Why I’m Canceling my Subscription to WIRED

Oct 26, 2010 by

I’m not a huge reader for lack of time these days, however, I found myself loving the technology content in Wired Magazine throughout this past summer. As a new subscriber, I was intrigued by all of the great info they offered and read each and every issue as it arrived. I even declared it to be my new favorite magazine.

I know, this sounds like a testimonial right? I wish that was the case, but I regret to say that Wired lost my trust little by little over the past few months, then finally blew everything with their latest issue.

A couple months ago, I received an issue with a full size insert for GQ magazine attached to the back cover, featuring a large photo of Jennifer Aniston wearing nothing but a tie around her neck. I was disgusted and didn’t find it relevant at all. (Poor target marketing on Wired’s end.) I threw the insert away and logged into my account online to change the mailing address from my family’s home to my post office box. I additionally emailed/Facebooked/tweeted Wired complaining about the insert with absolutely no response.

Fast forward to this morning. I pulled into the post office, grabbed my mail, and proceeded to throw away the SAME insert once again, before returning to my car where my 16 year old brother sat waiting for me. (Note: I’m still disgusted with said insert but I thought at least now I had the control to remove it before a house full of younger boys spotted it.) I flipped the November 2010 issue over and shock struck me. The front cover was blatantly…well, boobs.

Why on EARTH Wired deemed it necessary to place such an image on their front cover, I have no idea. I ripped the cover off before returning to my car, then later just threw the whole issue away without reading it (sucks to be one of this month’s Wired advertisers if other people are doing the same, eh?).

So, Wired, at this point I’m through. No more subscription for me. I’ll be logging in later today to cancel my subscription.

Will they even respond to me this time? I added a video for additional effect since they ignored my email/FB/Twitter comments previously.

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  • http://www.imjustsharing.com Mitch

    Of course I had to go look for the cover of the November issue and I couldn’t find it, but I did find the story you were talking about and the image you probably were talking about as well. Whereas I could see why you might have been shocked by the image, the story was an important one talking about breast reconstruction, breast cancer, and many other diseases, and the science behind all of it. The images might have seemed salacious in a way, but the story was compelling reading. Those were supposedly images of reconstructed breasts, and if that’s the case then that’s a major improvement on what women who lose breasts now & have to get reconstruction get today.

    Actually, it was a very well written article, very comprehensive. I’ve never thought about Wired Magazine having anything like that before. The other part… well, we all have to do what we have to do for our own reasons.

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    mandeewidrick Reply:
    November 6th, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    Mitch,

    They’ve switched their cover out on their FB page, so it is now current, much to the dismay of many people. Definitely not an appropriate cover for anyone expecting a techie magazine about iPads and computers in their mailbox. The article, while well-written, didn’t fit in the mag in my opinion. It would’ve been better suited in a health magazine.

    Mandee

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  • http://samhowat.com Sam Howat

    God forbid that you subscribe to National Geographic. Gotta agree with Mitch… I enjoyed the article. It was smart and important.

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    mandeewidrick Reply:
    November 6th, 2010 at 2:43 pm

    I wouldn’t subscribe to National Geographic, so that wouldn’t be an issue. I’ve always thought it looked like a boring magazine.

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  • http://2getsales.com/ Mark ‘MKWeb’ Hultgren

    I agree with Mitch and Sam, good content albeit a bit of a shock treatment for the graphics. Thing is, it is doing one thing, spreading their name around via Buzz (good and\or bad) just like the Hollywood types. They make more when they have their name in front of people and by being ‘bad’ they get the buzz growing faster. Unfortunately, gossip is still good for spreading the word about anything.

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    mandeewidrick Reply:
    November 6th, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    Hi Mark,

    As I said to Mitch above, I didn’t feel the content was suited for a techie magazine. It would have been much more appropriate in a women’s health magazine.

    It is sad that “bad buzz” still gets gossip going, but fortunately as Chuck says below, I’m able to decide where my money is better spent. :)

    Thanks for the comment,

    Mandee

    [Reply]

  • http://youcanbuild.it Chuck Bartok

    Sad Commentary, I guess. I must side with Mandee.
    I appreciate the fact I am still able to VOTE with my Pocketbook
    in this country.
    And with energy expended, let my views be Known,
    even if if not “Politically Correct”

    [Reply]

    mandeewidrick Reply:
    November 6th, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    Thanks Chuck. Yes, I agree, I appreciate that I can decide where my money is well spent and where it is not! :)

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  • http://ricksalasblog.com Rick Salas

    Well, glad you’re getting rid of Wired Magazine. I wonder how many people are going through the same thing. They are really loosing a lot of repeat buyers that is so important for long term business. I think some people are really loosing focus on this. They probably have some advertisers that are getting desperate for sales and willing to try anything.

