Entertainment

27 Feet. Prior to about a week ago, this was simply the distance between two boards.

Now, it is the only magazine focused solely on the sport of Cornhole.

After reading through the initial issue, I am excited for where this can go and have some thoughts I hope to share with the creators (not sure if my submission was received, the contact us page lists 123-456-7890 as the phone number, and the email address is listed as info@mysite.com).

First, I would love this in print. I know that will not likely happen, but there is just something about flipping through the pages of a magazine on a subject I enjoy. I know the cost of producing a small sport hard copy of a magazine would not be financially possible in such small runs, but one can hope!

Second, it is new magazine, and they are developing their style. However, some of the writing needs to be cleaned up for better readability. Some of the articles are broken up with information barely related to the focus of the story and lost me for chunks of the article. I am not sure if there is an overall editor for the magazine at this time, but hopefully one emerges to bring all of the writing to being part of one magazine, rather than multiple contributors submitting to a common interest. Again, even while this is mildly annoying, it is 1 issue in, and I expect it to get better with each issue.

Third, I think if the magazine is going to interview someone or a company that has a lot of negativity (Not in the products, but the delivery timelines and back door dealings for “pro sponsorship bags”) then it should be an article that at least asks some questions about it. If I was an bag maker that had to pay for advertising in the magazine, and I saw that a competitor was given an overly positive interview when they are not able to deliver bags in even a semi-decent product window, when I am putting them in the mail next day, I would have been pissed.

Fourth, colors colors and more colors. I don’t hate the bright colors on so many pages. I might even grow to like them some day. What I cannot stand, on a digitally delivered magazine, is a lack of contrast on the colors between backgrounds and text and small fonts. They have to find a balance, maybe use a thicker font, maybe put a small faded later between the text and the background so that it is not a strain to read, especially on a digital device. I don’t want to have to zoom in on paragraphs to have the font thick enough to read, having to zoom out to move to the next paragraph and then zoom back in.

Lastly, the website pushing the magazine, needs work. Clearly they want to grow the game and give advertisers a way to get their product in front of potential customers (Big Advertising Space Available on the main page seems a little desperate). To have the contact page use generic information (info@mysite.com, 123-456-7890 as the phone number) shows to potential advertisers and customers that it was a bit rushed to get the product out. I am not sure I would subscribe to a product after seeing the website, and I am not sure I would buy a shirt hoping it would show up when I cannot contact the company. I would love to see a names and contact info for the different people creating the magazine so that we put a name with the magazine. I cannot remember the last magazine that I read that didn’t have a listing of “relevant people” on one of the first few pages of the issue. While I don’t think this magazine needs to follow that formula to be successful, I would love to see that info available on the website.

So… give it a read, it has some really good content and is hopefully going to continue to grow this great game!

Josh