Why magazines and print media should be excited about their digital future

(Apple)

Glossy magazines and top selling newspapers know the power of visual stimulation. A picture tells a thousand words. A great front page image can make or break print media sales. But what about a moving interactive 3D image?

The future of print media is digital. Just as new printing techniques revolutionised the industry and gave birth to full page color images in print media, digital content will change the way we read and consume print media in the future.

The ideals and stories will (hopefully) still be there at the heart of digital media but consumers will be given the opportunity to delve deep into the articles. Digital media will put elements that enrich the reading experience - like rich colour photos that can be enlarged, video, sound, animations and 3D images - at the fingertips of every reader.

Static print will evolve into a customisable visual experience that can be shared, retweeted and bookmarked - a totally involved media experience.

New hand-held portable devices, such as Apple's iPad will put digital media in the hands of avid magazine readers and help them make the switch from print to digital media consumption.

On February 16 Wired Magazine posted a video that encapsulated their vision of a digital magazine.

"[W]e are entering a new era of media, where we finally have a digital platform that allows us to retain all the rich visual features of high-gloss print, from lavish design to glorious photography, while augmenting it with video, animations, additional content and full interactivity," wrote Wired's Chris Anderson.

"We're one of the first magazines to go beyond the concept stage with this, and the demo we showed at TED and in the above video reflects months of real tablet production as we prepare to go live this summer."

A video of Wired's digital magazine can be viewed here: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/02/the-wired-ipad-app-a-video-demonstration/