Magazines Get a Myspace

Magazines are now promoting their publications on Myspace, a virtual social networking website. The Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) has issued a list of 49 publications that have their own profile on Myspace in order to engage readers to get a copy of the magazine or to visit the official pages of the magazine’s website.

Most magazine Myspace profile pages have an up to date blog, links to quizzes, surveys and links to the online edition of the magazine.

Cosmopolitan magazine has daily advice tips and information on how to enter to win a fashion trip to New York. Bulletins are sent out to virtual friends keeping them up to date on content in the latest issue of Cosmo as well as how to receive the newsletter or how to get a subscription.

Jane magazine’s Myspace profile asks readers for feedback on content in the magazine and ask to write a comment directly on the Myspace page. The Myspace page also gives a list of favorites to anyone that wants a good book recommendation or movie to watch.

Online magazines, especially teen publications have seen a decline in online readership with the Myspace generation. Magazine sites such as TeenPeople.com, which has folded both their print and online publications, could not compete with the online traffic that social networking sites have seen. Instead of becoming a competitor to the online social network, some magazines have decided to get on board and use Myspace for their own gain.

Not a week goes by when Myspace isn’t in the news, announcing a business deal or how a young girl was kidnapped and killed from someone she met on Myspace. Whether it is positive or negative, the attention introduced today’s generation to customize their own profile and add friends to their Myspace page. Today, everyone wants to be a part of the Myspace phenomenon.

Myspace started as a way for amateur bands to get noticed. The virtual social network aimed to defy big business in order to allow the underdogs to be heard. Their approach was one that allowed people to say whatever they wanted without censorship, which allowed the web network to surpass Friendster and Facebook in popularity.

The magazine industry is in constant change with the rapid technology that becomes available. In order to sustain success for the print or online publications, they must take advantage of other ways to encourage people to continue to read their publications.

Jane Magazine Folds: Who Cares?

In July, publishing giant Condé Nast announced it was folding Jane magazine after 10 years of production, for financial reasons. The final issue hit the racks last month, leaving a slew of 19-34 year old women who identified with its irreverent style devastated.

Borne out of Jane Pratt's Sassy magazine, which folded in 1994, Jane offered readers an edgy -- and at times sarcastic -- approach to a women's magazine, running articles such as Katy McColl's "Young, hot and divorced" and "If two white girls had been butchered, there would have been arrests that night."

Today, visitors to the Jane Web site, www.janemag.com, are redirected to its sister publication, Glamour, while Jane print subscribers were sent copies of either Glamour, Allure, or Lucky in an attempt to wean readers off their favorite read.

But a magazine as unique as Jane has a readership equally unique. So how do those readers feel when something they have become attached to is taken away? What fills the void? Are readers as fickle as the industry itself?

"I will miss it," said Lisa Tabet-Chavez, a former subscriber. "I liked that it was different from most of the mainstream fashion magazines. The jokes were more snarky, and the stories a bit edgier."

A reader for years, Jessica Wirth appreciated the "more interesting spins on the typical magazine topics" and the "sometimes socially or environmentally relevant exposés." But when asked if Jane was replaceable, Wirth's response was indifferent.

"It was nice while it lasted," she said. "I already subscribe to The Week, Entertainment Weekly and Ok!, so I think I'm set."

But those titles won't cut it for some former-Jane readers. Tabet-Chavez said a friend suggested Bust, which promises "an attitude that is fierce, funny, and proud to be female," while "BUSTing stereotypes about women since 1993." This month, the magazine's Web site urges visitors to "get your hands on our BUST!"

Another reader said she'll "honestly not" miss Jane, as it never really lived up to her expectations of "edgy and intelligent." Identified only as "Jen" in an anonymous email exchange, she suggested her ideal magazine doesn't yet exist.

"I will rip out the trashiest articles from Cosmo, blend it with the snarkier pieces from The Believer, and cut out pictures from Paper magazine to make my ultimate ideal rag," she said, before -- perhaps unwittingly -- exposing that very void left by Jane's demise.

"If you know of a magazine that's similar to Jane, let me know," she added.