Chris Perez’s finger navigates the iPad, showing off the stop-motion, animated fashion editorial, the Instagram featured feed and the 360-degree movable shoe advertisement of the inaugural issue of Citygram, a blog/magazine hybrid crafted by Perez and a team of Austin bloggers.

Citygram is the newest Austin-lifestyle publication, boasting a gluten-free dining columnist and an inspirational columnist. The magazine’s repertoire of knowledgeable locals is not its sole claim to personalization, however.

The digital publication harnesses its iPad format to emphasize interaction between reader and writer by allowing readers to tweet or email writers straight from the app — utilizing communication Perez feels most magazines are lacking.

“Magazines are like ‘Hey, share this.’ But not ‘talk to the person who wrote this,’” Perez said. “I could tweet this writer and ask them what they would eat from this local
restaurant.”

Since the proliferation of tablets like the iPad, digital versions of print magazines have been lauded as the answer to the readership problems of the industry. Magazines such as GQ, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair all have iPad alternatives and the Atlantic announced recently that it would publish a weekly compilation of popular web content to an iPad app.

“Magazines have to adapt to the new kinds of ways of consuming content more than almost any other platform,” said Robert Quigley, a journalism professor in the College of Communication. “Because magazines are so visual, they’re really made for a tablet, as far as the reader experience.”

According to a study by the Pew Research Center in 2012, despite the innovations, only 22 percent of adults have tablets.

“The only thing that’s difficult about [Citygram] is that it’s specifically designed for the iPad,” said Joanna Wilkinson, Citygram fashion columnist. “I don’t know if everyone is wanting to get an iPad.”

Digital magazines now have some interactive features but mostly they’re just static, Perez said. Citygram fights to dismantle the deficits caused by a print-minded industry.

“With Citygram, everything is a button, but maybe doesn’t look like a button,” Perez said. “Being able to incorporate an Instagram feed or embed audio or video … My biggest challenge is overcoming the perception of a digital magazine.”

Citygram is also innovative in its use of advertisements, a useful skill in an industry that relies on advertisements to retain a profit — especially because Perez and his team plan to keep the issues free for now. The ads of the “glossy” magazine pages rely on the same philosophy as the rest of the magazine — engagement. Perez plans to make aesthetically pleasing ads with viewable photo galleries or click-through reservations.

The possibilities for specified analytics are promising and allow advertisers to pinpoint exactly how and where to use their money. Citygram will also be able to more firmly grasp its readers’ interests.

“Magazines can say this many people bought an issue, but we know how many people viewed this page or responded to a certain advertisement,” Perez said.
For now, Perez plans to keep his publication local, saying that Austin is more accepting of the digital era.

“I think people here aren’t scared of this,” Perez said. “And they go to this for a real people connection.”

Follow Taylor Prewitt on Twitter @TeeAaaPee

The Texas Rangers are in the World Series — finally.

Tonight’s game one versus the San Francisco Giants ends a 50-year long wait for the franchise that has never been on baseball’s grandest stage, no longer making them the team that has gone the longest without a World Series appearance. The Washington Nationals and the Seattle Mariners remain the only teams that have never made it to the World Series, and the Rangers have been around at least seven years longer than both of them.

The journey to the World Series for the Rangers started in Washington, D.C., where the team formerly known as the Senators struggled mightily for 11 years.

Since moving to Arlington in 1971, the team has only been to the playoffs four times, not once advancing past the first round before this year.

The wait for Rangers fans has been long and excruciating. For fans around UT, the wait has been even worse because of the fact that most of the students here aren’t even old enough to remember the playoff teams of the ’90s.

With the team’s lone playoff appearances coming in the ’90s, Rangers fans have forgotten what it is like to have baseball matter this late in the year. For many students who are fans, it is difficult to even remember the successful days of Juan Gonzalez and Pudge Rodriguez.

“The Rangers have definitely made my October better,” said UT freshman Chris Lee, not to be confused with Rangers’ pitcher Cliff Lee. “They give me something to watch. The Rangers have been my salvation.”

The fact that this fan base only really knows losing makes this season a godsend for Dallas-area sports fans, especially with the Cowboys’ subpar play.

While the Cowboys are usually the main draw this time of year, the success of the Rangers have fans refocusing their attention.

“This run is way better than any of the Cowboys’ Super Bowls, it even goes over the 2005 Rose Bowl,” said UT freshman Chris Perez.

Although Ranger fever at this point of the year isn’t necessarily reserved for lifetime fans of the team, this type of successful run is perfect for a fair-weather fan that may have just begun cheering for the Rangers.

Biology senior Shaunak Das is not afraid to admit that he jumped on the Rangers’ bandwagon this season. Das watched the Rangers regularly in the late ’90s and has finally come back to the team this year.

“[It’s] because they finally showed some promise and weren’t completely out of the race before summer rolled around,” Das said.

Other bandwagon fans have jumped on for different reasons, such as the great Cinderella story they present by having the fourth-lowest payroll in baseball and still making the World Series.

“When I learned that the Rangers went bankrupt and are now going to the World Series I started paying attention because it’s a good story and a big deal,” said design freshman Katie Eldredge.

But for the hardcore fans, some are not keen on the idea of the newest Rangers followers.

“[It’s] bullshit if you have watched the team for only the last three months and can’t name [pitchers] C.J. Wilson from Colby Lewis,” Lee said.

Further proof of the Rangers renaissance around UT is the increased sales of shirts and memorabilia at surrounding retail stores such as Academy Sports and Outdoors.

“Sales are up 100 percent because we didn’t carry anything before the playoffs, just hats and stuff. Now all of the things we ordered are selling very quickly,” said an Academy manager from the Sunset Valley location who did not want to be named.

It’s not just gear that’s flying off the shelves. Tickets for these games are as hot as Justin Bieber right now. The nosebleed section tickets are going for $400 at the cheapest rate, which are seats that only cost $6 in the regular season.

“Playoff sales have gradually picked up, there were a few out for the Rays, a few out for the Yankees, and now everyone wants to go to the World Series along with their brother, sister and the postman,” said Jimmy Romack, owner of local ticket sales business Ticket Cloud.

This is a perfect example of the fickleness of Rangers fans and the bandwagon mentality that is sweeping Austin, although the extra support for the team shouldn’t be dismissed.

Long-time fans, no matter how much they grudgingly agree, even take it from an interesting economical viewpoint.

“It is really good for business after the bankruptcy, and it gives us a good chance to keep Cliff Lee,” Perez said.

Either way, for the Rangers fans new and old around Austin, being in the World Series is an amazing surprise.