New bilingual magazine targets self-proclaimed “geeks”
A new magazine is hitting the streets of Philadelphia this week. Called “Tek Lado” the free bi-monthly about technology is printed in Spanglish. The venture is going after an unusual niche.
A new magazine is hitting the streets of Philadelphia this week. Called “Tek Lado” the free bi-monthly about technology is printed in Spanglish. The venture is going after an unusual niche.
When the nation switched from analog to digital TV a year ago, the city created a special outreach program to help the Spanish-speaking community make that technological leap. People in the Latino community are not traditionally seen as early adopters. But the new bilingual magazine Tek Lado has launched a twenty-thousand issue print run for self-described “geeks” interested in computers, gaming, and pop culture.
It not only integrates English and Spanish, the magazine straddles online and print. Publisher Mel Gomez says Tek Lado uses QR codes – which are printed bar codes that can be read by cameraphones – to allow print readers to immediately jump online.
“People can download the app on their smartphone, capture the QR code which we program to take the reader to the translated version of the article, and our intention is to integrate the code with advertisers, links to more information about the article, YouTube videos.”
Publishers of other Spanish-language newspapers in the region say older readers struggling with the digital divide still use the print version, and their younger readers gravitate to online content.
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