After working ten years as an editor for Rolling Stone, Goldberg quit his job to start his own publication. Addicted to Noise, the first rock and roll magazine to hook every computer to the latest rock news around the world can be reached at http://www.addict.com/ATN/.
"I wanted to create a multi-media magazine accessible worldwide and confines elements of sound, image and text video for a fan of rock and roll to (easily gather and understand)," Goldberg said.
Dissatisfied with many CD ROM graphics and web sites, Goldberg wanted his magazine to be richer in content. He contacted rock music writers who typically write for Rolling Stone, SPIN and The New York Times. Goldberg even hired Bunker Suicide Graphics to install unusual and humourous icons for the magazine.
Addicted to Noise allows readers to respond to articles, and with sound systems, hear 40 second clips from the latest songs in the music market.
Users need an online account, hardware with a sound blaster card and software that interacts with Netscape. Depending on your system capabilities, sound comes in stereo or mono.
It takes approximately two minutes for mono to sing out of your speakers. Stereo takes around five minutes.
Addicted to Noise is supported by advertisers which are predominantly record companies.
"(Record companies) see this as a new way to expose people to music," Goldberg said.
"Internet magazines are really more like Cyber Stations," said Cohen, editorial assistant for Hot Wired http://www.hotwired.com.
Cohen said that HotWired started off as a spinoff of WIRED magazine, but now it is a separate company. She argues that her publication, as well as other online publications, are not magazines at all.
Instead, Cohen said that they are cyberstations, places on the net where you can read and view text and pictures and send out responses from your computer at near the speed of light.
HotWired has been on line for six months and currently boasts 150,000 subscribers. HotWired reveals the latest web scene. Renaissance, HotWired's art section, "Displays some of the best art in our digital renaissance," Cohen said.
HotWired is free too, and is dependent on sponsers who pay $30,000 for a three month advertising contract. When surfing through HotWired, a banner runs across on top. If the banner is double clicked, users can view the adverstisement.
HotWired is rapidly expanding and is currently hiring in all departments.
"We are aggressively looking for (freelance) articles," Cohen said.
Newsweek's Oppenheimer displayed the CD rom version of NEWSWEEK. Everyone focused on the graphics and were impressed by the sound. Many ogled the hypertext feature, in which you simply click-on a highlighted word in the text and receive further information, even sounds and moving graphics.
"It's (CD) fast," Oppenheimer said. "We don't have to worry about phone lines. And, of course, there's the ads; we like the ads."
Then the online version of NEWSWEEK was presented, complete with layout, audio-clips, extras, photo essays, even interactive crossword puzzles and polls.
Soon, audiance members discovered the drawbacks to 14.4 modems and regular telephone lines, while waiting for the demostation signs flashing across the giant screen. Oppenheimer tried again while adlibbing about the latest on O.J. A giant sign showed on the screen: YOUR SESSION HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED-COMMUNICATIONS PROBLEM.
"That's what I hate about all this," grumbled an audience member to another, "everything's still too slow."
"But, the first printing press was slow too," replied the other.