Fashion in the real world is a fast paced, high stakes and drama-filled world where designers rely on the media to show their wares, and magazine editors have the power to make or break a season’s line.
Cross that to the metaversal world of Second Life. SL magazine editors have little or no power at all, and well made content in SL will sell regardless of how many magazines will or won’t publish you.
I’ve long considered a large number of SL magazines to be nothing but ego trips for the vanity of their editors, who use their publications as a springboard to enhance their own reputations. I learn nothing from many of the SL magazines that I read, and I don’t gain food for thought, or even learn anything useful that could help me become a better resident in Second Life.
Perhaps I’m missing a clue here, and there are some SL magazines that are indeed successful in an endeavor to improve the SL experience for residents. The main intent of the media is to inform and educate, as well as entertain and amuse.
I recently plurked to see whether SL users read articles in magazines, or simply just skimmed through looking at pictures. It’d appear that whereby some read articles, some just look at the graphics, and others ignore magazines completely. The question of presentation of magazines in SL was bought to light too, and I have to agree that the vast majority of SL magazines that I’ve seen are very poorly presented, and difficult to read.
And then there’s the audience. The majority of SL users have no interest in reading magazines in world, in large part due to texture lag, so online editions are the prefferred choice. But I estimate that only approximately 5% of the SL population will ever bother to read SL magazines, which is a very small segment of the market. The prices that some of these magazines charge for advertising, as well as the insane number of adverts they contain (when you have to scroll though 6 pages of adverts just to reach the table of contents, there’s something gone very wrong, my friend) is just crazy.
My own opinion is that the vast majority of SL magazines are completely pointless, and that is the reason so few people ever read them. If we want to find great stores in Second Life, we can check the fashion feed, look at blogs or use SL Search. If we want to see how big an SL magazine editor’s ego is, we can right click them and look at their profile.
Image credits: Broder Kubrick and used under a Creative Commons license.
Whimsy Winx on December 2, 2008
I like the article, there is truth to it. It’s pain to actually wear and read, I want to read I just don’t have time once inworld, but I like the eye candy they offer. If we could get them to offer more effective menus offerings, like URL to local chat rather then
outworld browser, and or get a nc alternative on click that would be nice, add LM’s to stores more piccies…Store bio cards etc. They would increase in usefulness. Content helps too, give me really good in depth articles.
Raul Crimson on December 2, 2008
Good point, my friend. I agree with you, most (not meaning all… but MOST for sure) of the SLmagazines are only clique-ish, ego-tripy and boring, the content of advertising is just too much and don’t have much more than more or less nice photographies.
Even The Avastar, what was mainly a tabloid, had more useful and interesting articles than most of the SLmagazines running around. If a tabloid is more interesting than a magazine something is not going OK.
The parody Broder made is brilliant becuase is really near the truth.
Marleen Vaughan on December 2, 2008
I have to say.. this made me smile.
It’s a bold challenge for SL magazines to step up their game, go beyond the normal shopping cliches and delve deeper into satisfying writing.
It would be easy to point fingers and be defensive, but let’s get real. Everyone is being bitchy in this scenario, including Mr. Prathivi.
Feedback is always interesting.
Thanks.
Ivy Norsk on December 2, 2008
Once upon a time I was the editor of a literary magazine that nobody read. It was still a worthwhile hobby. I think that while it is true that there are some egos feeding, putting together a magazine can be a fun project where one hones one’s photoshop and writing skills and gets to show the results off to others. The problem comes from people taking themselves too seriously or perhaps others taking them too seriously. Cute mag cover btw
Miabella Foxley on December 3, 2008
I didn’t have a problem sifting through the negative criticism and finding some good points in your article, Prad, however I guess I’m a little confused about something. Both the article and some of the comments above say it’s too much work to read the articles but in the next breathe you say they aren’t any good. I come from two publications, I am editor for GLAM World Magazine, as well as a columnist for HOMME. Feedback is always encouraged, so instead of taking offense to anything here, I find myself looking for suggestions to improve. Both magazines have both in-world & web options when it comes to viewing and our numbers are pretty impressive, however, we have no way of knowing whether its for the articles or glossy pictures. I know from my end I get so wrapped up in the technical side sometimes, its nice to hear comments from the readers p.o.v. So if you’d like to send some constructive criticism my way, I’d be more than happy to take the time and note your comments.
