The Blog Magazine Model

Mike Rundle writes about how the weblog medium is morphing into something more than just a "daily-updated website". Finally someone is taking note! He writes:"A weblog can be thought of as a two-way communication device, where authors publish material, and readers give feedback. This is no different than the human communication model of one person speaking, another listening, and then the listener offering their feedback again to the speaker. This cyclic communication model applies to various mediums, and a weblog is just another version of it. Traditional forms of media are one-way communication devices. A magazine or newspaper is a slightly modified version of a one-way communication exchange. Readers can voice their thoughts in the form of "Reader Mail" or on the Editorial pages. However it may take weeks for your opinion to reach the newsstands, so if it was related to time-sensitive information, tough luck. A magazine or newspaper is not an instantaneously updated feedback device -- it was never supposed to be. Now people are taking the weblog medium to the next level by publishing magazines online. This turns the traditional medium upside-down by introducing a feedback mechanism which is a sure-fire way to work with your content on a whole different level. Now you can publish your magazine articles a few times per week, and interact with your readers at the same time." I think that the report sees correctly what is happening among the new breed of independent publishers who have embraced the same publishing tools that bloggers use. But this can't be a part-time blogger-kind-of-thing. This is serious, full-time, independent publishing. We are on.