movie life
Where have all the zinesters gone?
The zine fest this weekend was surprising. I didn't expect it to be huge, but I definitely expected more than there turned out to be. Are there less zinesters than there used to be? Are people interested in zines less?
I blame the Internet. Those who would be zinsters are now bloggers. Blogs are more instantaneous and easier to distribute. Why go to all the trouble producing a zine when it will end up costing you money and then you'll have to get people to pay for it when you can type something up and post it to countless possible readers? And I admit, for the most part, I fall into that trap. But I don't want to.
There is something special about a handmade book/magazine that blogs just can't compete with. Maybe it's just that they are more permanent. Once you have a copy of a zine, it's yours for your personal library for as long as you choose to keep it there. But blogs or entries are often deleted, or in the case of lj, "friends onlied." Permalinks or memories are at the discretion of the author, and I can't count the times I gone back only to find an error instead of the entry I wanted. A zine is a complete thought/piece/whatever, while a blog constantly changes and reflects the now. A zine is a snapshot in time that doesn't change. (Perhaps that's a reason against them. We like being able to erase our pasts.)
What if I never posted entries here anymore? What if I kept writing, and saved it all up for a zine I published regularly? Would you read it? Would it change how you looked at my writing? Would you respect it more if you held it in your hand? Less?
This blog is my ongoing zine. Perhaps I am due for a venue change.
The zine fest this weekend was surprising. I didn't expect it to be huge, but I definitely expected more than there turned out to be. Are there less zinesters than there used to be? Are people interested in zines less?
I blame the Internet. Those who would be zinsters are now bloggers. Blogs are more instantaneous and easier to distribute. Why go to all the trouble producing a zine when it will end up costing you money and then you'll have to get people to pay for it when you can type something up and post it to countless possible readers? And I admit, for the most part, I fall into that trap. But I don't want to.
There is something special about a handmade book/magazine that blogs just can't compete with. Maybe it's just that they are more permanent. Once you have a copy of a zine, it's yours for your personal library for as long as you choose to keep it there. But blogs or entries are often deleted, or in the case of lj, "friends onlied." Permalinks or memories are at the discretion of the author, and I can't count the times I gone back only to find an error instead of the entry I wanted. A zine is a complete thought/piece/whatever, while a blog constantly changes and reflects the now. A zine is a snapshot in time that doesn't change. (Perhaps that's a reason against them. We like being able to erase our pasts.)
What if I never posted entries here anymore? What if I kept writing, and saved it all up for a zine I published regularly? Would you read it? Would it change how you looked at my writing? Would you respect it more if you held it in your hand? Less?
This blog is my ongoing zine. Perhaps I am due for a venue change.