Coming full circle: Could bloggers embrace print?
For at least the past ten years the tide of journalism has been headed rapidly in an online direction, leaving the cumbersome, expensive, tree-churning newspapers behind in an irreversible state of decline.
You know that. We’ll take it as a given.
As any half-decent journalist knows, however, it’s precisely this accepted thought that’s there to be torn apart if need be.
Perhaps this was one starting point for Milo over at gaseousbrain.com, a blog which has just published its first ‘zine’. Despite having known Milo for a few years now, I hadn’t seen this coming. With the geek image he likes to keep up (all lies) and his mild obsession with new technology, I assumed blogging/new media/podcasting was his true calling.
And he would be the first to admit that over the past year he’s moved much more of his work on to his self-sufficient online world, away from the extremely limiting space afforded by established print publications.
But even for forward-thinking dudes like Milo, it seems the thrill of seeing your words down on tangible, bendy, physical paper is not completely lost.
Last weekend I received in the post a rather nice ‘catalogue’ of the best writing from his blog. Reflecting his main interests, it covers music, gadgets, travel, TV and Britney Spears. Though I’d love to see it in colour, the design is clean, sharp and easy to read.
I think it’s interesting that he’s taken this step, because he’s not the only one returning to the print format, no matter how distinct it feels from mainstream media. At a time when so many traditional media companies are failing to evolve their product in recognition of the way people consume information, the advantage that projects like these have is their freedom.
I’m not suggesting that Milo or any other bloggers-turned-publishers are for one minute aiming to make a living out of this; to overthrow Murdoch and his ilk (perhaps that won’t seem so far-fetched in a few years). I just think it’s a telling trend – one that I think has real currency right now, so long as the producers maintain their distinct personalities and a free-thinking outlook.
Whether or not it heralds any noticeable trend in publishing, Milo still deserves credit for putting the graft in and trying out something a bit different. Keep the dream alive, etc.
Anyway, I can’t say all this without giving the Gaseous Brain Spring 2010 Catalogue a plug. Order yours here. Or, in Milo’s words…
You can buy the STRICTLY LIMITED EDITION luxury B&W printed version, which has already been described on Twitter as “mindblowing” and “a snazzy catalogue”, for the bargain price of £2 at Elvis Shakespeare, Deadhead Comics & Avalanche Records in Edinburgh, and at Monorail Music in Glasgow.
Out of interest, does anyone have any other examples of blogs turned magazines?
“Music, gadgets, travel, TV and Britney Spears”… I would’ve had Britney Spears shoved right up near the front!
But seriously, I think it’s great that Milo’s brought out a printed version of Gaseous Brain. I sometimes wish I’d grown up a few years earlier, when zines and things weren’t limited strictly to the web. It’s a lot more personal, less faceless and a real collectors’ item – some of the traits that saw indie culture gain such a cult following back in the day. I wonder if it might encourage a minor movement within the Scottish blogging fraternity?
I’m not sure how sustainable it is commercially, which I doubt is Milo’s motivation anyway, so am unsure how far the model can be taken. People simply don’t pay for the printed word very often anymore. But on such a limited run, I’m sure he’ll have no problem clearing his stock!
Oh, and the “snazzy catalogue” quote, trademark my sister!
Yeah it was more of a post-punk thing wasn’t it?
My early experience of fanzines was limited to 27/11, a Raith Rovers pamphlet which referenced the date they won the League Cup in 1994. I remember it was really funny, quite satirical, and you could buy it straight from the editor outside the ground and read while eating your half-time pie. Anyway, I digress…
Time will tell if the blog-zine thing catches on. But I’m already looking forward to the Gaseous Brain Summer Catalogue.
The “mindblowing” one was mine I think, tongue only slightly in cheek :p
You know, as much as I love online journalism, as someone who has written for both nothing beats seeing your name in tactile, lovely print.
It’s an interesting flip on the age-old ‘can journalists embrace the internet’ question Nick.
Personally, I don’t think that bloggers (although, I don’t class milo in that term – he’s more entrepreneurial in thnking ) can truly adapt to print. On the whole, Blogs look to incite – interesting or mindnumbing – debate on a real-time basis and, in that sense, print is rather archaic; a philistine of the modern age, so to speak.
The ego of a blogger will have an impact too. Bloggers seem to justify their existence on comments and google analytics. Transposing their work to print instantly rules that out. Monthly ABCs (if you’re lucky) won’t cut it if you cannae figure out if someone stumbled upon your blog by typing in the words ‘butt-fucking sausage dogs’ (or something equally as basal).
Also, print is a much more difficult medium to fathom. Every aspect is different: Typography, style, language, sentence structure, standfirsts (remember them?), quotes, drop paras…. they all exist and thrive in print for a reason. Christ, make a mistake and you can’t go back in and change it. Once it’s out there, it’s there. Like it or not.
Oh yea, and would people actually pay for the content? I suppose they would for some, but for the less necessary zines I doubt it. And, ultimately, would anyone do it if they didn’t think anyone was reading? Perhaps there’s an argument that our reading habits have become so fragmented these days that one publication is too rigid – we need a sprawling array of sources to satisfy all of our post-modernistic, web 2.0 grilled whims.
On that note, I’m intrigued to see how this new iPad turns out. It’s *shock horror* being heralded as the saviour of the publishing industry. I’m sure someone said that about the internet once, though.
What Billy said re: the iPad. I’m not sure how appealing reading the Herald (i.e. broadsheet) will be, but taking an A4 magazine and tinkering with the PDF to bring in audio and video will be an interesting one.
Strangely, The Great Outdoors (http://www.tgomagazine.co.uk) was supposedly coming out as a rich content PDF. I’m not sure it ever did, but there was also a chance that itm? would be the next publication to follow. Never happened either, though (personal opinion here) I thought that audio and video would be a better test of the medium. (Some nice images of mountains in there, to be fair).
Not so sure about ABCs vs. web stats. Returning visitor figures and the like should tell advertisers (or whoever) what they need to know. Plus, clickthrough ads pay for themselves (or not), though agreed that CPM is rather more open to interpretation/abuse. But not any more or less than that for free newspapers, which seem to have ‘readership’ figures based completely on how many copies they can print, and not taking into account the teetering piles of unread copies in stations, bars and dumpsters.
I shouldn’t really encourage the ‘competition’, but I’ll probably never get round to it – anyway, the Arts Council actually pay for a literature website (forget its name) to put their prose into print every 6 months or so. Now *that*’s the future
Thanks for this great post Nick, and thanks to everyone else for the kind comments and for providing me with quotes!
Like most things I try out on my blog, this was pretty much an experiment. I’d certainly like to be in the position to put out another one, but hopefully with more people contributing.
I’d like to see it in colour too by the way, however then each issue would cost about a tenner to produce (unless I can get the Arts Council to pay for it!)
While I’ve yet to have a detailed read of the zine (come on Milo, where’s my copy?!) I was impressed with its layout when I was first shown it.
As a former hack/PR layabout/zine writer myself it’s a great feeling to see your name in print as a byeline or something else so I for one am delighted to see this coming to fruitition.
I have limited patience when it comes to reading stuff online, so having something in your hand means I can give it my full attention.
Well done!