I'm curious as to if/when CMS will go to an electronic format, like the kindle, nook, or Ipad? I know media in general is in a big transition, and publishers are weighing the options, but I curious what factors make a publisher consider or dismiss this possible future.
Thanks
It's not a question of "if", but a question of "when".
The e-reader market is growing to rapidly to ignore, and the cost of printing and shipping paper magazines is exploding as well.
It's not something that is likely to happen in the immediate future, and it won't ever completely replace the printed copy of the magazine. We've got a few options on the table that we're exploring, and we're still looking to see what devices are likely to be around the longest. It might still be too early to make that decision, but it's definitely going to happen.
In reply to Tom Heath:
Thanks be to God you aren't planning on leaving the printed offerings! I enjoy going online as much as the next guy but I also like to keep back issues. Besides, I don't intend to go the e-reader route. I like the feel of a book, magazine, or newspaper in my hand.
Just my opinion, but I think your best bet is to put all content in the database right away, but not publish it to web. Instead, attach the content to a given issue and you could output a .epub format pretty easily, and both iPads and Kindles like .epub (or did last time I checked).
Pull the content for the reader (maybe via json) and you're home free.
Plus, the content is already in the database when you want to publish it to the web site at some future point. .epub is pretty simple, and the whole thing could run off what you have already. Trickiest part would probably be restricting access, but that could be done, too. Note that I'm talking about the .epub format, not the Flash "Epubs" roaming around, which are usability nightmares and don't solve any e-reader problems anyway.
On a side note, if the new site font size could be bumped up a hair, old eyes would appreciate it.
