A Magazine For The Future
Is print dead, who cares about fashion and other questions answered
Context
In the past 24 hours, I’ve scrambled to export my writing onto a different platform (sorry, Medium!), beat myself up for being horrible at web design (or any design, for that matter), and ultimately decided that Medium is still the best platform for me (now) to seamlessly share ideas (for free) and explore new ways of storytelling without distracting (or if left in my hands, disturbing) interface.
Conversations
As of late, I’ve become more comfortable sharing with media and entrepreneur friends my intentions of starting a media company in coming years. All have been supportive, telling too of their careers and suggesting ideas that could help me succeed.
Some have also asked my opinions of the state of magazines in 2020 (in days it will be). Here’s my reply:
Digital Magazines Need An Asskicking
Editors and writers should not be proud today if their magazine’s social media traction is disproportionately higher than their domain websites. Unfortunately, that seems to be mostly the case for most titles. Just think back to the last time you scrolled through Hypebeast’s Instagram page, and then the last time you read an article on their website.
Songs have shortened to maximise loops on Spotify for monetisation while TV shows have done away with timed cliffhangers as they do not need to accommodate commercial breaks on Netflix. But digital magazines are still growing painfully; nobody wants to read a 3000 op-ed on a #triggering social issue by a nobody writer.
Print Is Not Dead
Admittedly, I’m not subscribed to any magazine, so my opinions are based on anecdotal observations. The only magazines that do well in subscription offer niche content. Think lifestyle recommends like Porter Magazine or entrepreneur tips from Foundr Magazine. And the only people who buy these magazines innately believe they make great decoration, aesthetically or denotatively (i.e. their friends would be impressed they read those titles).
Magazine For The Future
Business guides have touted that every great brand today ought to launch a magazine to their name. News platforms like TheSkimm operate solely on delivering daily newsletters summing up stories in readable chunks for millennials. Brands like T-post run a subscription that delivers one news story printed on the inside of their T-shirts to your doorstep every month.
Clearly, there is a thirst for readable stories in the digital space, and a fervour to innovate the publisher. With experience working at Harper’s BAZAAR and NYLON Singapore, I have ideas on how to invent a new interview and opinion-based magazine spotlighting the media and creative industry in Singapore. My interest topics are style, career and relationships.
If you’d like to contribute to my project, please reach out to me. I’m also looking for aspiring CFOs, art directors, coders. Thank you!
