I’m a magazine reader. Even in the day when I have four devices that can browse the Internet in my pockets at the same time, I still prefer a paper magazine. They’re not going anywhere, and that’s why it appears Google is targeting them as its next venture.
The Goog has filed a patent for a system that would allow the “Customization of Content and Advertisements in Publications.” That sounds to us like custom-made magazines.
The way we think it, it’s like RSS for print; you subscribe to feeds, either as they pertain to specific items or broad topics, with categories or keywords. Each month, you’ll receive your print magazine with all the feeds you’ve subscribed to, along with targeted ads.
It’s a neat idea, and hasn’t really been explored very much. Google’s idea seems to be one of both subscription and on-demand. Imagine you’re in a mall, and you see a Google Magazine kiosk. You approach it and select your articles, or perhaps even login and just print what you have pre-selected.
There’s a lot going on here, and we’ll keep you posted.
Google Magazine? [Michael Arrington’s Tech Crunch Blog]
