Many folks who send out or publish Ezines believe that Ezines must be sent out by email otherwise they are not an Ezine. Others say that an Ezine is an Electronic Magazine. In discussing this recently with several of the leading industry professionals in the Ezine Publishing sub-sector it became apparent to me that there are some definitional conflicts regarding what exactly Ezines are and what would constitute an Ezine.

Personally, I am under the belief that Ezines and Electronic Magazines or Electronic Newsletters and that they are Ezines no matter how they are distributed and they do not necessarily have to be emailed. For instance GM may have 110 locations in 22 countries and if they send an Electronic Newsletter to all their Vendors, Employees and Biggest Customers who are all using a similar computer network, then they would not be using email to send it, yet it is still an Electronic Magazine either way. So, if they use their computer network to send it out then it is an Ezine.

If one of these new online libraries posts an Electronic Magazine in its system, it is an Ezine, having never appeared in print yet displayed on the site. It would still be an Ezine. If someone on a Moon Colony sent a Newsletter to the ground base, they would not be using email perhaps, but the ground base would then send it out by email. So when does it become an Ezine; When it is was created, not when it was distributed you see? So you could say the creation with the intent to email means your creation is an Ezine, but if your never send it is it or is it not an Ezine. Perhaps you might consider all this in 2006.