Week 2 article

"Myspace kills off magazine" (dated 4 August 2006) is my chosen article for Week 2. Click on the title for the full story. For direct link, please click http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20006686-7582,00.html

Which is better - Online or print?

Below are my three (3) issues/responses to the article.

1. "Online vs Print"
Which is better - the one that needs to be clicked or the one that needs to be flipped? There are pros and cons for both versions of online and print magazines. Online versions are available in a click of the mouse. It is only available to you on the computer at places that have internet connection or WiFi connection. It may also work for those of you sitting at the office trying to relax your mind of the pile of work right in front of you. Good cover up if your boss is going to make his rounds. Just close the window and it will be gone! Bad thing is, no electricity equals no reading it online. As for the printed version of the magazine, you just have to make your way to the nearest news stand or bookstores. You can read it anywhere and anytime! Blackouts are definitely not a problem for you. The bad thing is that you only can read it during your leisure time or while in the bus or even the rest room. No reading in the office during working hours.


2. "I am living in a generation of technology!"
Yes, in this generation, almost everyone is tech-savvy. Technology seems to be the only language the younger generation knows. You may not have all the technology available in the market but I am sure you would have at least a mobile phone or a desktop. Try saying, "I do not need technology to survive." You are for sure to regret and suffer later. I admit with the growing inventions, life is getting easier, not as complicated and hard like what our fore fathers have to go through. We just have to switch things on, click or press a button and there it is everything that you want. I cannot fully live with all the technology. My brain is turning lazy as I do not even have to think much. My penmanship is getting horrible because I am so used to typing. I got to get myself out of the chair in front of the computer once in a while.


3. "But the contents are the same!"
Contents on the online version and print version have to be the same. It is just for the convenient of others. It would benefit the company if they do not put up the whole article on the internet. They could at least put half the story and end it with "More in the August issue". That way online readers would not be reading them for free! Online readers should also know that if they actually bought a printed issue, the company would at least be making some more money and will be able to continue its production. Imagine if everyone reads online, who is going to buy the printed versions? The company would not even have enough money to continue hosting the magazine online for you. Think of it, if you really want to read it online, you could at least do a small contribution to show your loyalty towards the company. One sort of company would be Malaysian's local company Karangkraf. Mostly Bahasa Melayu magazines, the online versions make readers want to buy the print version because the other half of the interesting story is in print. That is how they maintain their number of readers. Click on the link and give it a try, but it is only available in Bahasa Melayu.

To me, the print version can never beat the online version. Now thank Johann Gutenberg for inventing the printer.