theorycast.56 :: Is “MINE” the future of magazines?

Published on 4/19/2009 in Business, Media, theorycast, Trends and Web 2.0. 15 Comments

Thanks to @JessManocchio and @joonian, I’ve got my first issue of MINE. It’s an experimental, personalized magazine from Time Warner Inc. Is it a worthy mashup or a frankenstein of a magazine? See what I’ve to say.

MINE: My Magazine. My Way.

What is Mine magazine?

  • A free five-issue, 10-week, experimental magazine
  • User-mashup of five Time Warner/American Express Co. magazines
  • Personalized magazines end up with 56 possible combinations
  • MINE has been compared to a printed, expanded RSS feed
  • 36-page print edition for first 31,000 respondents
  • Online version goes to remaining 200,000 respondents
  • MINE magazine has mobile reader version, including a Blackberry app
  • Features four single-page ads for the Lexus 2010 RX
  • Lexus ads personalized based on subscriber’s geography and taste (see video)
  • Probably environmentally friendlier than traditional distribution
  • Magazine personalization isn’t new: Xerox helped subscribers put their own photo on the cover of WIRED (March-July, 2007)

mine - the future of magazines?

References
USA Today: Made-to-order magazine lets readers choose by Ryan Nakashima (March 18, 2009)
Fast Company: Time Inc.’s Mine Magazine is a Printed RSS Feed by Ariel Schwartz (March 18, 2009)
Will Time’s Customized “Mine” Magazine Be a Print Success Story? by Leah Southers #PublicRelations (March 26, 2009)





  • Brian the Dog

    But THEY didn't call it a “Mash-Up”

    • http://theory.isthereason.com Kevin Lim

      MrBig, you're such a downer. It's implied. We get to customize the contents of the publication from five magazines.

  • Brian the Dog

    But THEY didn't call it a “Mash-Up”

  • Brian the Dog

    But THEY didn't call it a “Mash-Up”

  • http://theory.isthereason.com Kevin Lim

    MrBig, you're such a downer. It's implied. We get to customize the contents of the publication from five magazines.

  • http://theory.isthereason.com Kevin Lim

    MrBig, you're such a downer. It's implied. We get to customize the contents of the publication from five magazines.

  • Yeediddy

    Bah – its print media grasping at straws, trying to delay the inevitable. The news cycle is now 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and subscriptions to news sources have gone the way of the dodo bird.

    Its a cute and novel idea – but ultimately fails b/c I want my news, information, and entertainment fresh – not days old at best.

    • http://theory.isthereason.com Kevin Lim

      Yeediddy, I know what you're getting at… speed is often the issue here. However, breaking news is just one type of news that's easy to pass around online.

      The type of news that requires investigative journalism is still something that doesn't come cheap and is often exclusive to established media outlets. Some of the high value articles are ones that talks about the conditions around our world, complete with decent research through interviews and literature review.

      I believe that if MINE magazine can capture and mashup such timeless articles based on our taste, then perhaps there's some value. :)

  • Yeediddy

    Bah – its print media grasping at straws, trying to delay the inevitable. The news cycle is now 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and subscriptions to news sources have gone the way of the dodo bird.

    Its a cute and novel idea – but ultimately fails b/c I want my news, information, and entertainment fresh – not days old at best.

  • Yeediddy

    Bah – its print media grasping at straws, trying to delay the inevitable. The news cycle is now 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and subscriptions to news sources have gone the way of the dodo bird.

    Its a cute and novel idea – but ultimately fails b/c I want my news, information, and entertainment fresh – not days old at best.

  • http://theory.isthereason.com Kevin Lim

    Yeediddy, I know what you're getting at… speed is often the issue here. However, breaking news is just one type of news that's easy to pass around online.

    The type of news that requires investigative journalism is still something that doesn't come cheap and is often exclusive to established media outlets. Some of the high value articles are ones that talks about the conditions around our world, complete with decent research through interviews and literature review.

    I believe that if MINE magazine can capture and mashup such timeless articles based on our taste, then perhaps there's some value. :)

  • http://theory.isthereason.com Kevin Lim

    Yeediddy, I know what you're getting at… speed is often the issue here. However, breaking news is just one type of news that's easy to pass around online.

    The type of news that requires investigative journalism is still something that doesn't come cheap and is often exclusive to established media outlets. Some of the high value articles are ones that talks about the conditions around our world, complete with decent research through interviews and literature review.

    I believe that if MINE magazine can capture and mashup such timeless articles based on our taste, then perhaps there's some value. :)

  • whodat78

    I think the future of print media is e-paper. I would totally pay a premium for a newspaper like in the movie Minority Report. Plus it's re-useable. Not to long ago Esquire magazine released an issue with an E-paper cover and a few advertisements. I would hope to see other publications follow.

  • whodat78

    I think the future of print media is e-paper. I would totally pay a premium for a newspaper like in the movie Minority Report. Plus it's re-useable. Not to long ago Esquire magazine released an issue with an E-paper cover and a few advertisements. I would hope to see other publications follow.

  • whodat78

    I think the future of print media is e-paper. I would totally pay a premium for a newspaper like in the movie Minority Report. Plus it's re-useable. Not to long ago Esquire magazine released an issue with an E-paper cover and a few advertisements. I would hope to see other publications follow.