Didn’t we just have a blog meme going around not too long ago? I could swear I remember telling you why I blog sometime within the last couple of weeks. The latest meme is asking what magazines you read and Bill Slawski tagged me. Bill are you sure you want to know what magazines I read?
Most of my news and article reading is done online at the moment. I get subscriptions like the New York Times delivered to my inbox each day. Over the years there have been times where I was reading a lot of magazines and times where I wasn’t reading any at all. As it so happens I’ve been reading a few regularly for the last year.
General Computing
My brother got a free subscription to PC World a couple of years ago and since he was already a subscriber he sent the freebie to me. It’s mostly basic stuff, but I have picked up the occasional tip and been directed to some nice software. The reviews have helped me make a few purchases too. I’ve since renewed the subscription.
Even though I work primarily on Windows machines at the moment I’m a Linux wannabe. I looked through a variety of Linux magazines and found Linux Journal to be the best. Since I really don’t use Linux I’ve often thought of skipping this when I hit the newsstand, but I can always find one or two articles I like and maybe I really will know something when I finally set up Linux to run virtually on some machine.
Maybe I need to add a magazine on Macs to the mix so I can cover the big three operating systems.
Design
I discovered Photoshop User a bi-monthly offering a couple of years ago and really like it. If you use Photoshop at all you’ll learn something. The magazine is filled with great tips and short step by step tutorials to achieve some effect. It also has a weird knack for offering a tutorial every issue on something I was recently wondering how to do.
About the same time I discovered Photoshop User I came across Step Inside Design. I think I was looking through a lot of design related magazines one month for some inspiration when I was working on a design for a client. Of all the design magazines I checked out Step is the only one I continue to buy. I like taking inspiration for web designs from print materials and Step offers some interesting reading beyond the images.
Surprisingly both of these two very good magazines on design have lousy looking websites.
Hacking
I read the following two hacker magazines for fun. I have learned a few things about securing a website and the lack of security that exists on some rather popular sites, but I tend to read both more as though they were fodder for a piece of fiction than anything else. 2600 is a little more technical of the two and Blacklisted 411 is easier to comprehend for newbies to the subject. Both are entertaining reads and I like the hacker spirit.
I’m amazed at the different things people decide to take apart and figure out. Some of the articles in both are a bit juvenile in their attitude, but most of the articles are written by people with a mature sense of what hacking really means.
The Freebies
The following two magazines both found their way to my door because they offered a free subscription. Search Marketing Standard just stopped the free part of the subscription and I need to remind myself to renew since I like it. You won’t find the key to the algorithm inside, but there are some good articles by people who’s blogs you are probably reading. The articles have given me ideas for this blog and I’ve been surprised at how much the magazine has improved each month.
Pingzine is a free hosting magazine and free is the operative word for why I read it. I can’t say I’ve learned a lot from the magazine and I wouldn’t pay to get it. The articles are a little too light for me and it seems filled with too much advertising compared to actual content. It might have more to do with my own interests than the magazine itself, but I wouldn’t miss it if it stopped finding it’s way to my mailbox.
Baseball
It only comes out once a year in late February, but it’s the magazine I look forward to more than any other. I’ve been reading Street & Smith’s Baseball Yearbook for as long as I can remember. You’ve no doubt been picking up lately that I’m a baseball fan. This preview reminds me spring is coming and that everyone is in Florida and Arizona getting ready for the season. I get to catch up on player movement between teams in case I missed anything over the winter and I save the magazine all season to see how well their predictions were. Street & Smith’s publishes a variety of preview magazines for other sports, which I’ll also buy if I happen to catch them, but I’ll make a special trip to the newsstand for the baseball issue.
All that’s left is the tagging. Otherwise how would you know this was a meme. So how about it
Yuri Filimonov
Adam Senour
Matt Johnson
Ciarán
Steven Rich
Do you read any of the magazines I do? Which ones do you read then?
Added: probably due to this magazine meme, Lee Odden started another poll on the Best Search Marketing Magazines. I’m not familiar with most of them, but I found it interesting that Search Marketing Standard is far and away the number one choice. Boris you really are doing a great job with the magazine.
Download a free sample from my book, Design Fundamentals.
Well, Steve, you sure you’re reading Blacklisted 411 ? I think they stopped magazine lately. My friend had subscription there. They’re site is changed to some “Coming soon” networking site.
Dear Steven,
Thank you for the kind words about Search Marketing Standard.
If you shoot me an email, I’ll give you a coupon code for the renewal so that we’ll continue making our way to your mailbox.
Best Regards,
Boris Mordkovich
Publisher of Search Marketing Standard
Sreejith I think you may be right about Blacklisted 411. I noticed the site was down when I linked to it, but I think the domain is still registered to them for another year. It’s been a few months since I caught the last issue too.
Thanks Boris. Email sent and coupon received. I really do enjoy reading Search Marketing Standard and like I said it’s improved with every issue. I’m looking forward to seeing where it develops in the future.
I’ll have to give the Economist a look Forrest. I’ve always heard good things about it and I think I have read an issue or two. I knew it was more about politics and current events, but hadn’t realized it was a British publication. That might make it more interesting for the different perspective like you said.
You should definitely make The Economist #10. It’s the only magazine I read regularly, and dispite the name, there’s very little to do with economics; more politics, current events, and discussions on how individuals and groups make decisions. As a British publication, they’ve got a clearly different point of view, not just on how they report certain topics ( a bit conservative for my taste ), but also what they do and don’t cover.
I was in the mood for another meme Steve but i don’t actually read any magazines,. Well none that i would like to own up to reading anyway 😉 lol
You could always blog on why you don’t read magazines. You wouldn’t be the first to take the complete opposite view on a blog meme. I’m pretty sure there are no meme police out there enforcing the rules.