Week 5 Report

Features I liked and why: The bottom of the Web site, before the contact, advertising and general up-keep, features an alphabetized reel of Interview's articles. Called Browse, the feature lets users select a letter and then displays some related articles. If no letter is selected, the system automatically chooses one and revolves a few suggested-reading clips.

I thought it was interesting in that the articles are alphabetized, which isn't a method you see other magazine Web sites employ when people browse their repository of articles. I thought it was not only convenient, but also allowed for greater discovery of articles that may otherwise be overlooked.

What's not working with the site: Really, the same problems as last time. The color scheme of the site doesn't bother me anymore, really, because the starkness of the layout is accented by the color photography and in-house advertisements.

What's not there that I'd like to see: I'd like there to be a way to order old issues of the magazine. Right now you have to contact syndication, which can be quite the process. A basic store setup would be wonderful.

How the competitors' sites compare: Mostly the same as last week. W magazine has some different merchandise you may receive with a paid subscription and offers a "buy W and Vogue for $1/issue." I actually got a direct-mailing from W the other day, which was surprising. Maybe if the bag wasn't red and a clutch I would have subscribed. :P