Miabella Foxley on December 3, 2008
breath* (its early here & I don’t have a writers editor on hand so pls excuse the typos)
Zippora Zabelin on December 3, 2008
I totally agree with you Prad
My feeling about (most) SL-magazines actually doesn’t differ a lot from the feeling about the average RL glossy: nice eye candy but I don’t’ learn a lot from it.
Concerning SecondLife, blogs are much more informative – and much more fun as you have the possibility to comment
Maggie Mahoney on December 3, 2008
Far be it from RUNWAY Magazine to dispute the undoubted excellence of the research performed in the commission of this article, citing as it does the authors own opinions and calculations as well as the most highly regarded research tool, Plurk, to validate the statements contained herein. However, we do feel that perhaps the media – in this case SL media – side of the debate could be presented.
Much like everything else in the world – and we speak of the real world as well as the world we game in, value for money is a concept well understood by everyone. Advertisers in SL – just like their real world counterparts – will not advertise unless their return on investment is validated. Ergo, if we have advertisers, they benefit, or we can safely assume they would cease, or go elsewhere. Many of RUNWAY’s advertisers have been on board with us since the beginning and – though we do not interrogate them as to the effect (or otherwise) on their business – we do not consider them ignorant, ill-informed, or deliberately wasteful with their Lindens. Therefore we can only assume that the effect of advertising is beneficial – anything else is to belittle them.
The interestingly presented concept that having a magazine in SL is an ego trip and a springboard to enhancement of one’s reputation, is laughably trite and shows a not inconsiderable lack of understanding of what an SL reputation might actually consist of. Magazines in SL do not result in cascades of freebies and instant VIP status, but rather long hours, hard work, and – for us – the joy of a team effort and a great deal of fun – the purpose after all, of the metaverse. The author’s linking of perceived power, derived status and inflated egos actually indicates more about the value system of the writer than the targets, who are playing inworld in the way that they most enjoy.
We also find it amusing that it is presumably ‘not OK’ to have a magazine in SL, a world created and lived in by its residents, to whatever purpose and derived fun they see fit. Except, it seems, magazine owners or editors.
The purpose of the media is indeed to inform, educate, entertain, and amuse. Should those who choose to read – or not – the media in SL fail to find information, education, entertainment and amusement from the wealth of publications to choose from, this speaks more to their capacity for enjoyment and desire to denigrate than it does to the quality of the publications on offer – there is always something to see, learn, or smile at. With over 60,000 issues delivered in-world within the last 30 days, someone is reading or looking at something indeed.
We welcome feedback from our readers and our advertising clients at RUNWAY. We do not “conduct field research” to determine the viability of our publication – it is given to us daily – from our clients and readers with comments such as “read you cover to cover twice” or “finally a magazine with content”.
And should you be interested in conducting some serious research, we call your attention to the leading RL fashion and lifestyle magazines on offer in, for example, the United States. Not one of the December issues on offer has less than 10 pages of advertising prior to the ToC. Some, considerably more.
We would however, like to congratulate you on a spectacularly amusing and very well constructed ‘magazine cover’. We enjoyed it immensely, in the spirit of fun. Which sadly, it does not seem likely to have been created in.
Maggie Mahoney
RUNWAY Magazine, Editor in Chief
What are SL Magazines For? « Prim Perfect on December 4, 2008
[...] designer, has recently posted a thought-provoking and provocative piece on Second Life magazines – The Devil Rezzes Prada. Although he is talking about fashion magazine specifically, I think it’s a good idea for [...]
Saffia Widdershins on December 4, 2008
I’ve put down my thoughts on this at What are SL Magazines For? : http://tinyurl.com/6a44dz
Inevitably, it focuses on my own magazine, I’m afraid!
Gany on December 5, 2008
It really depends on the magazine. The majority of fashun mags I ignore, but on occasion I find it inspiring to check the few artsy or architectural ones.
