Connectivity in the Time of Covid

CONVERSATIONS WITH MAGAZINE MEDIA LEADERS AS THEY ADAPT TO A CHANGING WORLD

BY SAMIR HUSNI

In March 2020, the COVID-19 virus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Since then, most of the world has been experiencing the uncertainty and devastation the Corona virus has caused. We here in the United States are no different from the rest of the globe. From mandated stay-at-home orders to social distancing and the wearing of masks, the world as we knew it is no longer and the new “normal” is prevalent.

Industries and companies have also had to learn a new way of doing things, magazine and magazine media publishers included. This book, Publishing During A Pandemic, is a compilation of conversations that I have had with many of the leading powers-that-be in the world of magazines, magazine media, printing, design, digital, and other business executives that have had this pandemic thrust upon them without warning or consideration.

And for the most part, I am happy to say, I found out straight from the horse’s mouth (so to speak) that they are doing just fine. A little worse for the wear in some areas maybe, but doing very well in other sections of their businesses.

Having to incorporate the new verbiage of the day: social distancing, quarantine, mask-wearing, into their daily lives now, I must say magazine and magazine media people are a sturdy lot and do not give up easily, as many of us already knew.

You know, social distancing or isolated connectivity, as I coined the phrase many years back, are two names for the same situation. When I came up with the phrase “isolated connectivity” it was after a friend of mine told me the following story:

“One day I came home from work to find my son watching something on his laptop and texting at the same time. I asked him, ‘What are you doing?’ My son answered, ‘Duh, can’t you see, I am watching a movie.’

I responded, ‘But you are also texting.’ His response: ‘Duh, I am texting with my girlfriend who is watching the same movie at home.’

That made me think, so I asked, ‘Why don’t you just take your girlfriend to the movies and watch together, like the good old days?’

My son replied, ‘Duh again, Dad, we can’t discuss the movie at the theater.’”

“Isolated connectivity” was the first thing that came to mind when I heard that story. Today, we feel we are so connected, yet we are more isolated than ever before, especially with the pandemic.

That conversation with my friend took place years before COVID-19 has forced the much of the world to go into “isolated connectivity” under the new phrase “social distancing.” The major difference is that “isolated connectivity” was a choice adopted by millions who enjoyed what they felt to be the privacy of their home and the virtual connectivity that kept folks screens apart. Today, “social distancing” is not a choice.

It is a must and a force to be reckoned with. Whether you want to call it “isolated connectivity” or “social distancing,” I believe this seclusion goes against our nature as human beings. We are physical creatures, and we thrive on three “ships” that cruise all the channels of our physical nature. I have written and preached in my seminars about those three “ships” time and time again: ownership, membership and showmanship. And these ships are vital to our natures. We want to own it, belong to it, and then show it off. Here’s the sum of what I am trying to say: As long as we have human beings we are going to have physical things, and as long as we have physical things, we are going to have magazines.

Magazines, unlike their business models, are not going to go by the wayside; it is how we manufacture and sell them to the public that is going to change. To quote a magazine executive I recently interviewed, “Customers will continue to vote with their pockets.”

And not even a pandemic can completely stop the process. Today, in these uncertain times, magazines are more relevant than ever, as you will learn from the people who create them. By reading this book, you will ascertain the determination, sheer will, and passion that the people between the covers of this book have for their brands.