YM: It's Readers Still Stand Strong

"LIFE ON THE WEB: Jane magazine is closing with the August issue and Conde Nast Publications will shut down the Web site Aug. 20, but another company Web site for young women has endured far beyond its magazine's lifetime. YM.com, the digital home of the teen magazine bought and shuttered by Conde Nast in 2004, is seldom remembered, except, perhaps, by its ardent online community, and by the individuals who post on teenvogue.com and have battled it since last winter.

If the YM posters are, as they claim, teenage girls, their memory of the magazine may be foggy. Remaining YM subscribers were moved to the Teen Vogue database, the main impetus for Conde Nast's purchase. (WWD is also owned by Conde Nast). Although the properties' corporate connection is unknown or irrelevant to each community, magazine brand identity is peculiarly strong for posters. Teen Vogue's members, a YM poster explained, are "rich girls mostly who don't give a blank about anyone but themselves and their credit cards." One poster, describing herself as a "proud Teen Voguer" didn't exactly dispel the stereotypes by claiming, "the YMers don't have a heart, they are jealous of us because we have style, and they do not." Yet another taunted in May: "Which magazine is still printing?" "

I was clicking around on WWD and found the most hilarious article. Just when you think teenage girls can't get any lamer. I read this.

*Quote from WWD