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This Thing with Magazines
For as long as we have coffee tables, people will always find things to occupy that empty space with and towards the end of the month, a magazine is what you will find on mine. It’s interesting to think if people can still develop a relationship with magazines because our gratification from picking one up at a bookstore can either be instant or worthless so if you subscribe to one, you’re saying that you discovered more than just “surface level” content worth reading.
I’ve cut down my magazine subscription to just one (Wired Magazine) and I purposely don’t unwrap it until I’m sure I’m going to dedicate my time reading it as much as I do a good book or blog. Sitting quietly to dim lights and a soothing beverage sets the tone for a clear purpose to read. You recite the word’s silently to pull out more value in the them, you digest the grammar and you scribble notes to reference passages that set off ideas to further analyze.
In a sense, magazines are very comparable to people - they each posses a certain oddity and quality that put together who they are and while not all publications resonate with everyone, there’s one that manages to slip in a special spot that creates this new way of thinking for you.
Perhaps it sounds a little too philosophical but I’ve manage to follow this reasoning when buying magazines or anything that requires for me to set some time to read. Some pieces just warrant browsing while others are to be lost in thought with. I don’t consider myself a scholar in any specific discipline but there’s nothing more impactful that an article offering perspective and amplifying on a topic you thought you knew all about already.
One Pet Peeve
I have to say that the one aspect of reading magazines that drives me crazy is that I can’t always seem to be satisfied with what’s written and correct me if I’m wrong but I think it’s something that anyone involved in a “creating profession” goes through.
You finish an article and can’t seem to move on because now you start paying attention to what font was used, how it was laid out, what color palette was implemented, the depth-of-field in the photograph if any and all these elements that add value to what you just read become equally amplified in importance.
So yes, call me crazy but I think about all these little things when opening up a magazine that I receive which is why I like to think I’ve establish a relationship already with it; hence the time I like to set aside to enjoy it.
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As Mac users, you have to admit the obsession with their products is not just limited in using them but there’s an equal admiration that exist in being dazzled by shots taken by users showcasing their gear.
There’s so many of them and using Flickr’s recent launch of Galleries, I compiled my favorite 18 photographs (not by choice but just because that’s the limit) that celebrate the creativity and eagerness we have of sharing products that we’re proud to own and use. (photography by Octave Z)
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Four out of five of you are nerds. On your computer exists your hobbies, your current and/or future career, and the rest of your life. You don’t own a snowboard, but you do have a blog, a Twitter, an RSS reader, and a pirated copy of Photoshop.
– Shawn Blanc in a pretty accurate description of many fellow bloggers. -
App Store Ratings & Reviews →
Since the inception of the App store, I have never once taken the decency to write a purposeful review for any of the fantastic applications that I use daily and it’s not something I’m proud to announce but hope to change. Granted the initiative must come from me to do it but Louie Mantia has brought to light that Apple doesn’t necessarily set the perfect stage for a review to be given and the flaw that exist in it:
The problem with ratings is not just consistency, but its how they’re not helpful for anybody. This is partly because people are only prompted to review an application when they remove it from their device. How is this a good idea? If someone’s deleting an application, they most likely don’t like it or became bored with it, their spirits are already in the crapper, and now that app is likely to get a ★ rating.
But for the people who are enjoying an application, they’re never prompted to say “Hey, this app rocks my socks off!” And this is a huge problem. I’ve seen a bit of code you can put in your app to add this functionality, but Apple needs to do this themselves.
I’d like them to add a feature where after a given amount of time, the app prompts the user to rate the application now, later, or never to bug them again about it. This would drastically even the odds and make reviews a little more relevant, because people would be reviewing the application as they use it instead of when they’ve gotten bored of it.
Makes perfect sense. I’m more willingly to complete a task if I’m constantly reminded of it especially if it involves something I take pleasure in using.
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Perhaps Apple doesn’t consider purchasing Apps an investment that needs too much consideration because it seems to be the only acquisition that doesn’t offer an “Add to Wish List” option like TV shows, movies or albums do. Sometimes buying Apps can result out of impulse but there is some consideration there. It would be nice if I can place Apps in the same basket as every other digital medium that iTunes offers. I’m just saying.
