Originally posted by OddDog i am just a little paraniod or are the spelling comments pointed in my direction. If so, i must stand up and admit it, my ortogrphy sucks, especially on this portable keyboard. Or is it my typing, I quess that i am cracking up under the pressure !!!!!!!!
Just for the record, Gill is no longer editor of Cre@teOnline. The new helmsman is Garrick Webster, so you can address comments to the editor to him.
It's really late here, so if any of my spelling goes adrift, please forgive me.
The mag's taken a battering, not just on this forum but on our own one as well. Some of it's justified as there are things we've messed up on, but there are others over which we have no control. For instance, once upon a time we had an online editor and a staff writer as well as a deputy editor. All those positions no longer exist. The mag is bloomin expensive I agree, but unfortunately all I can suggest is that you take out a subscription and save on the cover price. Again, that's not a function of the editorial.
So you have the problem that's plaguing media and service industries at present: how do you get more from less? We've got to work harder to produce a mag worth £6 to you, with fewer people. In one sense it's a pain, and in others, it's a challenge.
The industry's landscape has changed, too. Whereas an agency of 10-12 people was considered tiny before 2001, now it's seen as almost massive. Not to mention agencies with 30 or more people. We've had to change to reflect that. Unfortunately, all that laminate on the cover used to cost a bomb. So it's gone the way of all flesh, so we can at least have some money left to pay a few people, like me, to write some stuff in the mag.
I'm starting to ramble, but I think you get an idea of where I'm coming from here.
A couple more points: I don't think it's ironic at all that a paper publication should write about new media. If the mag dealt with television programming, would it mean we'd have to be published in teletext? We should have a better website, I agree, but see all points in my rambling section to get an idea of why we don't.
Also, we're not a replacement for a good book, or set of books on design. We're a magazine. We provide news and reflect changing opinion across the agencies, 13 issues a year. The two types of media can coexist. There are books about cars, and there are magazines about cars. Ditto football, Macs, Food and so on. In fact, we even promote books in our mag.
Also, this site is great, but it is called Flash Kit. The design for new media and Flash design are two separate though related disciplines. Don't forget there's such a thing as HTML for instance.
Must run along. As I've said, we're not always right, but we're having a really good go of it in difficult circumstances. Hopefully, we'll get some of you to start buying again.
Thankyou for your reply Graeme, I'm sure our members will have a reply for you.
I understand that you and your team may come under pressure, lose team members who are never replaced etc but I think this was bad all round marketing and handling by Future Publishing.
Some of the PC mags give away thousands of pounds of software per month and are less than a fiver, your magazine (although a different market) cannot compete with the likes of that.
I believe that when you first started you hit much higher than your weight, unfortunately that wasn't enough to make it to round 12.
you stood up and took it on the chin, did some ducking and diving, and have come through smelling of roses. Congratulations you just won yourself a convert.
Hope you can hang around the forum every so often, I for one will listen to ya.
BTW, what we did on our forum when we were getting hammered is that we got people to make a bunch of suggestions of how we could make the mag better - what you'd like to0 see in it that would make you buy it. So if you've got any suggestions, make them known.
Some of the suggestions have led to changes, like our new masterclass section. So do keep raising issues and keeping us in shape.
Thanks for clearing up the deal with the cover, it's understandable, and is in line with the getting rid of the cdrom.
Again, C.O. is a decent magazine, I applaud your work.. The only major gripe I have with it is the fact that subscription isnt an option for any of us living in Americas, last time I checked... then again, it's an issue with Future, not you guys..
I guess I'm a disgruntled customer of Future Publishing/Imagine Media, ever since they decided to kill PCXL.
You used to be able to do foreign subs. Hmm. Will have to make an enquiry once I get off deadline. It would make sense for us to get it to you without the visit to Borders and the shelling out of $14.99 cash money.
Originally posted by GraemeA
Just for the record, Gill is no longer editor of Cre@teOnline. The new helmsman is Garrick Webster, so you can address comments to the editor to him.
might be an idea to update the contacts page on your site then
I'm sure i'll always continue to buy the mag. Through all the criticizm it still comes out being a great magazine. I totally understand the costs for it, just wish it could be a slight bit cheaper for Canada where I am. $19.95 an issue does hit the wallet hard.
I do really enjoy the articles though, and like you said Graeme, it's a magazine targeting not just Flash but all aspects of web design, which is totally what I want. And I haven't seen many other magazines on the market that do provide that.
It's unfortunate that there isn't a Canadian equivalent to CreateOnline.
Last edited by [-S|NiStEr_MiNd-]; 10-30-2002 at 11:31 AM.
I like the magazine, enjoy the content -
and think it provides exposure for an art from taken for granted by so many who use the web.
Obviously the days of $ Fluffed dot com budgets are gone, but I have faith the magazine will resurrect the edgy style it once had.
I must say, I would go berserk if I ever had a site featured in that magazine. While it may not be what it once was - is there anything better at the moment?
I'm Canadian and for a long time I've been considering getting the "whole shebang" from Computer Arts. the mag and the specials. Anyone here like to comment on this? I could use the feedback as its not cheap. I'm a freelancer btw using the MM Studio MX and mostly PHP/MySQL for developement.
THanks
Erik
What the mind can CONCIEVE and BELIEVE, it can ACHIEVE.
I used to buy CreateOnline too, now and then. Personally, the numerous websites they featured inside the magazine were what ended up impressing me most; yes, just several URLs - hardly wirth the £6.
However, I think the level of their success was answered by its own cease of print. As for their website (when it was still running), it maybe wasn't quite as good as ComputerArts, but even that site isn't up to par with the likes of FlashKit.
The important thing to note though, is that there ARE quality resources like FlashKit on the internet, which are FREE.
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