Monday, September 24, 2007

Online Features

When print media sources try to access the potential of the online forum, they often tend to do a straightforward 're-print'. The material they use is the same, it's just online. This is usually the case with TV News channels when displaying stories on their corresponding website. This is also usually the case with print publications, especially magazines and newspapers.


An example of this is Wired's online article 'An IM Infatuation Turned to Romance. Then The Truth Came Out.'

The article was published in the magazine as well as online, and in terms of written content, they're identical.

However, Wired have attempted to take advantage of the online domain by adding extra content that would otherwise take up too much space in the magazine. Specifically, they've added an IM conversation between the piece's subjects. This is very long, and would otherwise consume several pages in the magazine. It's not an essential piece of content, but online it can be shown and rounds off the piece slightly.

Additionally, Wired have incorporated some links to give the piece more life and make it more full and complete.


Without having seen the magazine version, the online re-print works. It doesn't come across as a re-print or cluttered. It works independently and as a separate entity, not reliant on the magazine format.

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