Issuu.com - You Are the Publisher

Have you ever wanted to publish your own magazine? This may seem like a wistful dream to many, but Issuu makes it possible. Issuu is a publishing service and community which will help you realize your print dreams. Here’s how it goes: you upload any PDF file and it will be instantly transformed into an online publication; your creation can then be embedded into your blog or profile using Issuu’s ready to go viewer. Each publication is categorized by type, so you’ve got architecture, fashion, arts, design, tech, fun, sketchbooks, etc. Essentially, upon registering, you can scan or photograph whatever, be it pages from Scientific American or Vogue, or an article you’ve written on chimpanzees, or a photo of your childhood sweetheart, convert it into a PDF and upload it to a site. It can be a hodgepodge of your interests, or it can be dedicated to your most adored writers, designers, photographers, etc. there’s also the requisite social component: users have profiles in which their content is aggregated; there’s also space for commentary, tools for sharing, and friends. Other features include favorites, bookmarks, news feeds, and personal libraries for storing everything.

“Issuu is the place for online publications: Magazines, documents, and stuff you'd normally find on print. It's the place where YOU become the publisher. Upload a document, it's fast, easy, and totally FREE. Within seconds you'll have a super cool online magazine you can post anywhere on the web and share instantly with your friends.”

This is a super cool publishing outlet. It gives users an easy and slick looking outlet to publish whatever they’re interested in. It’s perfect for adding to your profile or blog as a means to expand your media and interest your readers. Anyone who’s ever wanted their own zine or publication can now do it easily online. Also goes a way to democratizing publishing.

Some of these publications appear to be whole duplicates of print magazines—will copyright be an issue here? Furthermore, users will have to scan/photograph and convert into PDF any file they want to upload—is this too much work? Will users be up to the job?