With chatter like a YouTube (NSDQ: GOOG) investment in original content, one could be forgiven for wondering if Google’s declaration – that it’s a technology, not a media company – is slipping.
But its launch of a new magazine, Think Quarterly, does not suggest it’s about to start producing and publishing magazine content.
Think Quarterly, with an emphasis on science-, business- and technology-related features, is not a consumer product, it’s a branding exercise, just a typical corporate contract publishing title, designed to ally Google and its people with smart technology thinking in the minds of its audience.
“Like most companies, we regularly communicate with our business customers via email newsletters, updates on our official blogs, and printed materials,” a spokesperson tells me. “This short book about data was sent to 1,500 of our UK partners and advertisers.
“There are only a limited number of copies, and they aren’t for sale or designed for anyone other than our partners – but anyone who’s interested can visit the companion website at www.thinkquarterly.co.uk.”
The title, whose first issue is on the topic of “data”, was designed and edited by The Church of London, with features written by Google staff and freelance journalists.
Following the printed mailout to stakeholders, the online edition was an afterthought. The online replica of Think Quarterly doesn’t even use any Google reader technology, eg. FastFlip, it’s instead underpinned by Issuu.