Following is a discussion of numerous dimensions of interactivity.These include the abilities of magazines to connect in terms of personal insights,theme,affiliation,the self,personification,recognition,change and adaptation,consistency,the senses,projection,utility,space,durability,attachment,collecting,and alternative use.
Connecting through Personal Insights
Many magazines provide a bridge to insights about a person,or population.A publication does not have to have a name like People or US Weekly to be people-oriented.As publishing pioneer Arnold Gingrich commented in his memoir about the early days of Esquire,“a magazine,in a very real sense,is made of nothing but people”(Gingrich,1971,p.4).The April 2002 cover of National Geographic,for example,featured a Middle Eastern woman,her face shrouded by a purple burqa.The woman is clasping a photograph-a world-famous image of a young Afghan girl with vibrant green eyes that first appeared on a cover of National Geographic in 1984.In big red letters,the 2002 cover declared,“Found.”The occasion was the rediscovery,after 17 years,of the subject of the photo,a woman named Sharbat Gula.In a masterstroke of irony,Gula is the woman on the cover,holding a picture of herself as a youth.Inside the magazine is a current photo portrait of the woman,now about 30,and sans burqa-her face a rugged road map of the journey of Afghan refugees.The imagery stands as a striking personalized symbol of a nation's search for identity,bringing a complex global problem into more understandable,interpersonal focus through the lens of those amazing eyes.In essence,the magazine provided an alternative to the iconic face of Afghanistan at the time-that of Osama Bin Laden.
Coincidentally,around the same time the National Geographic cover provided a personalized connection with an Afghan woman,a new magazine venture promising personalized connections for Afghan women was getting off the ground(Haven,2002).The new launch,was Roz(or“The Day”),the first Afghan fashion magazine to appear since the Taliban's departure.Funded by French fashion magazine,Elle,but edited and based in Kabul,the magazine was geared to building connections among Afghan women.Lailoma Ahmadi,the Afghan editor-in-chief(Haven,2002),“Our aim in launching this magazine is to help educate women and teach them to help each other.”
Connecting thematically
Among the various communication media,none seems more avowedly personally oriented than magazines.Much of the interpersonal nature of magazines is the outgrowth of an unabashed and concerted effort by publishers to connect with audiences.
Magazines emphasize a sense of personal connection-attempting to foster a bond between reader and publication.Even in the heyday of mass-circulation publishing in the early part of the Twentieth Century,such mammoths as the Saturday Evening Post,Colliers,Life and Look aimed to connect on a personal basis.Their target reader was“everyman”and their approach was to serve as a common denominator that could provide something for everyone.
Most of the gargantuan-circulation magazines have faded from the scene.Certainly,some large-circulation publications still exist-notably,TV Guide and Reader's Digest-but the emphasis of today's breed of more specialized publications is on connecting through shared,personal interest.Instead of sweeping up individuals with the broad net of the general interest approach,the intent of specialized publications is to provide a particularized bait that will be irresistible to a particular group or class of reader.Rather than something for everyone,it is now something special that a special someone can interact with in a highly personal way.One result in the magazine field is what Mogel calls“niche-itis”(Mogel,1992,p.11)-the targeting,and ever more refined targeting of readers who share a common interest.
Connecting through Affiliation
Many magazines have been framed not simply as objects,but as objects of affiliation.One less-than-subtle example of this contrivance-that a magazine could be thought of as a friend with a life of its own-was the title of an once popular magazine directed at female readers,Women's Home Companion.
More than three decades ago,as the magazine specialization was gaining momentum,Ford(1969,p.3)began his text on specialized publications this way:
In the whirling universe of communications,a great celestial system spins spectacularly but unseen and unknown to most men!It is the brilliant and ever-expanding phenomenon of specialized publications.Formed of giant galaxies,shining constellations,and splendid single stars,it influences all our lives and we see it every day but remain ignorant of its powerful and persuasive spell.
Despite the other-worldly sound of this influential constellation,Ford(p.3)assured his readers that specialized publications are familiar-that“they're old friends of yours”and that they“expand and evolve with life itself,serving and entertaining men and women in every hour of every day,companions in every activity.”
Connecting through the self
Another familiar interactive,interpersonal-oriented convention is that the magazines might not simply be thought of as a friend,but rather also as a phenomenon bound up with the reader himself or herself.The titles of magazines such as US and Self are more obvious attempts at engendering such self-identification.
Another means of trying to gain a connection with the essence of the reader is through direct address.Magazines frequently make use of direct address in cover blurbs and article headlines,hoping to catch the eye of“YOU”the devoted reader-or even“YOU”the chance observer who just happens to be passing by a newsstand.
