The Mario Blog

06.26.2018—12am    Post #8030
Facebook and the business of print?

Don’t call it a magazine, although that is what it seems to be: Facebook is in the business of print, and its new product, GROW, is one of those publications where you can leisurely flip the pages.

Photo courtesy of The Guardian

 

The headline caught my eye instantly, even though I have been in the midst of moving from one apartment to another (in the same building, but just higher) and I had to stop: “Facebook moves into print with UK quarterly title aimed at business leaders but claims it is not a magazine.”

Well, what is it then?

According to a piece in The Guardian, this publication is not a magazine, it is a “business marketing programme”.  Go figure.  I have not seen the publication, which is said to be available in the UK at first class lounges, for example, which makes sense since GROW aims at a high level readership of CEO’s, managers and bosses.

Which means that if you ever got caught connected to Facebook during office hours, now perhaps your boss is connected to GROW, which you can read online, although the boss could be leaning back on his swivel chair, legs across the desk, just flipping the pages.

That is what makes this story so ironically different. While we know that Facebook appears like a publishing house to many, we don’t associate it with print.

I imagine Tyler Brulé is celebrating the moment, as will anyone with a love for magazines in print. OK, so this is not a magazine, but, as a famous sitcom of my youth used to remind us, “a horse is a horse is a horse.”

Read more about GROW here.

I can’t wait to see my first real copy. Will report on it when it happens.

For now, back to emptying boxes and dealing with carpenters, plumbers and painters.

 

Mario’s Speaking Engagements

 

 

August 2, Digital House (Facebook workshop), Buenos Aires

October 6, 20, 27–King’s College, New York City

The Basics of Visual Journalism seminars

 

Garcia Media: Over 25 years at your service

TheMarioBlog post #2868

The Mario Blog