Print Magazine Innovations

Although a lot of it is flying under the radar of everyone claiming "magazines are dead", there really is a lot of innovation going on in the print magazine world. I'd like to point out two examples.

Vanity Fair just launched their publication on the iPad. It's fabulous. Always known for great photography, amazing articles, and of course engaging advertising (at least for me anyway), the magazine really comes to life on the iPad. So much more interactive and colorful and completely on your own terms. Really worth checking out.

Traditional Home. Don't let the name fool you, there's a lot of new world "goings on" in this magazine. For many of the feature stories, there's a bar code that you can snap a picture of with a mobile device (aka smart phone). Once scanned it, the bar code gives you access to web content with more room views, designer commentary, and even videos -- basically the ability to scope around the featured home like never before. Pretty amazing.

So don't count the magazine out of the game just yet. Stay tuned for more and more innovations that will make them even more valuable to consumers, and advertisers too for that matter.

What's your experience? Jim