The Start of a New Journey

It’s a hard job, if I may say so myself, putting things into succinct words and images. There’s always so much more I’d like to share than fits into the allotted space. There are only but so many pages in a magazine.

But the world has changed—especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, when those of us working in magazines found ourselves in a juxtaposition. Many of our subscribers decided they prefer to receive the magazine digitally. I must admit, there were at least a few times when I thought (regarding print), “Maybe this is a turning point. Should we even be doing this? Is it time to go
fully digital?”

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve always been digital. We have an editorial website, an email newsletter and the magazine has been available online for years. But the thought of going all digital led to a barrage of ideas about what we could do with the digital edition of the magazine. This issue is the first step toward enhancing the digital edition.

In [DWM]’s Table of Contents and on p18 of the What’s News department, you’ll see where we’ve hidden a little Easter egg—a bonus article that appears only in the digital edition. When flipping through the magazine online, this article will appear automatically, but you’ll only find it in our digital format.

In various spots in the magazine, you’ll also find links to slide shows, where we give you a look at not just one but all of the images we have available.

It is in the feature stories that our new, expanded digital format really shines. In our annual feature on Fast-Growing Dealers (p20), for instance, there’s so much more that we’ve been able to share.

You’ll find slide shows and an array of audio clips— all designed to give you more info and broader context. Just click or touch the audio icons to hear more. If you’re reading the print version, scan the QR code in the corner of the page to jump online, where you’ll have access to all of the bonus materials.

In [DWM]’s Annual Green Awards (p24) you’ll find videos to accompany each award winner—including messages that give broader insights into a company’s environmental focus and efforts. You’ll also find links to videos in the Software Roundup (p30) to provide more in-depth views for how applications look and function.

In each of these instances, we also included the graphics for digital bonus materials in our print edition. That’s to ensure that all of our readers know there’s more to be had by going to the digital format. Just scan one of the provided QR codes or hop online and visit dwmmag.com/digital. You may also download our app on your tablet from your favorite app store. Ultimately, the choice is yours. But we hope that you’ll join us in this journey to “digital excellence” and what we see as the next frontier in magazines.

Drew Vass is the executive editor for [DWM] magazine.
dvass@glass.com

To view the laid-in version of this article in our digital edition, CLICK HERE.