The Future of Magazines, or rather... STUFF WE ALREADY KNEW.

This is an article that supposedly "predicts" the outcome of magazines over the course of the next ten years, and honestly I'm a bit less than impressed.

Here are a few background facts that are brought up:

1. The nation is going to keep getting poorer, with a potentially shrinking middle class. (Gutsy move on the editor's part, considering that this article was written in spring of 2009... His astounding intuition bedazzles my feeble college mind!!)

2. The US will experience less economic advantages compared to China and India. (Sort of a repeat of what I last stated. Also, China and India are about 5 times the size of the US population wise...)

3. Science and Technology are going to advance?!?! (Excuse me for a moment, I need some air - this groundbreaking discovery has me winded.)

4. America will continue to transform, information will be really important. (This is new to me, it's not like the US has changed at all during the last 400 or so years of inhabitance. Yes, there were people here in 1609 - I took US history freshman year.)

BUT how are these "new" findings going to possibly advance or change magazines David???

That really is the question... now isn't it?

I suppose. According to the article's more relevant points, things are due to change. The internet seems to encroach on the world of magazines, and anyone can just as easily subscribe to the magazine's website. But at any rate, it is not believed to replace print entirely over the course of the next decade. The online product is supposed to be seen as an entirely seperate business, catering to us "young'n's or however that crazy word is spelled out."

The internet will become a tool of the specialized business press. In other words, they plan to use the internet to enhance magazine usage. Probably in one of those "to find out more, visit us at..." style fashions.

Magazines are gonna become more narrow-casted - or rather the indivudal niches that we all fall into are going to stay the same or become even more specialized. So rest easy lovers of Mustache Officianado...

The way we receive our magazines is going to change, or at least according to the author of this article it is... The more narrow-casting will allow magazines to cater more specifically to smaller groups, or so they say...

We live in an increasingly stressful world. This is probably going to increase the amount of "ludenic" reading people may wish to do. Ludenic reading is reading for pleasure, and magazines are all about that sweet, sweet release from our daily lives (assuming we don't just watch TV instead).

Magazines will probably move towards less frequent circulations. Those weekly mags you might all love may become bi-weekly, or even monthly. *This seems like a decline to me, but the magazine companies can throw whatever tag they want on it..*

So there it is, a rundown of the magazine world for the next ten years. Maybe when I'm 31 I'll come back and take a gander at the changes - but probably not.

Oh, here's the article citation:

Abrahamson, D. (2009). The future of magazines, 2010-2020. Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, 10, 1-3. Retrieved from Communication and Mass Media Complete database on Nov. 20, 2009.