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    mandeewidrick Reply:
    November 6th, 2010 at 2:35 pm

    Hi Rick,

    I never liked any of their advertisers anyway. It was the articles that grabbed my interest earlier on when I first subscribed. If a technology magazine wants to stoop to porno, that’s really too bad. I had higher hopes for them.

    Mandee

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  • http://avela.com Gary Young China Sourcing

    Mandee,

    I’m sorry to hear about your story with Wired. It sucks to have to cancel it, especially if you like the magazine. Better luck next time.

    [Reply]

    mandeewidrick Reply:
    November 6th, 2010 at 2:34 pm

    Thanks for the comment, Gary! Even though I’m no longer receiving Wired now, there are plenty of other magazines out there that I’m sure I’ll enjoy.

    [Reply]

  • http://ram-online.com Ruth McCrackin

    We live and we learn from out life experiences. What’s better is expressing it to others so they can build their perception of your situation whether to do it or not do it. I always say that one must learn better from their own failure.But it’s easier to learn from someone else’s mistake.

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    mandeewidrick Reply:
    November 6th, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    It’s true, Ruth! If my post prompts others to research a magazine further before subscribing, that will be great. I only wish I’d been more aware of Wired’s demographic in the beginning.

    [Reply]

  • http://passion101.com/blog Dr. Adam Sheck

    Mandee,
    Haven’t really read Wired, though did see it in a friend’s bathroom once, and the cover had one of the women from “The Office” scantily clad, so I see your point. I imagine they are trying to “sex up” the geek readership and if it wasn’t giving them the results they wanted, they would stop doing it. Thankfully, we all have the freedom to not read or “change the channel” when something offends us. Good for you, for standing up for yourself.
    Take care,
    Adam

    [Reply]

    mandeewidrick Reply:
    November 6th, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    Thanks for your comment, Adam! I really thought in the beginning that Wired was going to be a great mag…but given the kind of material I like to see in a magazine, they sadly disappointed. After I cancelled my subscription I signed up for Fast Company instead which I hope will turn out to be more my style.

    [Reply]

  • http://lesliedenning.com Leslie Denning

    Good for you, Mandee! My husband showed me that GQ cover while we were in a checkout line. I’m not that much of a fan of Jennifer Aniston and think she is just another aging actress trying to keep the spotlight focused on her. Apparently Wired is trying to jump on that train. They do need to be reminded of what their readers want. Sorry you will miss out on your favorite magazine, tho.

    Wishing you a song in your heart,
    Leslie

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    mandeewidrick Reply:
    November 6th, 2010 at 2:27 pm

    I’m not a Jennifer Aniston fan either, Leslie! She’s humorous, I suppose, but she tends to act in adult romance comedies which aren’t my style. I recently brought home the movie, Marley & Me, which was supposed to be a PG-rated movie for young kids. I couldn’t believe it was considered a children’s movie. It didn’t bother me personally but I wouldn’t recommend for kids at all.

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  • http://www.edwardrecommends.com/ The GREAT Edward

    Hey Mandee,

    Good for you girl to stand up for what you believe in and your values.
    I used to be a wired magazine subscriber back in the dot.com days of the late 90s and early 2000s. For me I cancelled with it seemed to have more advertisements than content and the ads where not very relevant to the content and my expectation of what would add value.

    Thanks for sharing this with us all. We all need to stand up for what we believe in.

    Make it a great day!
    God Bless,
    The GREAT Edward!

    [Reply]

    mandeewidrick Reply:
    November 6th, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    Thanks Ed!

    I was raised in a family with good morals and standards, and magazines like this have never been allowed in the house. Even though I’m now and adult and make my own decisions, I still stand by how I was raised, and Wired Magazine is obviously trying to appeal to a very different demographic than what I originally thought. I just subscribed to Fast Company magazine instead, I’m sure I’ll find that to be a great read now that I eliminated Wired from my subscriptions.

    [Reply]

  • Anup

    It’s nice to know that people in the western world have their values intact and stand up for it. The way western world is portrayed one thinks that everything goes – your stand shows it doesn’t. Well if Wired got some subscribers because of their cover, they lost some too. And I suppose those who bought it for the current cover will be disappointed very soon and stop buying, whereas Wired must have lost some genuine readers like you for good. Poor marketing indeed.

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  • http://juliesandburg.com/blog Julie

    The November issue just reminded me how different my values are from WIRED’s values. They took a really cheap and uncreative way out to make a cover dealing with breast reconstruction, a topic which normally would’ve interested me because my mother died of breast cancer when I was a child. I wish I could find a magazine that recognized women (half the population!) as equal in value as readers.

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