From Xerox to E-zine — The Evolution of The Zine

In the print era, zines were an inexpensive, creative way for fans to keep up with music, art, alternative culture and each other. With the advent of the internet, zines have come to be known as e-zines. Convozine is the first platform designed for the reader-publishers who create these e-zines.

A Counter-Cultural DNA

Zines have long been an outlet for creative, personal publishing outside the mainstream. First emerging in the 1950s as cheaply printed fanzines for science fiction enthusiasts, zines fed the psychedelic counter-culture of the 1960s through underground publications like The Berkeley Barb. Inexpensive photocopying launched hundreds of gritty publications about punk rock and anarchy in the 1970s, while offset-printed zines for visual artists flourished as well, inspired by “outside” art movements.

While zine culture continued to grow and formalize through the 80s and 90s, zines have largely gone online in the digital era via webzines, e-zines and online magazines. These self-published outlets still give voice to their readers’ passions and resist the “mainstreaming” tendency of social media.

Jacob Singer, a Chicago writer, edits The Hiawatha Review, a zine focusing on art, music and literature in Chicago and Milwaukee.  “Hiawatha has allowed me to create a space where I can write about quality local artists that are being completely ignored by the mainstream media,” Jacob says. “I believe in the notion of ‘write the book you want to read,’ and I’ve applied that idea to all three zines I edit on Convozine. Here I can curate a magazine that my friends and I want to read.  And with the network, I sign up for interesting zines other people are doing and get their feeds -- and they subscribe to mine.”

Zines as Communities

Marianna Ostr, a filmmaker in Prague, Czech Republic, says that the elegant design and user experience of Convozine’s e-zines build stronger communities and more collaboration than print zines. “The platform allows editors to easily create professional looking zines as well as awards that keep the community active. Even more important, it brings substantive content back into online communities. The design encourages members to write and think like journalists instead of writing about mundane, everyday life as on other blogging platforms. I’m also attracting artists from across the globe in my ExistentiARTism zine.”

“As a creative artist, Convozine gives me a place where I can ‘find my tribe,’” agrees Brazilian DJ Zé Mauro THZ, who recently launched the E agora José zine. “I can stream my latest mixes, but also post my poetry, photography and philosophical reflections. I like the environment of Convozine — I feel like my art looks and sounds its best.”