Strategy The purpose of this project is to create an online presence for The Boar magazine, the unofficial student magazine for the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo. As a magazine, The Boar aims to provide “a forum for discussion, a medium for expression, and a learning environment for all Arts students.” A variety of content is published in the magazine, including but not limited to prose, poetry, editorials, photography, and investigative journalism. While the magazine medium is adaptable enough to satisfy all the goals of The Boar, an online presence is a necessary evil for any organization, let alone a publication, today. Having a website however, presents The Boar with added opportunities to further satisfy its needs. The following reasons summarize the core reasons how an online presence can do so:
Providing alternative access to content Given the nature of the reader population, with a large subset being comprised of co‐op students, an alternative means of accessing The Boar’s content must be available. Online delivery easily satisfies this.
Providing an additional publishing platform Print publishing is a very limited platform. The restrictions are obvious and limit the contributions of those more adept to digital media. An online presence enables delivery of rich media such as video and audio, as well content that met the chopping block due to space restrictions.
Providing a vehicle for discussion Print magazines do not inherently allow for discussion. While it is certainly possible, lengthy publishing cycles hinder any rich immediate discussion. A website with the proper tools such as a commenting platform, can give the readership an opportunity to communicate with the editorial board,
Mohammad Jangda | http://digitalize.ca University of Waterloo (DAC 400) Page 2