Condé Nast closed the doors on Gourmet last October, but President of Consumer Marketing for Condé Nast Robert Sauerberg said the brand was never completely shut down.

“By focusing on a new way to meet consumer needs, tap into our deep branding, and approach our content differently, we came up with a product that re-imagines Gourmet and revalues engagement,” CEO Chuck Townsend said. “We are extremely pleased with the magazine apps we have developed as part of our R&D efforts, however Gourmet Live is profoundly different. We approached this like a tech company, utilizing the rich assets of a media company, keeping Condé Nast at the forefront of content innovation.”

He said Gourmet Live aims to attract a younger, Web-savvy audience in addition to previous readers of Gourmet magazine.

Gourmet Live adds a twist to the future of magazines. Previously, it was commonly agreed upon that the future of magazines was on the Internet, but individual apps are a relatively new development.

What is most interesting is Townsendâ€s statement that a technological approach was taken. He also said Gourmet Live is “not a magazine and itâ€s not a digital version of a magazine.” What is it then? If other magazines choose to follow the same path, will the word magazine and/or our current idea of what that is become obsolete in the future? We also worry about the quality of the content for such apps if technology is considered foremost in development, though the bright side is the potential for struggling publications to find new footing in the digital realm.

The idea behind Tunerfish is for users to share the content they are watching while playing a social game.  The game, as explained would give users points for influencing others to watch the same content they watch.

To add content, users simply search the site for their content – whether that be a TV show or online video, and click the big “I’m watching” button.  Users can then comment on the shows via Twitter or Facebook and link back to Tunerfish.

Like Twitter, Tunerfish will have an easy way to determine what’s popular at the moment by showing what shows are trending.  It looks to be a good way to see what shows others, including your friends or personal network, are watching. Depending on the extent to which it catches on, Tunerfish could also present a good challenge to Neilsen’s and other panel based ratings, which haven’t changed much in 50 years. It might also help extend the life of “cult” series that seem to have vocal fans who appear on the radar at the news of series cancellations, but not during all important programming meetings where the shows live and die by ratings, with little regard for the popularity of on-demand viewings or fan groups who come together online.

While Tunerfish is currently in private alpha, the public beta should be out within a few weeks.  Until then we’ll need to rely on Twitter, Facebook and actual conversations to find out what our friends are watching.

The Site has introduced a bunch of new features (on top of their forays into live cricket streaming and HTML5 support) AND a new redesign.

First up? Yesterday, the YouTube Music Discovery Project, or “Disco.” Think of it as Pandora Radio with Video – you enter an artist/song, and presto! Or, rather, disco! Up comes your very own playlist that you can save for later.

Today, YouTube made available a new, cleaner version of the Site that viewers can opt into. With less clutter (although the same number of advertisements) and a Like/Thumbs Down icon (instead of those stars), the new YouTube is supposed to make for a more focused viewing experience. What do you think?

Then, starting tomorrow, January 22nd, YouTube will begin renting movies for $3.99 each. Now don’t get too excited – so far, YouTube only has the rights to 5 independent films from the 2009 and 2010 Sundance Film Festivals. The Indies – “The Cove,” “Bass Ackwards,” “One Too Many Mornings,” “Homewrecker” and “Children of Invention” – may not exactly be well-known, but we think it’s pretty cool that they’ll soon have such a wide-reaching platform. Plus, it’s only a matter of time before the major studios follow suit.

Read More {TechCrunch}

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Amazon has just launched their new Disc+ On Demand feature, which is pretty much fabulous in every way.

Here’s how it works: every time you purchase a Disc+ On Demand Blu-ray disc or DVD, you will automatically receive a digital version of the film that you can either watch instantly in your web browser or download  later for your offline pleasure.

We just hope that this option will eventually be standard on all DVDs. Maybe by next Christmas Amazon? Pretty, pretty please?

Read More {Amazon}

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“I believe in a glamorous life,” Gaga coos as video footage of her fabulous fashion daredevil wardrobe flies by like a moving magazine editorial.  Say what you will about her music , but she truly owns her look, remembering that fashion is not just limited to clothing — but inclusive of fantasy and shaping the world you want to live in a reality.