Which magazines do you still read in hard copy?

I recently moved office. No great drama but so much stuff...

As I was packing up I realised it fell into 3 main categories:

a) Bits of random clothing (I think it was mostly mine...) **

b) 'Swipe files' full of good ideas to nick from competitors

& c) A load of unopened magazines.

It was then that it dawned on me, I had all but stopped reading the magazines.

So, how was I getting the information that I used to read in Marketing, Marketing Week, New Media Age, Revolution, dare I say it Hotline or any of the other titles that I used to consume so avidly? It's not quite as simple an answer as you might expect.

Initially I had switched to e-mail newsletters and Google alerts. I had set up a webmail account and used to scan it a couple of times each week to see if anything interesting was happening. Now, that webmail account is only rarely visited. 90% of my information comes from RSS feeds on a personalised Google homepage and the way in which they draw me back to key sites.

And your point, Rory, is?

I did a quick scan through a few publishers sites at lunchtime today. Very few seem to be implementing RSS effectively and making it easy to sign up. I would say that the Euromoney site was probably the exception with a big feature on the middle of the homepage encouraging sign up. Nice.

All too often when I visited sites RSS options were hidden away or made really difficult to sign up for. I don't know about you but I cannot believe how many sites I still visit where I want to sign up for a feed but when I click I am faced with a screen full of code - what's that all about? Make it easy for your users with a clear label and list all the chicklet buttons (Add to Google etc.). Watch your feed traffic grow.

I'd be interested to hear others thoughts about how they consume media. Which business related magazines do you still read regularly? Leave a comment below.

Rory Brown, Managing Director, Incisive Media

** I suspect I'm not alone on the strange office moves stakes. I saw one colleague pack a huge orange crate up and stick a label on the side saying Fragile - Champagne and Shoes. Naming no names but some of you might be able to guess...