The different magazines this week were all targeted for a younger generation of people and it was interesting to see how each of them reached out to the age group they were aiming towards. Heeb magazine did a great job of making their website look fun and new right off of the bat. There were eye catching fonts, bright colors and pictures. What I thought they did that was an extremely good idea was to incorporate Jewish famous people into their site. They had Celebrities updates, articles, gossip stories, and even links to outrageous, but funny videos about Jews. The video's posted alone say something about this site, and the targeted consumer. Many of them are mocking Jewish stereotypes that younger teenagers would find funny. Things like this become the new media sensations because the younger generation finds this kind of humor down right hilarious. Something I found particularly interesting was their "Heeb 100" which is a link on their page to pictures of people who make a difference in the world doing different things like music, fashion, film, etc. I noticed that you had to get nominated to get onto the list and they specify that you can a Jew or "half a jew". This notion of "half" of a Jew seems problematic in defining Jewish identity because it is difficult to define what exactly half is. They do not explain further what they meant by this but it dennotes that people who are not fully Jewish by some standard can be considered a top 100 "Heebster." I liked how "hip" this website seemed to be, and they even had a funny slogan at the time saying, "We pledge not to abuse you email" right next to the line you can put in you address. I felt like this kind of a website would be one that people would check out because it integrates a lot of pop culture which is what young people know and expect to see. This idea of keeping up with the time is crucial for magazines like this and they have ways for fans to follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. I think that this magazine does a good job at mixing Judaism with culture to create a website appropriate for the people they want to be using it.
New Voices, appears to be a more serious website that focuses on connecting Jewish students and showing them how to conserve Judaism. It is written for college students and aims to cultivate new generations of Jewish journalists and creating young media to speak to young Jews so they use their own heritage and integrate it into their lives however they feel comfortable. It is a good resource for Jewish students and they have trips to Israel as well as other relevant updates about other Jewish schools.
The Zeek Magazing encourages the youth to be involved in their Jewish community. They stay connected in print and online and their printed journal included poetry, fiction, art, and themed essays. They strongly believe in publishing Jewish content to keep Judaism a vibrant religion and culture. They do not try and define Jewish identity but want to make sure it thrives by discussing and debating prevalent issues. This website focuses on Jewish life today, and does so without using public media and celebrity endorsements.
Habitus seems to be more focused on the literature and culture of different cities. Each issue is a different city and it brings up emotional and political issues that define us, and shows how people do things differently in different places. It is focused in Judaism but also looks at issues going on in the world in general. This website seemed to be the least modern and is the last one I think I want to look at.
Each website reached out in different way buts I think that as society changes, these websites do too. There are certain morals for organizations and publications that will remain the same, but websites like Heeb really know how to please their audience and that is the only way that Judaism I think, is truly going to change and affect the lives of young teens. Using things going on in today's real world and showing how they relate to Religion and Jewish identity is how younger people will grow and develop their own identity as a Jew.
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