Making things differently

It’s Nice That asked me to make some predictions about the future of independent magazine publishing yesterday – you can read my prognostications on their site.

I was struck while writing the piece that there really does seem to be a lot changing in independent magazine publishing at the moment. I started Stack in part because I was drawn to the innovation and experimentation in independent publishing, but over the last few months that side of magazine making seems to have doubled down. I think that’s partly because of new tools like Kickstarter, which has massively lowered barriers to entry for would-be publishers everywhere, but there’s also a very distinct desire to do things differently and break with the past.

I think it has something to do with a general move towards decentralised independent production – all across media, the arts and crafts, people are making things and selling them to small audiences they’re building on their own. The fact is that these days you don’t need to work for a big, wealthy organisation to get things done, and the growth of independent publishing is probably just one manifestation of that.

It feels like there’s something in that. Not sure what yet, but I’m sure 2014 will reveal more.