We ask five top website editors and founders why they love online publishing

Behold the first in our bunch of articles you’ll see on the site in the coming weeks exploring the ever-changing world of online publishing. We go on and on about the state of printed magazines, and it can be easy to forget the brilliance that is churned out every day by people all over the internet. Over the next few weeks we’ll be speaking to some of the people we regard as the best online publishers, to try and get a hold on what’s going on in this world. To kick this off, we’ve asked a few editors and founders of our favourite sites what they truly love about online publishing. Here they are…

“It’s reactive. It’s all about the moment. Whatever digital platform you prefer – website, blog, Instagram, newsletter – online publishing allows you to communicate your passions about subjects very quickly, without waiting for a print run. One day it can be the work of Guy Bourdin, and the next it’s the appeal of cats. Or samphire. Or navy. Or thick eyebrows. Digital communication is modern and smart. And who doesn’t want to be that? It also allows you to gauge the reaction of your audience. After four years at the helm of AnOthermag.com, I’d like to think I know our readers very well. They have great taste, appreciate good things and have a brilliant sense of humour.”
www.anothermag.com
@LaurasBradley

“The best thing about publishing online is that if you keep content timeless and relevant you can set your own deadlines and release it whenever you want. Just give it enough value and people will find it.”
freundevonfreunden.com
@FrederikFrede

“With digital, ideas can evolve from a point of inspiration to being published in a matter of hours. Being free to produce content without being tied to a concrete timetable is liberating.”
www.coolhunting.com
@Hollargram

“Working for an online fashion/culture magazine is a drug-like rush. Like those industries on the whole, it’s frenetic and always changing. Half the job is trying to keep up. The other half is thinking about what it all means. The internet is so transient, so ephemeral and fast — that breaking it down, finding meaning among the chaos, commentary and dense irony is an adventure. People still think of triviality and impermanence when they think of online publishing — they don’t take it as seriously as print and that’s valid. But the internet is such a huge part of us now. People think in net-speak. They want to Crtl+Alt+Del things around them and Cpy+Paste others. To ignore the potential of online publishing to create and effect conversations is to ignore the future.”
www.oystermag.com
@Jerico_M

“Putting something out with absolutely NO context, and then watching people make their own cool jokes with it. Powerful shit.”
www.browncardigan.com
@browncardigan69

The “golden era” of independent publishing has seen an awful lot written about magazines; their enduring influence as well as the challenges facing the industry. Sometimes those discussions have overlooked the amazing things happening in online publishing so in November, we plan to rectify that. For the next few weeks we’ll be speaking to the people who have been beavering away at making the internet a very pleasant and addictive place to visit, finding out their secrets and asking them why they do what they do.