Jump to content

Could MMM do this?


peejay

Recommended Posts

Every February each copy of German motorhome magazine 'Reisemobil International' is supplied with a free copy of the previous 12 (Jan - Dec) editions on a DVD.

 

Saves having to store bulky back issues, wouldn't it be nice if MMM and others could do this.

 

(?)

 

Pete

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Tracker
Sounds good to me - although it would only be as good as the quality of the indexing - which might make a lot of work for someone - unless Warners already have it all stored electronically anyway?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

peejay - 2011-01-23 12:54 PM

copy of German motorhome magazine 'Reisemobil International' is supplied with a free copy of the previous 12 (Jan - Dec) editions on a DVD.

Sounds a really good idea. If adopted I suspect the DVD would only be availble to subscribers?

I like the 'free' word although I too would be willing to pay a small fee - say the price of the magazine?

 

Cattwg :-D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cattwg - 2011-01-23 6:20 PM

Sounds a really good idea. If adopted I suspect the DVD would only be availble to subscribers?

I like the 'free' word although I too would be willing to pay a small fee - say the price of the magazine?

 

Cattwg :-D

 

No charge for the DVD apart from the cost of the edition you are purchasing.

It's stuck to the magazine and distributed regardless of whether you subscribe or not.

 

If they can do it, perhaps others will follow, shan't hold my breath though.

 

Pete

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Tracker
Brian Kirby - 2011-01-23 6:18 PM

 

They'd need to leave the ads out though!  :-)

 

That would make it a very compact compact disc!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian Kirby - 2011-01-23 6:18 PM

 

They'd need to leave the ads out though!  :-)

 

Why? As a regular monthly advertiser myself I'd like to think that if a 12 issue DVD was provided it would include at least my adverts even if it cost me a LITTLE BIT more over the year. (lol)

 

D.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds a great idea to me, so long as the same adverts from every edition, do not appear 12 times.

SHMBO would love to throw my reference library away.

36 pages of Swift's historic pictorial adverts would be a bit OTT, as the current MMM issue would also have the currnt Swift advertisment. (Swift only used as an example, as they generally take most pages, the same for other manufacturers' of course)

And if the indexing is good, I would only need to look at the adverts when I chose/need to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is an interesting idea, although I am not sure of the benefit of producing a DVD/CD that simply repeats the previous year's issues.

Although, that said, I do see the benefit of having them on disc rather than in printed format.

Are these DVDs/CDs sponsored or do they have an intro advert?

To provide this service, it must be cost neutral.

MMM readers will already have read those copies and some (most) will have them filed away for reference.

I can look at putting previous issues on our website as downloadable PDFs if there is enough demand.

But I think for this to work as an online service, it could only be available to those who already subscribe or to those who are willing to pay. It would also have a delay - maybe six months - before going live.

Or we can find a sponsor.

But reading these posts you all seem to think this is a good idea to have previous issues stored and accessed electronically.

I don't think a CD/DVD on the cover is the answer for us, but if you really think it would be a reader benefit to have access to electronic past issues, I can explore this further and come up with some cost-effective options.

I'll come back to this debate in a few days and see whether there is sufficient demand for such a service. It is certainly possible if so.

By the way, the team at MMM spent last weekend posting the last five years of MMM motorhome road test on this website.

They are all as PDFs exactly as they appeared in the print issues and they are all free to download.

Just follow this link http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/channel/reviewbrowse.asp?c=1&cate=1

We normally charge £5 for reprints of road tests so if you are considering buying a used model, check the above link first to see if we have reviewed it and learn what we thought about the model when it was new.

In the coming weeks, road tests going back ten years will be available the site.

I hope you find them of use.

Daniel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Daniel the editor - 2011-01-25 9:59 PM

MMM readers will already have read those copies and some (most) will have them filed away for reference.

I can look at putting previous issues on our website as downloadable PDFs if there is enough demand.

