Without any grand anouncements or fanfare, Google has quietly launched it’s own full length online magazine, Think Quarterly. Intended to be a “breathing space in a busy world,” the first quartarly issue looks incredibly clean and well put together and no surprise it is filled with the companies typically clever touches. The internet based reader neatly displays the magazine in a simulated book format, with pages that apear to turn.
“At Google, we often think that speed is the forgotten ‘killer application’ – the ingredient that can differentiate winners from the rest,” Matt Brittin, Google’s managing director of U.K. and Ireland operations states in Think Quarterly‘s introduction. “We know that the faster we deliver results, the more useful people find our service. But in a world of accelerating change, we all need time to reflect. Think Quarterly is a breathing space in a busy world. It’s a place to take time out and consider what’s happening and why it matters.”
The top notch writing in the “book,” as Google calls it on their website, is in depth and on the level with what you would expect from Salon or Wired. A strong lean towards infographics and large photos make the magazine as interesting to look at as to read. Surprisingly, one highlight is the table of contents which cleverly guides readers through the pages in standard linear fashion or on an exploratory path based on how articles relate to one another. The articles themselves are prominently thought pieces centering around business and technology topics, with contributions from a variety of freelance writers and contributers.
Think Quarterly will be distributed in a very limited print edition, on the companion site thinkquarterly.co.uk and is available in a mobile edition at m.thinkquarterly.co.uk. However you choose to view the periodical, it will be exciting to see where this latest experiment by the data and research giant takes us.
Via: newsgrange.com
