For those in the Ezine Publishing business it is known that a huge debate filled with massive amounts of chaos and controversy is developing like a Cat 5 Hurricane off the Coast of Long Island but why? Well, it is simple really because there is a changing and evolving of the electronic newsletters and electronic magazines. At the onset of the Information Age, about a decade the prior a new term emerged which changed the printing industry forever. The Ezine was born and on this wave rode in many an info-preneur out to capitalize on the advancing and trendy Tsunami. Ezines allowed people to get information much sooner thru email than to wait for magazines at the end of the month, trade journals arriving at businesses or the snail mail to deliver a newsletter. Thus information came via email in the format of newsletters and they were coined Ezines. Yet now there seems to be some controversy over the true definitions of what an Ezine is. For instance; what if an Ezine is placed on a specific website and the Ezine Publisher only sends out a link to the specific page. They did not send out the Ezine, it is only available online at their site. Would their Electronic Newsletter or Magazine not be an Ezine? Often they are labeled Ezines, but alas they were never emailed so by the absolute definition they would not be Ezines, they do not qualify? But the people who make them sure believe they are Ezines? Now then, if we do not call these Electronic Magazines and Newsletters Ezines, that is okay definitionally speaking, but what are they called then? You can understand why this HUGE debate has erupted like an Indonesia Volcano and a wild-firestorm of Typhoon winds. But for now the definition is standing against the pressures of Mother Nature. You cannot call your Ezine an Ezine unless you send it out by email. Consider all this in 2006. |
