›
This forum is in permanent archive mode. Our new active community can be found here.

Geek magazine.

ThaedThaed
edited October 2007 in Everything Else
Ok, I think everyone knows that I'm pretty oldschool, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that I still read magazines. I'm taking this one on the plane to Honolulu today. A magazine dedicated to geekery? It sounds like geekdom has truly entered the mainstream. We'll see if it's any good. I love the cover because I loves teh Starbuck.

Comments

  • AprecheApreche
    I hate magazines. Websites only pls thx.
  • CremlianCremlian
    I like free magazines. Can't read the internets in the bathroom easily ^_^
  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    My main problem with magazines is that anything you read in them was likely written months ago. Print media simply can not compete with the web unless the print media in question has an "in" that the web can not compete with.
  • VigaViga
    Geek magazines already existed for a while right? If you count Wired, all gaming, PC, Wizard, and anime magazines.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    My main problem with magazines is that anything you read in them was likely written months ago. Print media simply can not compete with the web unless the print media in question has an "in" that the web can not compete with.As long as a magazine is mostly timeless content this isn't really a problem. I don't get magazines but I would hazard a guess that very little of the things featured are relevant only to current events.
  • AndrewAndrew
    I usually pick up PC Gamer for flights. Thats the only time I read magazines.
  • MitchyDMitchyD
    GFW is much better. :)
  • mattytehhax0rmattytehhax0r
    edited October 2007
    Podcasts beat the hell out of mags.
    Post edited by Andrew on
  • WallyBmanWallyBman
    edited October 2007
    I read several magazines on a regular basis, but for good reason. Unlike some folks, I have some interests that aren't super geeky, and the content of said magazines has yet to be centralized anywhere on the internet. Plus, I like to read at work, and my phone is my only source of internet while there, and that gets old.

    What magazines do I read? I like to pick up Mini Truckin', Super Street Bikes(which has, unfortunately, gone from custom sports bikes to chromed out ghetto rollers), Combat Handguns, and Grassroots Racer. For most of those, the only repositories of information on the interwebs tend to be unconnected personal websites.
    Post edited by WallyBman on
  • AprecheApreche
    For most of those, the only repositories of information on the interwebs tend to be unconnected personal websites.
    Perhaps there is money to be made by perhaps running these websites? Make a website just like Engadget, except follow news about these things rather than gadget news. Instant moneys.
  • WallyBmanWallyBman
    edited October 2007
    These hobbies are just too niche. There are a total of 2 magazines that I have been able to find about mini trucks, but you would appreciate the other one (TailGate, I believe), as it is completely ad-free. Most of the contents of these magazines are either features on events within the communities, or features on build projects, whether in work or finished, and none of that is time sensitive information.
    Post edited by WallyBman on
  • trogdor9trogdor9
    I find that if I have a magazine I am more likely to read it than if I see the same content online.  I can't explain it, really, and I recognize that it makes no sense, but it's true.  I think it's something about the psychology of me being on my computer and not expecting to read long articles.
  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    edited October 2007
    For most of those, the only repositories of information on the inter webs tend to be unconnected personal websites.
    Perhaps there is money to be made by perhaps running these websites? Make a website just like Engadget, except follow news about these things rather than gadget news. Instant moneys.
    It can be done but it is not easy.

    Look at Kotaku, probably 50% or more of their articles don't tell you much of anything new but it is the attitude that they use when they write. Even when they talk about shit happening around the office it is a good read.

    There are thousands of video game blogs out there that take the same press release Kotaku gets but they don't have the writing talent to make it readable. Well, Kotaku also gets access that other blogs do not but that is a different issue.

    It is very hard to break into a niche that is currently being served. I got lucky with my PokeFarm site because it was a brand new niche (online Pokemon trading/farming) and I was first to the table. Serebii clearly has a much larger user base but they have also been around for years! They also have years worth of built up content which gets them search traffic.

    If you want to try and make it you need to find a niche you enjoy and want to write about. Next you need to find an affiliate program (preferably several) in that niche that you can use when you write about stuff in the niche.

    Want to write about movies? Sign up with Amazon's program and try and get advertising from NetFlix or Blockbuster.
    Want to write about tech products? Go to Commission Junction and sign up. From there you can get access to all sorts of programs.

    I find that a site that uses affiliate programs for it's revenue source tends to be better written than one that just drops Google AdSense on it. To properly make money with an aff program you have to give readers a reason to come to your site and a reason to buy a product via your link.

    I could go on and on about this subject but I'll stop here and say that if you want to serve a niche AND make a living off of it go affiliate not AdSense.
    Post edited by HMTKSteve on
  • MitchyDMitchyD
    I read a GEEK mag the other day. They reviewed a YoYo.
     
    Pass.
  • ThaedThaed
    Steve, what do you think of this article?
Sign In or Register to comment.