First the iPad, now Facebook. Magazines make a move.

On the heels of yesterday’s post on Vanity Fair launching for iPads today, Mashable (easily my new addiction since I downloaded the app to my 4-year-old son’s iPod Touch – which I bring on my daily commute) had this article about the future of magazines – offering subscriptions and the ability to share articles within Facebook. 

At first read I was all for it. I love magazines, I love FB. Why not? The programming will allow a pop up of the article to show up within FB. For me, once I’m on a site, I don’t want to go off of it. If someone posts an interesting article or video, I don’t want to lose my place on any site, so I usually open in a new tab.  Magazines on FB makes perfect sense to me. Articles popping up – like that, too.

At least in theory. Nevermind the many, many research/marketing/measurement questions this new potential marriage raises with all of FB’s non-disclosure policies. An entire post could be devoted to that. Just from the consumer side, I have a host of questions: Will the pages be served with ads like when you watch a full episode of your favorite show on a network’s site online? Am I going to be forced to wait through X-seconds of advertising before I’m allowed to read the content? Will it be printable? Lets face it, no one REALLY likes to read long articles on screen. Given the choice, people want to print it out. Will it be free? If Jane Doe subscribes and shares her article (BTW – I foresee huge leaps in pass along numbers) do I have to pay to read it? None of these are dire questions, just curious.

We have been hearing so much lately of the death of print and seeing title after well established title fold under the weight of interactive media. I am heartened to see the many ways my beloved magazines are branching out and soaring to the new millenium.

I’ll stay tuned to Mashable for upcoming news. Meanwhile, you can read their short article here.

  Lauren Indvik

The Next Big Platform for Magazines Could be Facebook

Today, Vanity Fair for the iPad appeared in Apple’s App Store. This summer, the title — and many others — may be available directly in your Facebook newsfeed.

Synapse, a subscription marketing agency that works with major magazine publishers like Condé Nast, Hachette Filipacchi and Hearst, is working with with Alvenda, a company that specializes in Facebook shopping applications, to enable publishers to sell subscriptions directly on Facebook Pages and even in users’ newsfeeds beginning in July or August.

AdAge() reports that the tools will allow users to share articles with friends that can then be expanded into dynamic pop-ups on their newsfeeds, complete with ads and directions to subscribe to the magazine elsewhere on Facebook.

Read more.