Life Magazine Re-invents Itself as Life.com: a new Flickr
Life magazine, even though generally classified as one of the “boutique” publications, has not been exempt from the challenges that come with the changing advertiser market place and the need to re-invent oneself, all in the name of “continued readership”. So through understanding the challenge the above poses, Life magazine executives have gone ahead and forged a relationship with Getty Images, to create a specialized Life.com.
The site, which is scheduled to launch early in 2009, will house archive photos from Life magazine, with some additions from the Getty database itself and the site will use the Getty Images search technology to expand the users functionality and capability to interact with the site. Bill Shapiro, editor of Life.com, said: “Only 3% of the Life archive has been seen by the public. This site will put everything on display. You’ll be able to look at the biggest events of yesterday and the stories making news today with just a couple of clicks.”
What the Life.com launch will do, aside from putting it the ranks of Flickr, is take the historical and brilliant Life magazine coverage of news and events and make it readily available to the reader online, in a manner that is geared towards them. In addition, Life as a brand or publisher has a chance to further embed in the minds of users, the roots of the magazine and its ability to serve the people with relevant and timely information, for almost 80 years - and there isn’t a “pure play” online competitor that can say the same.
The Life.com formula is another great way for any longstanding publisher to show their roots in a culture, city, town and community. Daily and suburban weekly magazines should review the Life model, as their own archives and the attention they could potentially draw from its local depth of content, would be powerful and unique to only them. Perhaps this could be the product that puts readers back in tune with the publisher’s brand, considering that a site such as this could be used widely by students performing research and by the general local community interested in learning more about their city.
Lastly, with Life.com, visitors will be able to create their own Life branded custom-made coffee table books of personal favorites, or purchase albums made by other users
