Magazine behemoth Hearst Corp. is developing an electronic reader for magazines (like Amazon’s, Sony’s, and B&N’s). As with all forms of new media that pop up, publishing execs are trying to figure out how to accommodate all the pros and cons of the platform. While readers who won’t be able to scratch and sniff perfume samples (an idea that may already be in development), there’s a lot a handheld digital presentation can offer publishers, readers, and the planet.
Magazines answer to e-book readers
Listen before you speak in social media
For companies that are tentative about starting a social media program, ceding control over what’s said about you online can be a significant barrier. Regardless of your social media presence, though, the conversation is already happening.
Don’t you want to know what people are saying? Thanks to the nature of the web and search, you don’t have to guess what people are saying about you online. There are a number of tools to help you monitor “social sentiment”—the buzzword for what’s being said about you on the web.
To start monitoring, designate someone in your marketing or communications department to track online conversations about your brand and report weekly findings. And while you’re at it, snoop on your competitors and see how they and their consumers are engaged in social media. Consider: Continue reading
Posted in Interactive, Social Media
Tagged Google Reader, social media, social sentiment, TweetDeck
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Postage won’t increase in 2010
The United States Post Office recently announced great news for Wax customers: “The Postal Service will not increase prices for market dominant products in calendar year 2010.”
What does that mean for you? First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, periodicals and single-piece Parcel Post will not see a price increase. And that means that client magazines and letters to grandma alike will cost the same to mail through 2010 as they do now.
However, pricing for Priority Mail, Express Mail, Parcel Select and most international products is under review, with a decision expected in November.
Although the USPS continues to face financial challenges, it’s great to see it focusing on the long-term benefits of stabilizing prices for its customers. Maintaing 2009 pricing will encourage greater use of the USPS and help our clients’ budgets go a bit further than expected.
For the official word from USPS Postmaster General, John Potter, read on.
– Jozy Torres
The Impossible Project
Instant photography has come a long way since 1947 when Polaroid launched its “Model 95″ and the world was first introduced to the instant gratification of snapping a picture and watching it develop right in their hands.
In June 2008, Polaroid stopped the production of its analog instant film to instead concentrate on digital cameras and printers—leaving billions of Polaroid users out of film and watching as another fragment of yesteryear was sent to the chopping block. Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Design, Photography
Tagged digital cameras, Polaroid, The Impossible Project
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When the picture tells the story
Not only is the right picture worth the proverbial 1,000 words, sometimes it’s the very best way to render complex, tedious or even mundane messages and get them noticed and, most important, understood. There’s a terrific example of that at tipstrategies.com, the website of an economic development consulting firm in Austin, Texas. Continue reading
Posted in About Wax Custom Communications, Content, Creativity, Custom Publishing, Web Design
Tagged Content, Creativity, Design
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