to attract modern publishers.

I believe Google’s mobile search has enabled publishers to develop the first authentic mZines which exploit the capabilities of mobile devices. mZines will resemble pamphlets, small collections of related articles, which are found through searching the phones deck. Publishers who optimize their content for mobile search will see increased visitor traffic and a greater return for advertisers.

Where might this lead?

Web 3.0 is also the best model for mobile devices. Ultimately publishers will develop mZine channels, Apps for non Apple devices, which will allow users to browse content by theme. Individual titles will comprise commissioned content which is personalized by location or interest.