Eolande Elvehjem on December 7, 2008
As a designer I’ve been handed my fair share of notecards from eager salespeople trying to get me to buy ads in their magazines. They ask outrageous prices, and I can never get any actual statistics on how many magazines are actually picked up or even who reads them.
I took a survey of my customers and there were a tiny minority of people who even looked at the pictures.
I think there is hope for magazines in Second Life – first you need focus more on excellent writing of articles that will spark discussion or even be educational. Make the typeface large and keep the entire thing at a lower resolution so that I don’t have to wait five minutes to read the next page. Really focus on marketing your magazines – it’s more than just putting out stands for people to pick it up, you need to inspire them to do so – motivate them that somehow by the time they have read the magazine they’ve really gained something from it.
Right now I’d not even dream of paying for a magazine ad – but if the above mentions were to happen I’d certainly consider it!
Kade Klata on December 8, 2008
Wait a sec…these guys only create magazines to enhance their egos?? Wow…I could have sworn that’s what blogs were for.
K
What are Second Life magazines for? More thoughts « Prim Perfect on December 14, 2008
[...] December 14, 2008 by primperfect This piece is a follow on to something I wrote a few days ago (What are SL magazines for?) in response to a post by Prad Prithivi, the well-known designer, entitled The Devil Rezzes Prada. [...]
Ciaran Laval on December 14, 2008
I think you’ve touched upon some deeper issues with the way media is created within second life, that are rather important. Reading magazines inworld is a cumbersome experience, it’s certainly not user friendly.
As others above have stated, the world lends itself to the concept of creativity and this is another angle that can be fun to participate in. However the magazine advertising space I’ve seen is rather expensive. I have a deep interest in advertising inworld as most forms I’ve seen so far are a complete pile of pants. The world is crying out for a decent advertising solution.
RL of course has extremely expensive advertising, the new funky boards around Villa Park generate a lot of advertising revenue but this sort of advertising doesn’t lend itself inworld because people aren’t so familiar with brands, the products aren’t as easily found, it’s quite a quandry.
I note that some people are having sense of humour failure over this article.
Pam Renoir on December 14, 2008
I enjoy reading the magazines in SL because they inform me about what is going on there, and because I realize how much effort goes into producing them.
I also publish a magazine of my own, Grid Works (prior SLEngineer Magazine) to show people in my industry (engineering) what is going on in virtual worlds related to our work. Because I am trying to reach people who are not necessarily in SL, I have tried to create the magazine with a professional, informational layout. And although I am not formally trained in the graphical layout, I do have past experience as an editor at a RL magazine in my field.
You are probably right that I am not reaching a significant portion of SL residents, but then again, they are not my only target audience. That is why I do publish in-world and also online in several formats (pdf, using digital book format, and more recently placed the articles on the website).
But whether we get a lot of readers or not, I like to think that the people who are creating magazines are also producing documents that one day will help document the progression of virtual world development.
Charlotte Bartlett on December 23, 2008
Thoughtprovoking article Prad.
I have to agree on some of the topics highlighted. My first is around design and appeal of some of the magazines in world. The graphics, layout & content of some publications is incredibly poor. However, many are run as hobbies and not intended to be commercial. I see these similiar to home grown blogs, simply a different format. I would never consider reading nor contributing to one, but I think they can be great fun for those involved.
Also seriously scrolling through pages in world, or on the editors externally simply make this (try it on an iphone) painful even on high speed. Usability & Accessibility is key for media. I don’t see them being either at this stage. But things will evolve.
Outside Second Life my favorite reads are Wallpaper and if one is feeling cheeky Vice Magazine. The website for Wallpaper is http://www.wallpaper.com/home.
I look forward to seeing something on par with Wallpaper in world in 2009
(watch this space…. coughs).
Charlotte
Magazines vs. Blogs : Metaversally Speaking.. on April 10, 2009
[...] months back, I called out SL magazines to clean up their acts and start representing a media that serves the resident community, rather than their own egos. [...]
Magazines vs. Blogs « iheartsl.com Second Life’s largest community blog on April 10, 2009
[...] months back, I called out SL magazines to clean up their acts and start representing a media that serves the resident community, rather than their own egos. [...]