MARK WEBERS ZEEBO E-ZINE ABOUT CHRISTIAN MUSIC AND MORE CELEBRATES 2 YEARS OF PUBLICATION

Mark Weber shares both news and opinion about Christian music and more in his weekly e-zine, Zeebo. Emailed to 1500 subscriber via yahoogroups, Zeebo is poised to grow as it celebrates two years of publication this June.

Buffalo, NY (PRWEB) May 30, 2003 -- Zeebo, the oddly named e-zine, is turning two. Created on a whim by Buffalo, New York native Mark Weber in June 2001, the e-zine covers Christian music and more with flair and style.

Weber, who recently graduated with a Masters degree in Journalism from Virginia Beachs Regent University, first started emailing music news and reviews to a few of his classmates for the fun of it. Two years later, about 1500 music industry executives, recording artists and music fans from around the world are receiving his weekly e-zine (or electronic magazine) in their inboxes.

I thought to myself, 'Why not organize the various press releases I was receiving in my email about music artists and news about the entertainment industry in general, and share it with others who were also music fans like myself?" said Weber.

Webers creation has remained consistent throughout its two year run. Every issue starts off with a welcome message from Weber, regarding his past weeks experiences. Sometimes spiritual insight is included.

One thing I learned as a Journalism student at Regent University is how there are two worlds: the religious and the secular. And Regent students want to bridge those two worlds together," said Weber. I know that Hindus, atheists, Roman Catholics, agnostics, Pentecostals, and plenty of other types of people read Zeebo, so my approach to sharing spiritual things with readers is as personal and conversational as I can make it."

Besides the personal welcome message, Zeebo also contains three basic sections. The main section of the e-zine is called music tidbits.

When a new CD is coming out, or when an artist makes news by doing something to help others, or doing something unique, they get mentioned in the tidbits section," said Weber. Its meant to be a fast read, because people get too much email these days as it is. So three or four sentences about five or six artists each week suffices."
And the music tidbits section is never limited to only Christian artists or specific genres.

After the music tidbits section comes a music review or some sort of in-depth look at a music artist and what they are doing.

Since I write for cbn.com, gospelcrib.8m.com, and magazines like Charisma, I tend to receive a lot of different types of CDs in the mail from record labels and publicists all wanting me to write about the record they are promoting," said Weber. When the CDs pile up, it can get overwhelming. I try to write about artists who I feel Id recommend to my close friends."

Music reviews over the past year have ranged from jazzy Norah Jones to Soulace, an independent R&B group, as well as rockers like Switchfoot and the Newsboys.

I tend to highlight artists who dont get much press elsewhere. I like to highlight those who may not have big budgets, but have lots of passion for what they do," said Weber.
   
After the music review section comes a cultural component.
   
The Cristina Cobb in Korea" column has regularly appeared in Zeebo for more than a year. Cobb graduated from Regent University, and went on to teach English to young Korean kids in Kimpo City, South Korea. Her articles read like a weekly diary, with tales of teaching classes, going on field trips and experiencing a distinct culture from an outsiders perspective that Zeebo readers seem to love.

Ive always been interested in different cultures," said Weber. Its important to me to offer readers different perspectives on things, whether its music or culture. Recently, I shared about my experiences attending a Hindu wedding."

Emailing a text-only magazine is a low-cost way to reach a lot of people all over the world. Instead of worrying about printing and postage, publication just involves some copying and pasting, email addresses and a distribution list.

I would like to see Zeebo evolve into something bigger and better, with paid advertising, but for now, its reaching key media leaders/gatekeepers and people who have a real passion for music and pop culture, which is a great thing," said Weber. I like to share good news and good music with people. Zeebo started with about 50 subscribers, and now has about 1500. Im hoping thousands more will subscribe by the time the third year anniversary rolls around."

In order to receive Zeebo in your email, email zeebozine@juno.com with a request or send a blank email to zeebo-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Mark Webers website is www.geocities.com/mw6218.