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http://www.senior-lifestyle.com

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.