I disagree on so many levels that I can't begin to say all of them.
Maybe you have an internet connection plugged into the back of your skull, but I don't.
I've recently gotten a fast internet connection and some free time, and I can tell you that spending 4 hours a day on the internet still doesn't begin to tell me all the things that are in the ads in Vogue Knitting or the other magazines.
Plus, I don't like to be tied to my computer to read a magazine. I can read a printed copy in bed, on the bus, or anywhere else.
I have endless problems accessing and printing PDF copies. And to do it, I have to buy a computer, printer, software, etc.
I must say that there are a lot of designs I'm not interested in lurking in some magazines. I usually am interested in the articles about techniques, and even the ads are interesting and informative.
::laugh:: I might as well be low jacked for all the time I spend online. Keep in mind that usually the internet is only as useful as the user's search skills, patience level, and support network (both technical and social).
And yes, perhaps I am biased because I've never had near all the trouble some others (parents, co-workers, and the like) have had dealing with file types, etc.
I do prefer to read things in print if they are long, but I like PDFs because I can zoom in and rest my eyes on insanely large text (I regularly read things in what would amount to about 36-point font; keeps eyestrain at bay). Mind you, I would never cozy up to my computer to read a full length novel. Still, eventually devices like Amazon's Kindle will be as ubiquitous as iPods, and change will be here if we like it or not.
An interresting idea, for some. Not so for others. But since this was a round a bout (or do you like a fight?) way of hawking Twist Collective, I must say I was sorely disapointed with them. I've seen all the patterns elsewhere and learned nothing new.
I know of people "in the industry" who devour new publications like sugar-starved four-year-olds.
I'm not one of those people. Compared to those people, I am locked in a hotel room like a sequestered jury member. I will -- eventually -- check out about 25% of what is put out there (25% of what's mainstream and omnipresent, that is, not 25% of all of it). There are a few reasons for this:
1) Not being a business venture allows me to not worry about what's "hot" or "in."
2) The voice inside my head that says, "Why didn't I think of that?" when I see something good is really, really depressing.
3) Fear of being influenced, getting busy, turning something out, and never remembering the influence but passing it off as my own. (Which is what makes old printed news so frustrating. If I know about it, you can bet your Great Aunt Fanny that everyone and their dog knows about it.)
So, as for having seen their patterns before, I can't comment because I simply haven't, and my own methods of working tend to keep me from endangering myself with overload. You may want to relay your comments to Twist, however, as their submission policy states, "Patterns must be your own original work, and must not have been published by a traditional magazine, another webzine, or offered for free or for sale on your blog or web site. We may allow a design that you have shown on your blog, but we really believe in the fun of surprises, so we discourage this." As an editor, I know firsthand the frustration and heartbreak involved when the project you think you are debuting is actually old hat.
I found "hawking" an interesting word choice, since it conjures images of the seamy underbelly of capitalism, as if I had just begged everyone to spend their money on this venture, when in fact a more 150 words of my nearly 1000 word rant actually were about Twist Collective, and of those 150 about 2/5 were negative. Surely no one could take my mention of Twist Collective, as an I've-found-our-savior endorsement. They are a new resource for knitters and knit-friendly crafters, so they deserve a mention, and a mention is what they got.