Reading, writing, wireless: RFID magazine links online and off

Paris – The first internet-connected magazine is using technology within its printed pages, creating an innovative way of linking readers to its online content. Using an RFID tag buried within its pages, interactive entertainment magazine Amusement has collaborated with RFID specialists Violet to lead readers to exclusive online content that is otherwise inaccessible to web browsers.

Readers touch the magazine on an RFID scanner, such as the Violet Mir:ror, which the reader can obtain separately from the magazine. This sends a signal to the server, which then triggers access to certain online digital applications.

Although magazines have long offered a mixture of online and offline content, the exclusive web-based content on offer has typically been reserved for subscribers with password accounts. By offering something for the reader who prefers to pick up a magazine at the newsstand, Amusement’s new model connects, in effect, with the often marginalised casual reader.