The other day I was surfing the net and came across a travel website where the format was to page your way through a mockup of a print magazine instead of clicking through hot links on a main page.
It certainly looked like a print publication with lots of pretty fonts, and huge gorgeous photos. But no trees were ever killed in its production.
The downside was clear, though. I couldn’t hold it in my hands, I had to peer at the screen to see the tiny print, and if I blew up the image enough to read it, I had to keep moving the mouse around the cyber page.
It was really annoying.
And the worst part was that there were no hot links. No links at all! Nothing to take you to the hotel website, places to read about an attraction. It was truly a dead publication.
So, why???
Money, and the chance to look pretty.
Advertisers don’t pay well for internet sites – in fact, the money made by publishers ranges from dreadful to supporting one or two people. It’s only the mega sites that can truly be said to be financially successful. Too many sites competing for advertising dollars, and no really good model for full-page ads.
Ah, yes. Full page ads, half-page ads. How do you do that on the internet? Through making it look like a print magazine. Now, advertisers know about that. And presumably they’ll pay for it. And, they have to pay for it month after month if they want that ad. They can get circulation data for the magazine – just like they’re used to getting.
And the magazines are seductive to publishers and advertisers.
But do readers like it? Or, does it destroy the interconnectivity that is the joy of the internet?
I hate it. And, I won’t read them. And, you will never find them on OffbeatTravel.com. We update our site several times a week to bring readers fresh information anytime they feel like reading.
Just try that with a fake dead trees format.
What do you think?
Tags: internet publications