Mute Magazine - new publishing, networked economy +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We've crossed oceans of time for you to find us.
Summary =======
For years, it has been Mute's dream to conduct its publishing on a more participatory platform. Starting with our mini-manifesto Ceci N'est Pas Un Magazine (Sept 2001), we plotted the project as it moved through various developmental stages and now, after years of planning and building, it is alive and kicking at brand new site Metamute.org.
With the move to this new location, Mute has embraced the evolving culture of Open Publishing and finally made the web its home. Mute content is now made freely available as soon as it is published and users can post to the site in numerous newly created areas.
Mute still retains a printed magazine (now quarterly), which is produced using print on demand (POD) technology and extends our core editorial activity through themed issues. We have also added a facility for users to make their own personalised collections of POD content, straight from the site.
Another online facility, called the Agent Network, exists for distributing publications. Through this, users can sign up to distribute Mute in their own neighbourhoods and communities and receive a portion of the cover price in return. At Metamute.org, you can register, input details about sales outlets and events to build up the existing network, as well as manage your own activity by organising orders, deliveries and payments. Our hope is that this feature will help get the magazine to the full diversity of its audience and build a more sustainable economy for the organisation as a whole. On the back of this model, we also encourage users to get involved with editorial and promotion too.
Mute continues to feature the critical writing it is known for, but by using the internet as a production base and home, it can explore the web's multimedial nature and better engage its audience. In this respect, other notable projects associated with our relaunch are a BitTorrent, the Public Library, and a series of online art commissions.
Finally, keep in mind that what you are looking at is the BETA version of Metamute.org. This is currently being tested to gauge usability, design and architecture. This phase will be complete once beta users' feed back has been acted on. If you would like to be part of this process and would find a beta users' document helpful, you can view it here, http://www.metamute.org/en/beta
Please come and join us - Mute http://metamute.org/