The New Ezine Layout

Personally I am a fan of the printed magazine. I enjoy picking up a copy at the airport or the drugstore to browse through the images, fashion, and gossip. Unfortunately for printed magazines, circulation is way down. People are increasingly taking in their news and entertainment online. 


I never thought I would give up my books. I enjoy reading so much and books seem like such an integral part of the experience. However, when I decided to move last year, I sold all my books and downloaded the Kindle app on my iPad. And honestly, I love it. It's less to carry, the books are cheaper, and I can download them with one click. 


I still haven't given up on my magazines yet, although I am starting to look more at online versions. One of my favorite iPad apps is Flipboard. It is essential a library of online mags, with categories like fashion, design, crafting, and technology. All of these topics are available at my fingertips, and each category has a curator that basically finds content on the web to fit into the category. I think part of the allure of this app is the layout. I flip the pages, but can jump to various content on the home page. 


Ezines are trying to bridge the gap of those people like me who really love their printed magazines but also enjoy content online. Magazines are cool to flip through, but somehow translating that exactly online doesn't have the same effect. So they need to do something new. And Suit Up or Die Magazine has done that. They have introduced a unique blend of flipping, new windows that separate out certain articles, and traditional web scrolling. The result is quite interesting: http://magazine1.suitupordie.com/