Popular Mechanic is a platform of information about science and technology. Additionally, they have sections about automobiles and home do-it-yourself. As such, most of their stories and articles consist of information regarding these subjects.
The online version is organized in sections of different categories that you click and the website strolls vertically. The magazine has a table of contents that directs to a corresponding page that you turn to find. The article lengths online fluctuate in length. The printed version averages longer articles. Interesting though, I was not able to find the featured articles in the magazine on the online edition. A featured article in the magazine, Surviving the Digital Swarm, had about 4 pages of actual length. Likewise The World’s Strangest 18 Hotels, an online featured article, had a similar amount of information; however, non-featured online articles were shorter.
The online version is organized in sections of different categories that you click and the website strolls vertically. The magazine has a table of contents that directs to a corresponding page that you turn to find. The article lengths online fluctuate in length. The printed version averages longer articles. Interesting though, I was not able to find the featured articles in the magazine on the online edition. A featured article in the magazine, Surviving the Digital Swarm, had about 4 pages of actual length. Likewise The World’s Strangest 18 Hotels, an online featured article, had a similar amount of information; however, non-featured online articles were shorter.
The magazine is in color, as is the online version. The magazine and online editions contain many photos, but the online version had more space to illustrate their photos.
In the magazine it seems that there are advertisements everywhere. The first 10 pages, 8 of them are advertisements. Online appears to have less, however there are a lot more pages. So I would assume there are more ads online. When comparing the average space per page that is dedicated to advertisements the magazine outweighs online. The magazine offers cars (Honda Odyssey), car parts ( K&N Air Filters), electronic components (Digi-Key), classified ads, painting supplies (FrogTape), car accessories (WeatherTech), tools (Harbor Freight), and ads regarding men’s health (Gillette). Online had very few of these products. Digi-Key was the only advertisement that I could find both online and in the magazine. Online had ads for cars (Toyota), Flowers (1-800-Flowers), and something called a Real Age Test. It was a struggle to find diverse ads online. Many ads online were repeated, whereas the magazine was much more diverse.
The print and online versions featured different articles. As mention I was not able to find the featured articles in the magazine online. However, I was able to find the smaller sections like the 10 Best-of-Show Cars at the LA Auto Show and What is the Best Impact Driver in both publications. The magazine had roughly 4 or 5 main articles. It had smaller sections with information like editorials, tech watch, and upgrades. The online version was vast; it contained a seemingly infinite amount of articles and the small sections, too. The focus was similar between the mediums; overall though the internet version just contained more information.
The online version offers new articles daily, whereas the print version articles print once a month. Therefore, online is going to always have more relative information and newer articles.
Popular Mechanic issued its first magazine in 1902 and has a lot more experience than some of the newer competition like Men’s Journal and Wired. I would say it is very similar to its greatest competitor, Popular Science. Minimal differences were found when browsing Popular Science’s home page. I found it to be a little more modern with its layout and advertisements like Car Warriors. Additional differences include Popular Science sections on video games and Popular Mechanic section on Home D.I.Y. and to be honest, Popular Science appealed to me a little more. With these differences in mind I would say that Popular Mechanic’s primary audience is a little older than Popular Sciences.
The most important topics of the editors are the technologies, tools, and auto portions. They have an editor’s pick on the bottom of the homepage that show their favorite articles and they contain reviews and analysis.
The most important topics of the editors are the technologies, tools, and auto portions. They have an editor’s pick on the bottom of the homepage that show their favorite articles and they contain reviews and analysis.
Two great strengths of the print version are the physical hardcopy of the magazine and the exclusivity of the featured articles. For the online version, the greatest strengths include the vast information and the ability to find information to you specific question or interests.
The two biggest limitations of the print are the information is limited to only a few articles and that information is not as current as the online version. Furthermore, the “flooding” of advertisements throughout the issue is not very appealing. As for the online version, the information is not as portable as the magazine and may not be able to reach as wide of an audience due to the necessity of the internet and computer skills.
The primary target audience would be engineers, those who like to tinker, and DIYers. Demographically, I would say males aged 20 to 70ish.
The ads of the magazine do seem to fit with the stories in print. The opening pages for the magazine is a Honda Odyssey with an 30-40 year old male, a web-hosting company for those interested in computer engineering, and later on in the magazine tools are advertised. Other ads try to make the ad fit into the magazine like a Gillette advertisement that shows a man fixing his house with his arm extended and no sweat spots. Online ads include car ads, cameras, and electronic supplies. Also online it advertises its own magazine and likewise the magazine advertises its online website.
The only type of stereotypes that one could suggest is from the magazine is that the ads are all geared to the 20 to 50 year old males, or there proposed audience. It is suggesting that women are not interested in technologies, science, auto, and DIY. An example is the advertisements for Gillette antiperspirant/deodorant, a product a women would not need.
I prefer the online version due to several reasons. First, it is free as long as I have the internet. Second, it is a lot quicker to find information that I am specifically interested in (i.e. Search Bar). Thirdly, it contains a lot more information and more topics. And finally, it has a community section that I could communicate with others on to discuss our similar interests.
The print version serves its audience better than the online medium. I say this because the advertisements are more specific to a particular audience in the magazine, whereas the advertisements online reach a wider audience. In addition, the articles in the print are more specific to the audience. For example on the cover page it showcases articles that include: home improvement tips, car navigation reviews, and TSA body scanners. These articles market to someone who owns a home, car, and that travel. Online they have similar articles, but they also have articles that reach into many other interests, too.
I do not interact with Popular Mechanic because I do not actually read this magazine or visit its website very often. It does have an app for my phone, but I have not downloaded it. Online it does have the community section so one could communicate with others that have similar interests, but I have not used this. I am interested in its contents and as such is the reason I selected it, but do not subscribe to the magazine.
By doing this assignment I learned that magazine is more or less just an extension of the online version. Online is where many more people visit and get their information. The magazine is something physical that an audience can view while waiting in the doctor’s office, but it does contain exclusive information not showed online. Online also targets a wider range of audience compared to the magazine that is more specific.
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