I realized the other day that I haven’t been reading many magazines lately. I wondered if something was wrong with me. Have I come down with a disease? Have I forgotten how much I LOVE reading magazines? WTF!? Once I gained a little control, I began to analyze. One, I haven’t been reading them because I simply haven’t had 5 minutes to myself in months. Two, I don’t feel the need to read them “as” much anymore because I’m spending more time online reading blogs. I kid you not, I have over 600 emails waiting to be read, many of them blog subscriptions.
What about you? Do you read blogs more than mags lately? Do you get what you need out of them?
I’m still in shock that I don’t have my usual 10 foot pile of mags stashed in a corner in my room waiting to be read. My “normal” routine is to buy them either because I know and love the mag or because the cover grabbed my attention (yes, not always smart, but I’m a sucker). A while back I thought perhaps I should start a group, MA (Magazine Anonymous) and hold meetings in my living room, regardless if anyone else attended.
Glossies are fantastic. They hold the keys to the hottest trends, celebs, red carpet, budget-friendly finds, a few stories here and there but ALOT of ads. I won’t name names, but there is one particular mag I love, but half of the pages are 2 page spreads for (fill in the blank with your favorite designer). I know these designers and department stores need to advertise their collections but the money they dish out is, (I CANNOT believe I am about to use this disgusting word, because I am NOT a fan of the owner of it, but… Bananas! There I said it. UGH! I feel violated). Anyways… the money could basically feed an entire village. Do they really think that the majority of women (or men) reading these mags will run out and purchase that $2,700 new leather handbag? If they do, they are kidding themselves. They probably wouldn’t dish out the money if it wasn’t working for them, but is it working for them? Yes, those magazines do need the big advertisers, but why do they charge us to buy them then? Shouldn’t we be able to read them for free? They are stocked full of ads that we don’t even pay attention to. Why should we have to pay to turn the page.
With the world starting to fall apart due to global warming and every other $hitty thing we have done to ((Mother Earth )) <--(halo) my guess is that all magazines will be obsolete in the future. Many mags have already gone the e-route and I am all for it. But would I even have the time to read those? Good question.
In the blogger world today, and I can only speak as a fashion blogger, I have just as much access to designers, trends, colors, sponsors as a magazine. I don’t quite have the budget (yet), but I do have the skill and knowledge, along with some of my other fellow blogistas. Should magazine editors eventually be nervous about the takeover of fashion reporting? Hmmm…something to ponder. I have my own suspicions….
(using my best professor voice)
So in conclusion to this colossal question, my answer is Yes. Hell YES!
p.s. If you are still an avid mag reader (which I could start up again soon because that is the curse of being an MA member) then remember to please recycle your glossies. Give to a friend or leave them in the lobby at your dentist. I can’t even begin to think how many trees we are killing just to see “who wore what and where”.
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