The meeting place is a café in Mosta and seated at a table amidst women with their children are two University students. At a glance, some might say they are searching for an identity. Someone from the same generation would probably say: “cool dress sense”. They are unique in their own way. Matthew and Hannah have been part of something bigger for the past six months.
“It all started about six months ago. It was all really random. I did not really think of it as being a monthly thing,” Matthew says. To which Hannah adds: “Then I kind of butted in for the second issue. They had really good design but I am a Grammar Nazi so I wanted to proofread everything and help raise the level of writing to a more advanced level.”
The team behind Matthew’s brainchild has grown along with the magazine itself, with 11 members to date all working on the monthly issues. According to statistics, the number of viewers has also been quite shocking with 1,000 a month in just six months.
Matthew describes the first issue as very colourful and influenced by pop art colours. The contents of the first chapter of Platinum Love ranged from summer fun and fashion to drag culture in Malta. It was then decided that it should be toned down in subtle way.
"It became more sophisticated, but it is still shiny in a way,” Hannah says.
A great difference can be seen in the latest issue which has been nicknamed the ‘Gender-Bender’ issue, and covers issues regarding androgyny. The graphics and articles have taken on a rather dark style to suit the main theme of the month.
Hannah says: “We were originally advertising it as a magazine about the trashy side of pop culture, and it started off bright and fancy. Now it has taken a turn toward things which people do not usually talk about.”
Asked if they would reveal the theme for their next issue, the two look at each other and say it will be very saucy.
“To put it bluntly, it will be the sex issue,” Matthew says. “It will be about everything that is wrong! It is going to be quite hardcore.”
Hannah agrees. “We did not want all the hearts and flowers for Valentine’s. We wanted the raw side of the occasion.”
They might be bargaining for more they can handle and Matthew is worried that it may be a bit too raw. However, this may attract a new type of viewer and Hannah imagines it being creepy old men.
There is an age range for the webzine: it is aimed toward 16 to 25 year olds and those young at heart. One crowd they believe the magazine could be attracting is the homosexual crowd in Malta, whilst also considering the heterosexual youths.
Hannah explains: “It did start off as a primarily gay magazine, but we are now trying to make it a bit more alternative. We have discovered that women seem to appreciate the mag more than straight men because of their egos.”
Matthew believes the magazine began with a fashion-oriented approach and now the webzine is focusing more attention on culture.
Two artists who have found their way onto the pages of this magazine were X-18 and Mathematikal. X-18 considered himself to be a bit of a jerk, although he was apparently drunk during the interview. Mathematikal is a group which organises parties to test their new material on the crowd in Malta, when they are over on holiday from London.
“We are lacking in music and art but we are hoping to begin covering some more artists from both areas,” Matthew observes. “The only problem is that music tends to be very subjective.”
Hannah chips in: “The main problem with the local music scene is that it is hard to find bands and artists who fit in with the theme of the magazine.”
Asking them if they plan on printing their magazine, mixed reactions seem to be the response. Matthew hopes to go to print, however feedback has told him otherwise, saying that it is better to keep it online. Both agree that it would be difficult to start printing since most of the team is made up of broke working students who cannot afford such a venture.
What differentiates this team of writers and designers from your average magazine, apart from being online, is something which makes them rather unique. They do not usually meet in person, although they are to be found on the university premises throughout the scholastic year.
Hannah says: “We brainstorm online every month to come up with a new theme for the next issue, not necessarily to stick to it completely. This month we chose gender, using an androgynous perspective so you could say it is not your everyday view.”
They both wish for Platinum Love to become more well-known so that instead of having to look for people to interview, people would ask the members of the magazine to interview them. It seems that those who are interviewed when asked do not appreciate it as much as one would think. “Some do appreciate it but tend to have a funny way of showing it.”
Whilst trying to understand that concept, Hannah delves further into the kind of themes they tend to choose and the writing style used.
“We try to go for something fun and light-hearted. Say, if we have a heavy topic, like androgyny which is not exactly the easiest thing to talk about, we try to make it as light and easy to understand.”
Constructive criticism has helped improve each issue but they are still proud of the “Don’t agree? Screw you” attitude. The name chosen for the magazine is the one thing which has not changed and is likely to stay.
Matthew explains why. “Platinum Love is bright, camp and blonde in my opinion which fits the webzine perfectly.”
“I had nothing to do with the name but I like it!” Hannah adds.
“We probably gain more viewers from myspace.com and word of mouth but myspace is great,” Matthew goes on. “We have worldwide readership. Our account on myspace has loads of contacts and when an issue comes out we flood, or spam, everyone with links to the new issue.”
Hannah sighs. “I spent about 45 minutes the other day pasting links on all my contacts’ guest books and bulletin boards.”
She looks in disbelief when Matthew tells her about a discovery he made which allows him to do the same job in less the time. Considering he is the main man behind the magazine, she restrains herself from doing anything serious.
One thing both Matthew and Hannah hope not to do is restrict themselves to a theme or audience. They do hope to increase face-to-face communication with the rest of the team behind the webzine which will probably mean many parties ahead. It would be an idea to keep an eye out for the Platinum Love team because one never knows what these students might pick on to write about it in their next issue.
No one is safe and all can find out more on:
www.platinumlovemagazine.com and www.myspace.com/platinumlovemag.