In order to provide content that will attract millions of visitors a day, these two giants, along with smaller fry like CompuServe, contract out a lot of writing. The Microsoft Network, a smaller and more frantic imitation of America Online, offers plenty of magazines made up just for the Web. Six editors team up with six contributing editors, and a lot of freelancers, artists, audio and video producers, to make getting there virtually fun. Of course, if you want to sign up for a trip, Mungo Park turns out to link directly to Expedia, Microsoft's online travel agency. With a nice sense of conflict honed in his years on the firing line of TV, Kinsley sets up debates between experts, encourages readers to attack and counterattack, and provides a lot of political sniping that comes from insiders on both sides of the aisle.
Freelancers check in with humor, diaries, poetry, and oddball travel.
Independent entrepreneurs receive venture capital from these giants, then subcontract with many writers, designers, and programmers to create new content for delivery in these electronic magazines, or Webzines. Some entrepreneurs just set up their own Websites, with new content as the draw for visitors, and visitors as the light attracting the advertising moths. Salon , the snooty zine put out by the former editor of the already pretentious Image magazine, from the San Francisco Examiner , has attracted good writers, with lots of short opinionated pieces on books, music, politics, and food. TableTalk draws in the readers to attack each other on issues raised in the articles. A leisurely read, in Net terms, but with plenty of openings for new freelance writers with an attitude.