The talk concerning on-demand printing, centered primarily around the internet company MagCloud. Three young entrepreneurs - Noah Kalina, a photgrapher from Brooklyn NY, Jini Rooney, Chief Partnership Office BizTech Daily, and Michael Gnade, Co-Founder Indie Games Magazine - talked about their experience in using MagCloud to create their own independent magazines.
The talk reassured publishers that print was still important. Patty Tulloch, Marketing Manager for MagCloud, informed the audience that of 3.8 billion magazines delivered to newsstands, 62% were returned to the wholesaler. She therefore encouraged publishers to consider the new approach of on-demand printing which is both financially and environmentally economical. She also told listeners that it was 25% easier to read from page than on screen and that consumers are still willing to pay money for a printed magazine that is tangible and personal and provides a kind of intimacy that is not gained from reading or viewing content online.
Kalina, Rooney and Gnade all emphasized their use of social networking sites to publicize their products. Rooney, in particular, emphasized her use of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, which have links to each other and which ultimately lead back to MagCloud where consumers can order the magazine. Both Kalina and Gnade stated that their magazines were supported by a small, niche community who wanted to support them and who enjoyed having a tangible product that had personal value.
The talk promoted print and discussed consumers' passion for buying relevant and unique material. It suggested that, for the independent magazine market in particular, there is still a consumer driven requirement to have a magazine in printed format. Tulloch stated that publishers should not consider moving exclusively online, but that the perfect relationship was a combination of print and digital.