Goodbye print, hello future

Like most teenagers, I liked music, and had a stack of 45 rpm records to prove it. When I heard a song on the radio that I liked, I would purchase the single—and then I would spend hours in my room listening to them. At the time, this seemed like nirvana.

But then, something interesting happened: new technology emerged, first in the form of magnetic tape and then the compact disc. All of a sudden, no one could buy singles anymore; only albums were available. At first, this was disconcerting. But we all realized that the new technology made it far more convenient for us to take our favorite tunes wherever we wanted to go. As technology evolved, the convenience factor improved exponentially with the advent of the MP3 format, which again allowed the purchase of a single song. There are countless other examples of this sort of evolution.

The publishing business is not immune to this phenomenon. There was a time when print publications were the only game in town, and wildly popular.  When I was a kid, there were four daily newspapers in Chicago—two in the morning and two in the afternoon—and we subscribed to one of each. Many other people did the same. 

Today, there are better and faster ways of accessing content, from websites, to digital publications to smartphone and tablet applications. As a result, reader habits are changing dramatically. Increasingly, they want to access content whenever they want, wherever they are. The situation is analogous to the evolution that has occurred in the music industry, with mobility being the driving force.

One of our guiding philosophies is that we have a duty to provide our readers with content in the manner in which they wish to receive it—and increasingly, that means digital content. For that reason, we have decided that this issue will be the last print edition that we produce. (Click here to read the press release.)

So, what does this mean to our readers? Really, not much is changing at all. Though UC no longer will be available as a print publication, its content will live on at our website (www.urgentcomm.com) and in our twice weekly electronic newsletters to offer:

• In-depth articles
• Timely news stories
• Insightful commentaries
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Webinars

Plus, new education, training and certification initiatives will be available year round, in addition to IWCE’s live and virtual events. Together, IWCE and UC will continue to provide the leading-edge intelligence about communications technology that our industry trusts and values.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said, “Change is the only constant.” Evolution, which is the science of adaptation, is an inexorable force upon which progress depends. In that context, our evolution into a digital publication will enable us to do an even better job of producing timely information, analysis and perspective that our readers can use to do their jobs better. That’s a good thing for all concerned.