Publications

The online version of Illumination, a magazine published by the University of Missouri, won both best online magazine eduStyle awards (judged and People’s choice) this year.

As a judge for this category, I was really impressed by the quality of its design and the great use of multimedia.

That’s why I contacted Illumination’s designer, Joshua Hughes, multimedia specialist at the Office of Research, to find out how this little gem was put together. As you will see in this email interview, greatness comes with a price: time, work and talent.

Illumination Magazine, Research at the University of Missouri – Spring 2010

1) Illumination won the best online magazine eduStyle award this year, can you tell us how this version was developed?

I joined Mizzou’s Office of Research in August of last year, and it was clear that refreshing the Illumination site was one of the organization’s top goals.

I was quite impressed by our print book right from the get-go. The layout and photography was and is, top-notch. The website, unfortunately, felt like something else entirely. Like most sites, it just placed articles in a standard template. The visual impact you get from reading the magazine was almost completely lost in the translation to the web.

BEFORE

So bringing some of the print aesthetic to the website seemed like a fairly obvious strategy, and I spent the next few months working on a redesign. It was a lot of work, but we were able to launch the new version in early December.

AFTER

2) What platform do you use? How long does it take to put the magazine online? Tell us a bit more about your workflow?

The site itself is running very little specialized software. There isn’t a content management system. Aside from a bit of PHP scripting here and there, it’s all handcrafted HTML. This may change in the future, but for now it suits our needs perfectly.

It takes about 2-3 months to put the magazine up, but a lot of that is associated with multimedia production. Generating just the web portion takes about 3-4 weeks.

Most of the web design work is done after the print edition is complete. I use the finished assets to sketch potential layouts and create design comps. Sometimes it’s a real struggle to find ways to make the art direction work on the web, and other times the concepts seem to really come into their own.

3) How do the print and the online versions work together? Are they targeted to different audiences?

Because our print magazine publishes sometime difficult-to-approach stories about advanced research and scholarship, we have to work hard to draw general-interest readers into the book. We’ve found that the most effective way to generate interest is by experimenting with different visual approaches and design styles from issue to issue.

This approach presents unique challenges on the web, where usability and accessibility concerns have to be considered. Our web magazine thus employs a more structured visual scheme that ensures ready site access for a wide range of users. Within this structured framework, however, we do seek to design pages that allow our digital audience to experience the fresh look and feel of each new print book. This means not only repurposing and reconfiguring art and typography published in the print but, most importantly, designing pages that – especially when viewed in e-reader formats – might help our audience move beyond just a “website” and into “digital magazine” experience.

Strength in Diversity – Illumination, Spring 2010 – University of Missouri

We hope there will be significant overlap between the digital and print audience, and take pains to invite readers each version to seek out the other. Unfortunately, thus far we’ve not been able to collect much data on the extent to which this is happening.

4) What can you tell us about the way readers interact with both versions?

Other than the obvious stuff – print readers turn pages, online readers click through web pages and multimedia – we don’t have a good way to answer this question. We’d love to find the money to design and execute a formal reader survey, but so far we’ve not been able to make it happen. (We have been able to commission some lab-based usability studies in the past, but these were primarily geared toward straightforward, site-navigation issues.)

5) How do you measure success for both versions?

Again, due to our non-existent marketing budget, we haven’t been able to do formal reader/user surveys. Instead we rely on responses via a postage-paid reply card bound into each edition of the print book; comments made via a form on the website; data from web analytics; reprint and republication requests from media, faculty and professional groups; praise and complaints from our faculty, staff and students; and, of course, feedback from sites like eduStyle.

6) There is no way to comment about the articles on the online version. Can you explain the reasoning behind this design decision?

Adding this functionality is a subject that’s still under consideration. In general, our staff and management agree that an open dialogue on the topics we cover has the potential to serve both the mission of Illumination magazine and the University of Missouri as a whole. However, online comments don’t always result in a quality discussion. We need to make sure that if we implement this feature, it adds value to the site. That may not be a given.

As you probably know, I’ll be hosting “Start the (Word)Presses: How to create the online version of your print magazine or newsletter with WordPress” next Thursday (Jan 21st).

I designed this 2-webinar series to help magazine editors get a good and practical understanding of how WordPress can help them create an easy-to-produce online version for their print publication.

But, “why should magazine editors and writers use WordPress in the first place?” some of you might ask.

Here are my top 4 reasons:

WordPress is an online publishing platform
Yes, this one sounds obvious. However, it’s important to state that WordPress has been designed to publish timestamped articles that can be categorized and tagged with meta data (articles which are usually called blog posts). While publishing an online magazine requires a special kind of themes (i.e design templates) to break away from the blogging format – where everything is presented in reverse chronological order, many of these themes are now available for free or a fee. A knowledgeable web designer can also design a brand new customized theme.
As a result, many big and small online magazines are powered by WordPress in higher education and elsewhere.

