Where will we end up?

About 8 months ago there was a distinct shift in my business. I feared it was the effect of the internet on the magazine business. In years pervious I had seen other shifts such as “I saw it on the web, do you have a copy?”The next shift was when they stopped asking that question. Another, has been niche titles using a different business model to get their magazine on the newsstand. Then there was the media blowing things out of proportion with “the death of print” stories. We have also seen the rise and and slow descent in certain categories depending on what's happening in the world. For example, after 911 our house and decorating section took off as people cocooned.

Back in September I felt isolated and I have to admit fear crept in. I began to emerge from my shell when I started asking people in other businesses how things were going. What I heard was they too saw a shift. I have been comforted in learning that it was not magazines alone that have been affected. Just last week I read in Road and Track that the greatest impact of 16 year olds having their drivers license (46% in 1978, 31% in 2008) was the internet. The rites of passage to independence use to include getting a car now it's owning a phone that connects you to everything 24hours a day. Today in New York magazine there was an article stating that fewer people are viewing art “in its natural habitat.”

It doesn't matter what the business or service is we are all being affected by the internet. We are in the middle of a cultural shift and it is taking on momentum. For me it is a lament for the loss of adventure, anticipation, and at times, quality. Everything is so immediate, that time is not taken to work toward, look forward to , wait longingly for something one might desire. Now, it is I want it, I have it , what's next. Will we savour things, treasure a stolen moment, or enjoy the adventure of the journey?

I have joked that the digital natives will one day not have their eyes peeled to their phones, will discover they are in front of the store and decide to step in. There they will find something totally new. They will tell their friends “Check this new thing out, you can flip the pages, it feels really good, hey, it even smells neat, it doesn't blink or flash, I can come back to it over and over again. I like magazines. ”

I am hopeful. After my 15 year old plays x-box with his buddy in a different town, he still enjoys his book later in the evening.

Has nothing to do with magazines!

My brother, Chef Michael Howell of Tempest Restaurant (Wolfville) recently participated in The Chefs Challenge in Toronto for The Grate Canadian Grilled Cheese Event. Up against three other chefs from across the country he went on to grill up the winning sandwich. Have a read of Wed's Toronto Star . Way to go brother, I can't wait to have you make me one!

 Our Sun hours will be changing as of Sept 1. We will now be open from 9-9.

I just spent a wonderfully relaxing month in Australia staying with my husbands family in Newcastle, the farm in Guyra and with friends in Tasmania. Needless to say I did check out the newsstands of which there are many. Lots of the towns still have all their shops lining the main street. They have canopies that reach out from the side of the buildings allowing you to stroll protected from the sun. Some of the smaller towns will even have two newsstands. They are quite different from ours, as they are more a stationary and general goods shop with magazines added to the mix. Boy you should see the size of the Sydney Morning Herald it is huge, the dimensions must be nearly 2 ft by 3ft opened. I have to ask myself if I am exaggerating?? I am going to have to give a quick email to my parents in law to ask them to measure it....

 I also checked out the North American titles to see what their "import" retail prices were like.

                                   Here             There

Dance magazine          $4.99           $13.00

Grafik                         $25.50         $33.90

Adbusters                     $8.95           $9.95

Wired                          $5.99           $11.95

Yoga Journal                $6.99           $11.95

Collectible Automobile   $11.95         $14.95

Not too surprising really considering how far they have to go. Mind you the various differences don't make alot of sense particularily when you look at Adbusters with just $1 difference and then Dance with $8.00. 

The staff did a great job while I was away, as I had every confidence they would. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of "must attend to" notes on my desk.