Customer magazine case study: While I’ve been known to disagree whenever a publishing “agent” from the UK says their custom magazines are “more creative” or whatever than those from the U.S., I’ll admit that British marketers have a more enlightened understanding of the power of a magazine. As this case study from the UK Direct Marketing association shows, a business-to-business custom magazine can even help a broadcast property succeed.

Quote:

Sky Business launched Preview, the monthly customer magazine for 28,000 Sky business subscribers, predominantly pubs, bars and clubs. With a mix of trade and sporting content, it aims to show licensees how they can profit from forthcoming sporting events shown on Sky Sports, while also providing industry insight to benefit their business. Preview is also used to market additional Sky products and services and communicate service enhancements such as channel launches.

By demonstrating the business-boosting opportunities provided by Sky Sports coverage and value of a subscription, the title aims to increase loyalty to the company and reduce customer cancellations

Troubling “stealth tax” development: Bill Hobbs just e-mailed me that Tennessee lawmakers are one step closer to taking away from small businesses one of the key benefits of last year’s federal tax cuts designed to spur investment in capital equipment. The NashvillePost.com (subscription required) is also covering the story.

Jeff goes crotchety: Jeff Jarvis points to a NY Times article that has as its headline, “The Blog Generation Takes Up Its Trowels” and notes that the story has only a lame link to blogging (one of the young, urban gardeners has a blog). But what really irks him is the “blogging generation” tag and its implication that weblogs can be reduced to a youthful fad.

And then, to drive home his point he makes this observation:

Well, look at that picture to the right with the gray beard (which, I’ll confess, is even grayer now; so’s the hair). Check out pix of (no offense, friends) Roger Simon or the ailing (well, maybe it should be a young person’s game) Glenn Reynolds or Rex Hammock (who’s just as old as I’m about to be but doesn’t look it). People of all ages are blogging. It’s not a generational moment. It’s a movement. It’s an era. Damnit.

Wow. I’ve been 50 for less than six weeks and already I’m an old fart poster child. And as noted in a comment on Jeff’s post, “it’s amazing what having a photoshop guru on ones staff can do for one’s appearance of youth.” For the record, I agree with Jeff. But he could have pointed to Doc Searls instead and it wouldn’t have hurt my feelings.

Alice online: Check out the “official” website of my friend, Alice Randall at the easy-to-remember URL, www.alicerandall.com. It will be morphing into a weblog (thus, the Typepad platform) but already is a great resource to find information about her new book, Pushkin and the Queen of Spades and her current national book tour.

Photo: Alice spoke and read Monday (her book’s release date) to an enthusiastic audience at Nashville’s Davis-Kidd Bookstore. She’ll be in Philadelphia tonight at the Free Library of Philadelphia (Central Library) at 7 p.m. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

<b>Hobbs hope?</b> If the Tennessee Legislature has the
wisdom (as <a
href=”http://billhobbs.com/hobbsonline/003796.html”>it appears may
be gaining</a>)
to nix the efforts to place a “stealth tax” on the benefits coming from
a federal tax incentive designed to encourage small business to make
capital investments, I’ll be happy to credit Nashville blogger <a
href=”http://www.billhobbs.com”>Bill Hobbs</a>. He grabbed the
story first and <a
href=”http://billhobbs.com/hobbsonline/cat_tennessee_budget_tax_policy.html”>hasn’t
let go</a>.
Another group appreciative of his efforts will be the employees of
Hammock Publishing who were really counting on some new equipment that
is being ordered as a result of the targeted tax provision.

Glowing shelter-book concept: I don’t know how I missed Atomic Ranch when it was a vaporzine, however, the first issue appears to be available (where, I don’t know, but you can buy a subscription at Amazon.com). I think the concept is quirky and off-beat, yet will appeal to a massive group of potential readers. A good play on the popularity of the economy-minded make-over shows on cable.

Quote from an article by the WP’s Annie Groer:

The ubiquitous, mid-century American ranch house - low slung, clean lined and wide open inside - now has its very own magazine. Atomic Ranch, planned as a quarterly, does not focus on fabulous custom homes designed by famous architects but rather on the millions of post-World War II tract houses that now are attracting buyers in their 20s and 30s…”

The magazine has an incredible brand that is instantly memorable and endlessly extendable. I hope the actual publication lives up to the promise its concept offers.

Oxford American hope? As I mentioned yesterday (and throughout the history of this weblog), the Oxford American is perhaps my favorite magazine not being published. Today, the AP has moved a story that the magazine may once more rise from the ashes via an affiliation with the University of Central Arkansas.

Finding a home within the context of a University setting is the proper direction for the publication. It needs a non-profit home as it will likely never find the advertising or circulation revenue it needs to sustain a profitable business model.

As I have posted here many times, I sure hope this works out for Marc and for readers like me.

Rafat rants: Man. Rafat Ali is steamed. He “rants” (his word, not mine) righteously (my word, not his) that ASME is clueless about the National Magazine Award it hands out in the online category and that it doesn’t know how to address the online sector, and adds, “but neither does the magazine industry, in general.” (Side note: I’d like to throw in a welcome greeting to anyone who may discover this post in a future Google search of the phrase “ASME is clueless”) This is why I start my day off with a cup of coffee and PaidContent.org. Rafat needs to do more of this angry blogging because once he gets started, he rolls:

..the National Magazine Awards, which are among the most prestigious for its sector, have been announced. And CNET News.com won the “General Excellence Online” award this year. If your reaction is “Huh, since when did News.com become a print or even online magazine?”, then you’ll concur with me: The Awards’ entry criteria is all whacked. Cracked.

Ok, so maybe ASME’s own description might be of some help: “This category recognizes outstanding magazine Internet sites, as well as online-only magazines and Weblogs, that have a significant amount of original content. It honors sites that reflect an outstanding level of interactivity, journalistic integrity, service and innovative visual presentation.”

Pray, why would you consider News.com to be an online magazine? What is an online magazine? It is a matter of semantics, but in the wrong usage of semantics lies the irony: ASME is clueless about dishing out these awards. It does not know how to address the online sector, but neither does the magazine industry, in general.

That “Weblogs” bit above: since when did ASME started including blogs? Why didn’t the blog world know about it? A desperate attempt to be hip, if you ask me…

Why I am I bothered: I’m sick of this whole “awards cabal”…something needs to change.

It is a rant, so please take it as such….

Tell ‘em, brother.