Why Not to Subscribe to a Business Magazine

Business Magazines a No-No???

Let me ask you something straight. Why do you subscribe to a business magazine?

Here are some of your possible answers

1. To know more about business.
2. To get the latest industry news.
3. To read it at my own free time.
4. Book collection.
5. I love to read.
6. I want to show my boss that I am a business savvy person and so that I will be promoted to the area managers post.
7. I am not sure. Maybe because I felt that business magazine is the next big thing.

I cannot probably think of any other reasons. If you can do feel free to comment about it. So coming to our point about why you should not subscribe to a business magazine. I know that many people will be against my opinion of the business magazine subscription but here are some points I feel why you need not subscribe to these magazines.

1. Business magazines cost money.
2. They do not deliver all the relevant news.
3. They do not have an index (How I wish these books have some search engine built into them).
4. Some magazines are so cluttered with ads that I cannot differentiate between news and advertisements.
5. Most of the news I see in business magazines are tweaked to meet the advertiser’s tastes.
6. Most of the news you find will be irrelevant and not the kind of news you are looking for.
7. Learning about business cannot be the outcome of reading a business magazine. It is intended for business owners who already understand the concepts of business.
8. The views expressed are of the particular author and need not be correct always.

So now you might ask me, then how are you going to keep ahead of the industry on business. The answer lies in the very same procedure you followed in getting to this article.

THE INTERNET!!!

There are reasons why I suggest the internet will be a better source than these business magazines.

1. If you are a complete newbie to the field of business and you pick up a business magazine and you suddenly begin reading about forex, stock market and so on without the slightest hint of what these are. You still need to get on to the internet or ask someone about these basic things. So if you find time to surf for the basic meaning then why not read the rest here itself when everything is available for free.
2. The business magazines can be compared to a blog carnival. A blog carnival is a place where bloggers upload articles on a niche collected from various sources. These articles are written by independent blog owners and showcase their opinions. The same as what goes with these magazines. Again if you are searching the internet you can get varied opinions on any subject.
3. When I said about the business magazine owners tweaking the contents to advertisers needs, what I really mean is the articles are pre determined either to suit the needs of a particular advertiser or to target a group of advertisers. A recent article I read in a popular business magazine was about MBA. The article was spread over 10 pages, but composed mostly of 3 MBA coaching institutes owners saying that their students did this, that etc. A clear advertising strategy disguised as a useful post for the reader.
4. To learn about a business you need to have books on that genre and these magazines are not going to help.
5. Coming to the latest breaking news. Yes they do deliver quality and relevant news many a times. But the fact that web 2.0 is here and people update blogs almost instantly with news means that news reaches you in far lesser time than a magazine can get to you.
6. Even when you are roaming if you have a mobile with internet facility then that makes everything more easy. Information is just a few clicks away.
7. Save the money. You wont be saving much by cutting down the subscription,s but still any saving is a saving.

You can always subscribe to my blog to get the latest business news and learn more about business. I am not saying that I am an authority in this niche so here are a few extra sites you can add to your business news sources.  Here is a list of business blogs you can subscribe to.

There are still disadvantages like you need to have a computer/ mobile device with internet access to resources. But that is not a problem these days as almost all people have a computer or a mobile handheld device with net connection. Hey book publishers don’t get angry on me. I just shared my thoughts on this subject. I am leaving some topics in this subject untouched to get feedback from readers on those. Do pour in your suggestions.