WordPress offers several options when it comes to web hosting
Since it runs with PHP and MySQL, WordPress cannot work out of the box on any campus server (requirements for the latest version of WP can be found online). However, it can run on many servers (even on Windows servers although this requires a work around for rewriting web addresses produced by WP).
Your IT folks don’t want to hear about WordPress on THEIR servers? No problem, you can actually get a web hosting shared account and ask the person in charge of your DNS to help you set up a sub-domain such as magazine.universitydomain.edu that will point to your shared account IP address. It might sound complex, but it is really easy and quick to implement.
The person in charge of the DNS isn’t cooperative? No problem, you can decide to buy a domain name for your magazine and use it when you set up your web hosting shared account or even use wordpress.com as your web host and buy an upgrade to use your own domain name.

WordPress is simple and easy to use… and to customize
Once everything is set, adding and editing articles is a breeze. No need to know (or remember) your HTML as WP comes with a WYSIWYG editor that won’t scare the editorial team. Add a headline and the body of the article, pick the category and select a few tags… and you’re done.
With the different roles that can be assigned to your WP users, you can even simplify the backend for your editors or writers by showing them only the options they need.
Depending on your theme, you can also easily add a search box, republish the content of an RSS feed, a bit of text or HTML by using bundled widgets that can be just dropped into different areas of your theme.

WordPress is really a MULTIMEDIA publishing platform
Want to add pictures to your articles? No problem, you can upload them ahead of time or as you write (or paste) the text of your article. You can even perform some basic editing on your pictures within WordPress.
Want to add a YouTube video? With WP 2.9 and above, you can just paste the web address of the video and WordPress will take care of the rest.
Want to add an audio file, a photo gallery or slideshow? Several WP plugins can help you do it with just a couple of clicks.

Do YOU use WordPress for a magazine?
Tell us why you chose it by posting a comment!

University Affairs, Canada’s publication about higher education (or post secondary education as it’s said up North), unveiled earlier today its new web and magazine redesigns.

If you want to learn more about this combined redesign (very nice integrated approach between print and web by the way), go read this blog post by Leo Charbonneau.

And, here are the traditional before and after screenshots:

BEFORE

AFTER

University Affairs – The most trusted news source for Canada’s universities | University Affairs

Web professionals have always frown upon the use of PDF as the online version of a print newsletter or magazine.

For some publication officers and college magazine editors, PDF is an easy way to provide the online version of their hard print work.

Just take the final file from the designer (PDF has been used for proofs for many years), have it uploaded to the web server and… voila!

According to The State of Print and Electronic Publications in Higher Ed, a survey completed by 198 professionals last year, PDF is the format of choice for the electronic version of the main magazine in 38% of the cases as shown below.

• PDF file of the print magazine: 38%
• Website powered by content management system: 21%
• Email newsletter: 18%
• Flash-based flipping-through digital magazine: 12%
• Website powered by a blogging platform: 6%
• Other: 4%

Even if the practice is quick and cost-effective, it has been proven by many usability studies that PDF isn’t a user-friendly format for people browsing on computers. These files were also problematic for search optimization as their content was not indexed by search engines in the past – but this isn’t the case anymore.

Yet, in web circles, PDF still has a bad vibe. No respectable web professional wants to see PDF used on web servers for anything except maybe for official forms that needs to be printed.

While I still think web versions of print magazines or other publications are a better way to cater to readers using a computer or even a smartphone (or a pocket sized web mobile device like the iPod Touch), I can’t help think it won’t be the case for ebook readers or tablets – especially when these new “reading” devices are going to get a big push from students looking for a better text book solution.

So, what should a college magazine or publication officer do?

Adopt a multichannel approach: develop a real online version and keep the PDF version for print publications – even if they end up not printing them anymore in the future.

What do YOU think?

I don’t know about you, but I’m always excited by the world of possibilities a new year offers. So, let me wish you the best for 2010. I gotta feeling it’s gonna be a good, good year (can’t you see me singing to the famous tune of the Black Eyed Peas?)

I’ve got a few resolutions (although I prefer to call them goals) put on paper.

What about you?

If you plan to add an online presence to your print magazine or newsletter (or even go totally digital), I’m sure you have already heard about the WordPress platform that powers some of the best digital magazines out there.

Well, if you want to find out how to create the online version of your print magazine or newsletter using WordPress, I have exactly what you and your team needs:

Start the WordPresses, a 2-webinar series including a live presentation on January 21, 2010 as well as a pre-recorded demo walking you through all the steps to set up your WordPress magazine. Here’s the description of this upcoming webinar series hosted by Higher Ed Experts.

Start The (Word)Presses:
How to create the online version of your print magazine or newsletter with WordPress
January 21st, 2010 – 1PM-2PM ET as well as an on-demand pre-recorded demo.

