By Becky Hurwitz
Senior Lifestyle Magazine is a monthly magazine with articles relevant
to seniors. The magazine is published in Northern California, and
seems to be distributed in that area alone. The web version, found
at www.senior-lifestyle.com,
is very simple.
The homepage gives the user options to view articles from the month's
publication, and a few other categories of information ranging from
a calendar of local events to the recent California Lotto winners.
I have never seen an issue of the published magazine, so I am only
guessing that the printed version has similar content as the online
version. It seems to me that the content is very limited, but it is
a local publication, and may not contain more content in printed form.
Despite the limited scope, the information is easily accessible and
clearly marked. The design may be a bit questionable as some of the
colors might be difficult for people with weakened vision to discern.
In comparison to online versions of magazines directed at different
audiences, the site is very simple and provides limited amounts of
content. There seems to be no advantage to using the web version instead
of the printed version, as the web version provides no functions individual
to digital media on the web. There are no chat forums or discussion
boards, no places for communication. For a local magazine, it seems
that such community building tools would be useful and used. For instance,
the site has a link to the town website, but it provides no area for
the readers to post their favorite things about the town or their
questions about living in the town. These items might be useful, and
would offer reasons to access the web based magazine in place or in
addition to the printed magazine.