Last week, I finally bought something I've been lusting over for months now ... a subscription to HGTV magazine. I have a feeling B and his dad are going to have a bunch more projects added to the list for this summer. Anyway, I had been watching subscription rates for a while, and when they dropped to $15 for a year's subscription, I knew it was the perfect timing.
What I didn't realize when I purchased the subscription was that it was for print only. Martha Stewart tricked me. With my Martha Stewart Living magazine subscription, a digital copy of every issue from the subscription was available - at the time, I didn't have my iPad and I couldn't get it on my Kindle Fire, so I never used it. When I finally bought the HGTV subscription - post iPad purchase - I was really looking forward to my free digital copy, only to be let down when I realized that I would have to pay a couple dollars an issue for the digital version. I did a little research, and found out that if I want to, I could switch my subscription to digital only, and now I can't decide. If I keep the print subscription, I'll be able to tear out pages I like and share my magazines with my mother-in-law (she was pretty pumped when I said I ordered the magazines - she's a huge HGTV fan). If I go with the digital subscription, I'll get the issue sooner, I won't be contributing to the death of trees, but I also won't be able to share, plus I think I'd kind of miss the feeling of the glossy magazine paper. I hate making decisions. First world problems.
This debate that I'm having with myself very closely reflects a conversation that B and his friend had during one of the earlier episodes of their podcast regarding their preference between print or digital content, specifically discussing movies, comic books, and video games. The general consensus was that digital copies are convenient, publishers of different forms of content are creating the digital files anyway, so people should have the option to buy premium packages for a couple extra dollars to have access to both (like most film companies offer Blu-Rays with Ultraviolet codes or just the Blu-Ray disk for a slightly discounted rate. The same should be offered for books, magazine subscriptions, etc.) I'm definitely the type of person who prefers to buy the physical copy of a book - there's something about a bookshelf full of things I've read and enjoyed that makes me happy. On the other hand, I also love the convenience of having content available on my iPad or phone rather than carting around a heavy book (my purses are stuffed full as it is).
I feel kind of awkward asking questions because this blog gets so little traffic, but what the hell ... where do you - my few but dear readers - fall on the digital vs physical copy spectrum?
Here's the way that I look at it: it's a matter of convenience. If odds are you're going to be using whatever it is just sitting on the couch anyways (in this case the magazine), the digital idea is nice but almost not as important.
ReplyDeleteLike movies, it's great to have a digital copy but have I ever sat there and watched a digital copy, not really because if I'm at home I'd rather watch it on the TV and usually don't have time on the road to watch a 2 hour movie. With comics in my case it's nice having the digital version when we go to places and have to wait (like before a movie or sitting at AJ Bombers), but I prefer having the acutal issues (most of the time they give you the digital copy anyways and I don't pay for the digital version if it's optional). I wouldn't read all my comic books digitally either as I just read the actual comics when at home. About half my books have digital copies and have don't so I just make sure to save the ones that do for when I'm not home.
The only thing I prefer in digital form is video games, since it's the exact same experience done the exact same way, just don't have to worry about getting up, swapping out discs, etc.
Hope that helps?
I agree with the digital= convince, but needing a physical copy. Especially with books. I'm super neurotic about my books, I don't dog-ear pages, I don't break the spines, if I have to put one in a bag, I literally worry about if the cover is getting bent. But having the epub file on my tablet is not only more convenient, but then the physical copy is home safe and sound. I also think physical books are dying out, and I want my children to have the tactile experience of books, because that's something that digital can never replace.
ReplyDeletecompletely agree about wanting my children to experience actual books. We have a lot of B's Little Golden Books and Dr Seuss books - I'm looking forward to reading them with our future kids :).
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