With tighter budgets and deadlines, more and more institutions recognize the need to improve the online versions of their magazines and newsletters.Many have chosen WordPress to get the job done. It is a very popular online publishing platform, because it is powerful, flexible and open-source.

Directed primarily to non-technical users, this 2-webinar series offers a step-by-step walkthrough of how to create the online version of your publication using WordPress. Find out best practices and useful tips to simplify the process. Tracy Mueller and Jason Molin from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business will also share with you a selection of WordPress themes and plugins to get you started.

What you will learn:

• How to install and setup WordPress
• What are the best practices to publish with WordPress
• How to select and use themes and plugins to simplify and speed up the process

If you register at www.higheredexperts.com/startwordpresses by January 11, 2010, you’ll get free access to the following on-demand 3-webinar series (a $350 value) until March 31st, 2010:

“Why and how to go digital with your magazine or newsletter” recorded on July 7, 8 & 9, 2009

This is a 3-webinar series that will show you why more and more higher ed institutions have gone digital with their news-oriented publications. It will also help you get ready for an eventual switch from print to electronic or to better integrate both media at your institution by sharing winning strategies, lessons learned and practical advice from editors of higher ed digital magazines.

• Going Paperless: How to prepare and survive the transition from print to digital
  John Lofy, Editor of Michigan Today, will explain why and how his 40-year old alum magazine took the paperless route by switching to a web magazine combined with an email newsletter. He will share lessons learned, practical tips and advice to prepare and survive this major change.
• Paper and Pixels 101
  Bonny Griffith, Editor of Fuse at Ithaca College, will tell you why and how her 2-year old hybrid print and digital magazine helped her institution reach prospective students. She will also share some winning strategies to integrate and optimize efforts using both media.
• The Editor’s Guide to the Digital Galaxy: How to edit a paperless and multimedia magazine
  Karl L. Bates, Manager of Research Communications and Editor of Duke Research will explain what it means to go from print to digital for writers and editors. He will share practical tips, winning strategies and useful pointers to write and edit a multimedia, digital and paperless magazine.

And, that’s just for January, February, March and April 2010.

I’ve tried to put a program that will help you do your job even better at a time where you are asked to do a lot more with a lot less (time, money, staff…)

As usual, places are limited, so it’s always wise to register ahead of time if you want to secure a spot for your team. You can register by visiting each of the dedicated web addresses of the series. And, if you have any questions, feel free to email karine@higheredexperts.com – always happy to help.

Start The (Word)Presses: How to create the online version of your print magazine or newsletter with WordPress
January 21st, 2010 – 1PM-2PM ET
Register by January 11, 2010 January 19., 2010 at www.higheredexperts.com/startwordpresses

Website Redesign Boot Camp: what you need to know before jumping into a redesign project
February 16, 17 & 18, 2010 – 1PM-2PM ET
Register by February 8, 2010 at www.higheredexperts.com/redesignbootcamp

Analytics 360: How to track and measure (and show to your boss) the ROI of your marketing initiatives
March 10 & 11, 2010 1PM-2PM ET and an introductory session on-demand
Register by March 1st, 2010 at www.higheredexperts.com/analytics360

Open Source CMS Fair: Why Drupal, WordPress/MU or DotCMS could be your next Web Content Management System
April 13, 14 and 15, 2010 – 1PM-2PM ET
Register by April 5, 2010 at www.higheredexperts.com/cmsfair

Since I started this blog in February 2005 with its version 1.2, WordPress has become one of (probably the) best online publishing tool out there. Can you believe version 2.9 will be released in a couple of months?

Naturally, as higher ed print magazines have started to go digital or even paperless, more and more college editors choose WordPress to power the online version of their publications.

Swarthmore College Bulletin is a good example of this trend.

Swarthmore College Bulletin (October 2009)

That’s why I asked Nathan Stazewski, Web Multimedia Specialist at Swarthmore College’s Communications/News & Information Office, to answer a few questions about the online magazine and its WordPress implementation.

1) What design theme did you use?

We used the BranfordMagazine theme as a jumping off point and highly modified both the look and functionality. Since WordPress is really a blogging platform, the most difficult part was getting it to pull together content from a single issue. This was accomplished by setting each post’s “publish date” to be from the month of the appropriate issue (July 2009 magazine articles are all published with dates falling sometime in July 2009 even if we’re preparing them in June). Long story short, our theme’s custom coding is very specific to the way our magazine works.

2) How long did the implementation take?

Our implementation took around 4 months. Our Web Designer, Steve, worked on the look of the site and I worked on the backend.

3) What plugin do you use? Why?
The main plugins we use are:

• Akismet – This automatically deals with most spam comments.
• Lightbox – When you’re in an article and click on a photo, this is what makes them pop open with a nice effect.
• More-fields – This allows us to include extra information that WordPress doesn’t automatically ask for (such as Related Links, Illustrators, etc.)

