3PMjournal_2010s2

3pm Journal of Digital Research & Publishing
that which is virtual.
COLORS online component not only alters the relationship of the user to the content but
also it alters the identity of the printed form. The printed form is no longer confined to ink
and paper and it now has a virtual umbilical cord to the online form. Its online presence
has a place in offline existence yet now so does the reader/user. The on/offline magazine
are linked and what links them is a creative community therefore a definition of a magazine
must accommodate this community which exists across media forms.
Summing up
In conclusion we can see from the analysis of the three publications that the presence of
the magazine’s online counterpart changes how the reader interacts with the content of the
magazine. As we have identified the reader is central to how a magazine works therefore if
an online presence is changing the nature by which readers interact there should also be a
change in the way we define what a magazine is.
The presence of the online does not mean that magazines are disappearing. Anything
but. Rather the online helps cement even stronger bonds with the reader and its content.
The notion that a magazine is defined by paper has to be left behind. “Old media rarely dies:
their original functions are adapted and absorbed by newer media, and they themselves
may mutate into new cultural niches and new purposes.” (Thorburn and Jenkins, 2003:
12) As in the case of the Independent magazine the mutated form, “becomes a part of the
culture, a way to develop the culture, not a neutral media commentator.” (Le Masurier,
2010: 11)
A magazine title now represents a larger entity which is not restricted to just one media
form rather it positions a contemporary subject in a multimedia environment. Within
this creative community of readers and makers the magazine is artifact but the online
component, “has allowed the indies(independents) to develop what could be called a
‘global niche’ of readers whose specialized interests are not limited by location but connect
horizontally across national borders.” (Le Masurier, 2010: 19)
Therefore a magazine is linked to the idea of a community. Their shared values are those
of the editorial philosophy and in this new media domain these values are developed and
explored not just in one media form but, across many.
COLORS website succinctly gives a new definition for our once trusted printed friend,
”the word magazine takes on a new meaning made of both paper and screen, photography
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