 

Daniel,

I think you are missing the point slightly. We (I!) need to get rid of the MMM paper reference library. It simply takes up too much room and I am constantly fighting a rear guard action to save them from being 're-cycled' by my wife.

Also to my mind a DVD is a much neater solution than PDF files.

 

Regards

 

John :-D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Test reports available on-line is a great start, not everyone buys new & currently it can be difficult to access a test report earlier than one year or so.

If this should be chargeable (to non-subscribers) or not, is obviously an Editorial descision for Warners.

Next step - travel articles ? technical info ? for previous issues.

One point - why .pdf, I would assume that the editorial matter for  the last few years would be in an electronic format for the printers.

Or is it to safeguard "copyright" ?

Just a thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

good start Daniel IMO, that will be useful, then as with flicka says, travel, tech stuff and the like, PDF is good for me,but so is DVD, its not difficult to do a menu of the years stuff at the start, ie year of travel, year of tech stuff, a year of test reports etc then users can access easily

the only downside i can think of with this dvd is that why be a subsciber? ie just wait for that edition and get a years mag for £3.75 8-)

so like you say, a PDF of past issues only available to subscribers might be the way to go or if it was possible just give the dvd to the subscribers only?

just for referance i dont keep the back issues anyway.. i scan the stuff i think i might need (travel stuff, tech stuff, tests etc) into my computer then i have an MMM folder with it all in, with dates and sub menus etc.. then the MMM gets recycled :-)

jonathan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

as others have said - a good start Daniel.

like the idea of accessing - searching for info on line without the waste and bulk and space of hard copy - even though it isn't as much fun to read first time round

 

would prefer something other than pdf because I like to annotate and can never read my squiggle -much better if I can add little text boxes and suchlike and save to disk

 

:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Tracker

Firstly I think our warm thanks are due to Daniel our new Editor for stepping into the Lion's Den of the forum where, as has often been shown, you can please some of the people some of the time - if you are lucky!

 

I too would prefer a dvd of the previous years mags as it would be more convenient both to store at home and to access whilst away - even on a laptop for reference whilst looking at new or used vans - especially when as is often the case no internet access is available.

 

If the disc - or memory stick? - has to have adverts as a means of funding then this is preferable to having to pay for it - tight sod that I am - and in any case a reference of all the past year's advertisers as part of one handy information dvd would also have it's potential benefits when a service is needed, especially if a problem arises whilst away from home or in an unknown area?

 

If Warner's want to be new, innovative and different this may just be an ideal opportunity to put one over on the opposition?

 

Thanks Daniel and may I wish you every success with your new venture.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Daniel

 

Thanks very much for being so amenable to the ideas that come up on the forum.

 

I can see the benefit of a DVD in that it is already 'done' for us, we wouldn't have to download lots of stuff taking up quite a chunk of our precious monthly broadband allowance, and would save a lot of time for us too. However I agree that those who get this DVD should definitely be subscribers only, with non-subscribers able to purchase it say 3-6 months after the last magazine publication date, otherwise as has been mentioned, those who aren't subscribers could just buy the DVD and in effect get the previous year's magazines for nowt.

 

As for the road tests - a big thank you to you those MMM Mansion for doing that, I'm sure it will help people immensely without the expense (or delay) in having to get one from MMM in hard copy form. From MMM's point of view I assume it will mean that you don't have to store or 'dig out' past issues, so it's a 'win win' situation all round. :->

 

Personally, when looking for info on motorhomes we have been considering purchasing, or have owned, it was a bit of a long drawn out job sometimes to track down the magazine issue a test report was published in and the magazines themselves do take up a heck of a lot of space (as hubby is always reminding me! *-) ) I shall go and have a rummage through them shortly. :-D

 

Keep up the good work chuck! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would love to get a DVD, would be happy to pay extra for it too! We have a subscription to Good Sam, the US motorhoming organisation, and their magazine can be downloaded monthly rather than receiving a paper copy. However, for MMM I would prefer a hard copy magazine plus a DVD for archiving. Please please please.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...