I also built a custom plugin just for our particular needs so that it could check a magazine issue for possible problems before we make it live on the Internet.

4) What advice would you give colleagues creating an online version of a magazine using WordPress

If someone was looking to use WordPress as the backend for their magazine, I would definitely suggest they use the BranfordMagazine theme as a starting point. Also, this project wouldn’t have been possible without a PHP programmer and a great web designer. I think the fact that we had a programmer (myself) and a designer (Steve) really let us both work to our strengths which pushed out a much better product than if either one of us had to do the whole project ourselves.

Do YOU use WordPress for the online version of your magazine or newsletter?
Post your web address in the comments. I’m currently looking for other great examples and possibly more folks to interview.

My fifth UB column for 2009 is now available in the July/August issue as well as online: “The ABCs of Mobile Marketing: Words to know in exploring this new frontier in higher education marketing”

The ABCs of Mobile Marketing

I added a QR code to the column, but it got resized at printing time – which made it impossible to be properly decoded (a real shortcoming of the technology, BTW) by the QR code reader on my iTouch . This is why I’m adding it below if you want to test the technology.

The QR code above points to the page featuring online resources mentioned in this column about mobile technology, a web page that you can also find by visiting www.higheredexperts.com/mobile.

If you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

UPDATE: I’ve decided to postpone the initial registration deadline to this Friday – July 3rd, 2009 – to allow you to use your 2009-2010 professional development budget if you’re interested in this series.

To register, visit www.higheredexperts.com/stopthepresses

Just a quick reminder about the next 3-webinar series (an updated version of the series that was given last year) I put together for Higher Ed Experts:

Stop the Presses: How to go digital with your magazine or newsletter.
July 7, 8 & 9, 2009 – Registration closes on June 29 (next Monday)
www.higheredexperts.com/stopthepresses

This series should interest you if you’re in charge of news-oriented print publications (alum magazine,
internal newsletter, parents newsletter, etc.) at your institution.

Here’s a detailed description:

“Stop the Presses” is a 3-webinar series that will show you why more and more higher ed institutions have gone digital with their news-oriented publications. It will also help you get ready for an eventual switch from print to electronic or to better integrate both media at your institution by sharing winning strategies, lessons learned and practical advice from editors of higher ed digital magazines.

July 7 2009, 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: July 14, 2009 1PM-2PM ET
Going Paperless: How to prepare and survive the transition from print to digital
John Lofy, Editor of Michigan Today, will explain why and how his 40-year old alum magazine took the paperless route by switching to a web magazine combined with an email newsletter. He will share lessons
learned, practical tips and advice to prepare and survive this major change.

July 8 2009, 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: July 15, 2009 1PM-2PM ET
Paper and Pixels 101
Bonny Griffith, Editor of Fuse at Ithaca College, will tell you why and how her 2-year old hybrid print and digital magazine helped her institution reach prospective students. She will also share some winning strategies to integrate and optimize efforts using both media.

July 9 2009, 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: July 16, 2009 1PM-2PM ET
The Editor’s Guide to the Digital Galaxy: How to edit a paperless and multimedia magazine
Karl L. Bates, Manager of Research Communications and Editor of Duke Research will explain what it means to go from print to digital for writers and editors. He will share practical tips, winning strategies and useful pointers to write and edit a multimedia, digital and paperless magazine.

Webinars: Higher Ed Experts

Institutions that have already registered include:

Missouri State University
ISU
Messiah College
Penn State University
University of Notre Dame
Eastern Kentucky University
Erikson Institute
Emory University
Lynn University
University of Colorado at Boulder – Leeds School
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Hendrix College

Registration is open until June 29 July 3rd at www.higheredexperts.com/stopthepresses

Please email me at karine@higheredexperts.com if you have any questions.

My fourth UB column for 2009 is now available in the June issue as well as online: “2010: Print to Web Odyssey? A five-step plan for assessing and negotiating the transition from print to web publications”

BTW, If you want to learn from editors who went digital or totally paperless with their magazine or newsletter, you should definitely attend “Stop the Presses,” a 3-webinar series about the topic scheduled on July 7, 8 and 9. Places are limited, so make sure you don’t wait too much before registering at www.higheredexperts.com/stopthepresses

Here are the 5 steps described in the article:

• DON’T PANIC: Get the facts straight about existing publications.
• DO YOUR HOMEWORK: Ask readers and target audiences about their preferences.
• LEARN MORE: Determine possible cost-saving options for mission-critical print publications.
• EXPLORE: Figure out different electronic options for other print publications.
• MAKE A DECISION: Share it with stakeholders, target audiences, and readers.

2010: Print to Web Odyssey?

If you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.