Magazine or E-Zine?

I love magazines.

I love to read books and I made the transition to an e-reader with ease. I always thought I'd be one of those people who prefer holding a book in my hands and turning the pages. But surprisingly, it turns out I enjoy curling up at night with my e-book and I look forward to perusing the e-Reader Store as much as a trip to Barnes and Noble. (If only my e-Reader made Mochas and Lattes, I'd be in heaven.)

But for me, magazines are a whole different animal. I revel in the glossy pages and the pictures. I love the variety. Perusing an issue of People at the doctor's office keeps me up-to-date on pop culture and I can devour Style at the lake or the pool and not worry about getting the pages wet. I clip recipes and articles on crafts and vacations.

So when I read about Zimbio in Chapter 3 of the Social Media Bible, I was skeptical. Could it possibly give me as much satisfaction as an issue of Oprah?

My first look at the web site didn't really inspire me to look further. By biggest problem with a website like Zimbio is that it is overwhelming. Should I click on this picture of Paris Hilton or search for potato salad recipes? Distractions abound. I'm interested in checking out the Celebrity Shoe Swap story but, wait! Is there really a Jesus Waffle Maker?

There's so much content and so many places to look that it feels like work. Magazines should be easy and require no more effort or thought than turning the page.

After spending about 30 minutes clicking around on Zimbio, I did grow more comfortable with the format and started to understand better where to look for the content that interests me. I found great Bisquick recipes and an exotic vacation e-zine. I perused a few blogs and finally, decided to register as a member. I'm going to give it a try for few weeks. But Zimbio will have to work hard to keep me interested. It's competing for my internet time with Huffington Post and Salon so I remain skeptical about whether the e-zine will continue to peak my interest.

The most interesting part of Zimbio is the user-generated content and that does have the potential of turning me from a lurker to an active participant. We'll see.

But I still prefer to grab my copy of Elle before I head to the pool.