[CREATE] LG magazine #1::∞

Tue Aug 17 08:04:18 PDT 2010

totally +1

On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 6:34 PM, Louis Desjardins
<louis.desjardins at gmail.com> wrote:
> 2010/8/17 a.l.e <ale.comp_06 at xox.ch>
>>
>> hi ricardo
>>
>> after having read your mail some more thoughts about the way i "see" the
>> magazine... it's just my opinion, of course!
>>
>> - as far as i am concerned, you and ana are very welcome to create
>>  further issues of the lgmag! at the same time, i'd also like to see
>>  other crews creating "their" lgmag!
>
> But Ale, that "their" you put here... doesn’t it defeat the idea of
> gathering and joining forces around one project?
>
> 1.  It’s been already hard enough (took 5 years) to find a state-of-the-art
> design crew. Now we have one!
>
> 2.  Let’s continue in that direction with the goal of publishing on a
> regular basis and desperately stick to that rythm!
>
> 3. Start with a quarterly, keep it like that for a year, increase the number
> of pages if necessary, until we reach the point where the project seems
> viable enough and has drawn much attention and interest and then accelerate
> the rythm of issuing to every 2 months. If we can, increase the rythm to a
> monthly publication.
>
> 5. With time, we’ll be able to show and store on the website a large array
> of issues. Every year at LGM the issues of the year will be physically
> available.
>
> 6. Those would be always available to download and print.
>
> Bringing such a project to life will already be a solid statement of what we
> can achieve as an organisation, using F/LOSS. Showing those issues at each
> LGM will also draw attention. It will encourage people to use the software
> and create with it.
>
> In order to keep production cost as low as possible and at the same
> concentrating as much as possible on an interesting content I would suggest
> we start with either a black and white publication (remember, in design
> black is a color) at least for the interior pages, or that we start with a
> color cover (C1-C4) and the interior in black ink. That way we could print
> at very low cost and most everybody could handle the printing locally
> withoug busting any budget. And we can have a state-of-the-art magazine.
>
>>
>>  it would be wonderful to have some sort of main group managing it and
>>  -- on top of it -- some people who could freely work on single issues.
>>  that way i'd like to make some publicity for people already working
>>  with free tools and get some new designers to try out our programs.
>>  every crew will be free to have it's own approach to the magazine.
>>  both on the content and form side (well, i prefer a form which is easy
>>  to print, of course). the community would be there to help feeding
>>  the content.
>
> This seems to me quite complicated but I am of course ready to be proved
> wrong! :)
>
> The main drawback I see to that idea is it drives us away from having a
> solid, gathering brand.
>
> As I mentionned above, let’s keep the work on target with the people we
> have. It’s already hard enough.
>>
>> - about pdf / paper / web: i would also love to produce every issue on
>>  paper, but i wonder if, on the one side, we can find the money to
>>  print it and, on the other side, if we have the channels to distribute
>>  the printed copies.
>
> The question about the channels is spot-on. The same question could be
> raised about the community filling content. Do we have the people to write
> all that stuff?
>
>>
>>  very likely, most of the content which will be in each issue will
>>  already be available somewhere on the web. one of the reasons why i've
>>  pushed the idea of a magazine is to have an archive of selected topics
>>  anybody could download and get a clue what that "libre graphics"
>>  thing is. in that sense a "clunky" pdf does make sense to me.
>>  if we can produce a magazine which is easy to print in few copies, i
>>  guess that anybody needing a few dozen copies can print them at the
>>  nearest print shop. (more expensive to print, but cheaper to spread
>>  around the world)
>
> Defintely yes: print locally and in small quantities is the way to go.
>
> At the same time we’re going to need a PDF version, no?
>>
>> - after having produced a few issues on paper and/or on pdf, i guess it
>>  will be much easier to find some sponsoring... i hope! (i have
>>  already an idea where i could ask here in switzerland. but i need to
>>  have some more issues and i can't ask any money for this year
>>  anymore).
>
> I would suggest to secure the few sponsors we have for LGM and offer them a
> bit more visibility (it’s still close to nothing considering the close to
> nothing expected circulation numbers of the magazine, so far). But of course
> people are encouraged to find a local sponsor to print the copies they need.
>
>>
>>  i'd also like to have some sort of subscription model... but since we
>>  still don't have a schedule, a clear direction, nor a way to manage
>>  the money, i guess it's still a bit too early to talk about it!
>
> Exact. Much too early! :)
>>
>> i guess that for now the best thing would be to just do some magazines
>> and not talk too much about what the magazine should not be or what
>> its limits are.
>
> Let’s put the next one together and keep in mind we’ll produce one every 3
> months from now on... That’s already a decent goal, in my view.
>>
>> let's just do it! and we will see in which direction the wind blows!
>
> Let’s set the sails and decide where we go no matter the wind direction! :)
>>
>> ciao
>> a.l.e
>
> À la prochaine !
>
> Louis
>>
>>
>>
>> > On 08/16/2010 10:57 AM, Alexandre Prokoudine wrote:
>> > > I had the magazine idea a year ago: as a concept, few layout ideas
>> > > and content plan for a couple of issues. But never had a team to
>> > > support it and didn't see a way to make it financially rewarding.
>> > > Ginger and Ricardo picked the idea
>> >
>> > and Ana Carvalho
>> >
>> > > and then Libre Graphics Magazine #0 was done
>> > > for LGM this year. In three days.
>> >
>> > Production was two days, actually :o)
>> >
>> > > Amazing job they did, by the way. I
>> > > wonder if they intend to work further on it.
>> >
>> > This is a good cue. Ginger's reply said everything i would have --
>> > having a real object that we can show people how FLOSS tools can get
>> > the job done nicely is 1000x more effective in promoting FLOSS tools
>> > than dry evangelising about software packages and their pros and cons.
>> >
>> > Me and Ana would definitely be happy to go further with LGMag. Let me
>> > emphasise that the #0 issue was produced on a 2-day sprint --
>> > definitely shedding my own preconceptions that publishing a magazine
>> > would be a more sluggish and convoluted process*. And having that
>> > issue to show skeptical designers how FLOSS can get stuff done is a
>> > godsend.
>> >
>> > So yes, the team from LGM Magazine #0 is up for going on with the
>> > project. We can go on discussing this on another thread.
>> >
>> > One remark though -- i'm not fond of the idea of a PDF-only magazine.
>> > Sure, we'd need to get funding and/or sponsorship to support the
>> > printing costs, but a printed publication is many things that a PDF
>> > file is not. (also, if it would be online-only, better to have a
>> > website containing the desired content than a clunky PDF, IMHO.)
>> >
>> > :r
>> >
>> > * And of course, Ginger's awesome copyediting-fu is much to blame for
>> > this having turned out right.
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