Latest update: Let us explain the change to the navigation

Let us explain the change to the navigation

Fri, 24/04/2009 - 11:15 — adamlfoster
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The navigation of mediaBase couldn’t be simpler. We put the media types as the primary links at the top right of the screen and a few other links in the sidebar. Other than that any navigation is done within the content area depending on what you’re looking at. Now, going back to the primary links, these are magazines, newspapers, television, radio, outdoor, digital and, wait for it, companies. What is it doing here? Sure, all companies link back and are related to the media types but it doesn’t really belong. We decided to therefore distinguish companies by changing the colour of the link. Kind of made sense and so hope it makes navigating the site that bit easier. Have a good weekend folks.

Long time no speak…

Thu, 23/04/2009 - 12:41 — adamlfoster
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Just because we’re quiet doesn’t mean we’re not working. We have been changing a number of things recently: position of the add/remove link to a more visible place, the design and layout of the category pages (see pic below), the front page dynamic data, etc…

We are in the process of designing a front page that would describe exactly what we’re all about to our new site visitors. We’ll post here when we’re done. Keep the tweak/changes recommendations coming in. This is your site, we merely manage it.

MagCloud is open to everyone!

Sun, 05/04/2009 - 20:24 — adamlfoster
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Some of you may not be aware but a recent post on MagCloud confirmed this.
We think it is an excellent idea. Be sure to browse the featured issues.

As some of you may have noticed, there have been a couple of big changes to the MagCloud service in the last month. To start with, we’ve opened up the site to allow anyone to publish a magazine - invitations are no longer required! So spread the word and bring on those new magazines!
Second, we’ve heard your requests for international shipping and have opened up the service to the United Kingdom and Canada! This means that our friends up north and across the pond can now publish and purchase magazines on the MagCloud site just like anyone here in the US. And for our US publishers, it means there are now a lot more people who are able to discover and buy your magazines!
Note: For those of you outside the US, UK and Canada, thanks for your patience - we’re still working on adding other countries to this list. Keep an eye out for more announcements here on the blog!

Advertising on the edge

Sun, 29/03/2009 - 23:00 — adamlfoster
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Great visual presentation from The Economist can be found on slideshare. The message really hits home.

Saving the media to your profile page

Sun, 29/03/2009 - 00:00 — adamlfoster
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We’ve been busy rolling out a series of enhancements for the registered users of mediaBase. The first thing you’ll notice is the Login/Register links at the top of the page just above the logo. This we felt was the best option rather than adding any clutter to the sidebar.
The second update was the bookmarks feature. Now registered users are able to bookmark any media that they may be planning to use. You can then access the bookmarks by visiting your personal profile page. There are obvoius benefits to this but it doesn’t stop there. Watch this space for further developments.

Mac the best…at online creative

Sat, 07/03/2009 - 20:34 — adamlfoster
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I came across this ad on Good and was taken aback of how eyecatching it was particularly the overlaying elements. Click the ad and you’re taken through to this pixel perfect page. A brilliant lesson in marketing.

Stack : Quality magazines and we’ve signed up

Mon, 02/03/2009 - 20:33 — adamlfoster
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I first heard about Stack through magCulture and have just listened to the interview on the BBC iPlayer. These are published by people who care about their magazines. I just can’t get enough of the magazines that Stack have got on board and so have signed up today. I’ll keep you all posted once i receive my first issue. Excited!
Stack is a unique service that brings together the best independent English language magazines from around the world and delivers them direct to your home. Beautifully made and offering an intelligent, alternative view of films, music, culture, current affairs and whatever else crosses their pages, they guarantee to bring a fresh perspective on the world.
 

This front cover just works

Thu, 26/02/2009 - 00:00 — adamlfoster
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There has been various points of view on the recent launch of Love (published by Conde Nast). Most of these comments have been in relation to the front cover. MagCulture sums this up perfectly (if you’re in to magazines then you must add them to your RSS).
The background colour and fonts contrast well with Beth Dittos red hair. For me the cover works.

The need for a media directory

Wed, 25/02/2009 - 20:20 — adamlfoster
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I have worked in advertising for the last 15 years. From small b2b publishers with a handful of magazines and websites through to the larger publishers that compete with the limited shelf space in WH Smiths.
During this period I have had countless requests to provide my clients with media information. A couple of years back such a request came from a client in Amsterdam who worked for a small ad agency. She asked for a list of advertising opportunities in the maritime industry. I said I’d see what I could do.
Within a couple of weeks and a lot of research I’d put together a comprehensive list of over 55 magazines, 12 websites, 4 email newsletters and four exhibitions. All in Excel together with contact details and circulation data thrown in.
I have sent that same spreadsheet out to over 80 people. There wasn’t anything unique about it but it saved potential advertisers a lot of time and gave them only the information they needed free of charge.
Surely it made sense to tear down any barriers between advertiser and media opportunity so the Excel spreadsheet grew in to an Access database which then grew into a web based product that we named Yourmediaplan.com

We’re changing our name. Why?

Tue, 24/02/2009 - 00:00 — adamlfoster
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For yourmediaplan.com to get off the ground required a lot of work and trust from other friends and family. There was a lot of positive feedback from agencies and friends alike. There was also some very good constructive criticism that we have been noting over the past year which we have been adding to a wishlist. As a result we are now releasing a major update, redesign and name change to the site. The name is MediaBase and the site will reside at medibasehq.com. We felt this name fitted exactly what we’re all about. In addition to the name change we have changed our hosting package to Clook. If you are looking for first class web hosting that is UK based we strongly recommend them. However, the main benefits to the site are as follows: * Media Search form right hand column visible on every page. (Thanks HotCow for that request!) * An improved filtered search engine which means more accurate results. * Home Page Statistics giving a dynamic view of recent activity on the site. * The ability to add media to MediaBase. * Wider fluid width design giving you more information “above the fold”. This template offers us the advantage of adding more data over the coming months. We really hope you enjoy using MediaBase and look forward to hearing your feedback.