What’s with Web2.0 anyway?
Posted by christinavee on February 3, 2009
On the National Geographic website, there are a few web2.0 options for viewers and browsers alike. There is the option to share certain news stories as well as videos from recent issues, however the ‘sharing options are limited to Facebook, Digg, YahooBuzz, and StumbleUpon, two of which I have never heard of (YahooBuzz and StumbleUpon). There is also an RSS option; however, it’s not for the actual NG site. I found this a bit troubling. The RSS is for Hot Hotel Offers. For the online magazine itself, I think not having a direct RSS feed hinders the readership and accessibility for people visiting the site. However, having the RSS feed by an advertiser would probably make the NG site a hit because it has those web2.0 capabilities.
NG is an established print magazine, and is doing a great job at becoming a forerunner for online editorial. By having web2.0 accessibility, publishers and editors who visit NG online can take notes on how to successfully market their web-based material. Having links to videos, pictures, and feature articles is a great way to interact online with the magazine.
The Hockey News online edition is extreme web2.0. It has an RSS feed for just about EVERYTHING on the website. There are eight blogs that have RSS feeds, and each columnist has a feed for their articles in current editions. There is a limitation if you want to share a story or URL – you can’t. THN does not have any options to share: Digg and Facebook aren’t even options.
The problem with not having the option to share stories can be damaging for an online magazine because it limits its readership. Sure someone can cut and paste a link into an email, but I don’t think it has the same affect as would a big post on a Facebook page or a status update on Twitter. Advertisers need to get on top of this issue with THN because they are losing out on so many possible hits from people who are browsing/stalking their friends’ pages looking for some recent hockey info.
Outpost has figured it out. They appear to be using the KISS method on their online magazine. I was yet to see a homepage as easy to manoeuvre as this one. It is definitely simple, yet surprisingly effective. At the bottom of the homepage, there are all the options: RSS, Share and Outpost Mobile. Not to mention that they have a Twitter link on the homepage sidebar requesting readers, editors, publishers – anyone – to follow them on the social networking site.
This is a superb demonstration of an interactive, online edition of a magazine and it works well, considering that Outpost is one of the smaller publications. They haven’t overdone anything, the page doesn’t force-feed RSS, nor does it ignore its possibilities. I think that this magazine successfully uses web2.0 to its advantage, relaying information in a positive and efficient manner.
