Thank You

By Don Tennant

Computerworld |

Almost exactly a year ago, I received an e-mail from a longtime reader who took the time to do something that neither I, nor most of the rest of us, make nearly enough effort to do. He wrote to say thanks.

He's in the same position the rest of us are in: It's hard for him to find enough hours in the day to get everything done, so the days are long and downtime is at a premium.

"Late in the day, usually around 6:00 p.m., I'll pick up the latest issue of Computerworld that has been dropped on my desk and quickly scan through it," he wrote. "After 40 years as an executive in technology, I sparingly pick a few interesting articles that I can relate to and fast-read those."

He went on to share the fact that he does find himself slowing down with certain articles and that something I had written in one of my editorials about some of my own experiences struck a chord with him.

"Your story resonated with me, and in my particular place in life, made me feel better about what I am doing," he wrote. "Thanks."

I got the sense that he wished he had more time to do a lot of things, including reading Computerworld, without feeling so rushed. And yet here he was, taking those precious minutes to compose an e-mail to thank someone he had never even met.

That e-mail meant a lot to me, and it occurs to me that there's no better occasion than our special 40th anniversary issue to follow my correspondent's example.

So on behalf of all of us here at Computerworld, I'd like to thank you for your readership. The opportunity to learn from, deliver information to and engage senior IT professionals an influential constituency that has an incalculable impact on global business and the world's economic and technological progress is one that all of us value and appreciate a great deal.

While I'm at it, additional thanks are in order on the occasion of our inaugural issue in a magazine format.

The business decision to switch to the new size a decision driven by the savings in printing, paper and postage costs required an extraordinarily fast-paced redesign that took a near superhuman effort on the part of some of the most talented individuals in the publishing business. While it is, unfortunately, impossible for me to acknowledge them all here, I at least want to publicly thank the two people who led the effort: executive editor Mitch Betts, who spearheaded the project; and award-winning design director Stephanie Faucher, who created a look that's fresh and distinctive, yet unmistakably Computerworld. Let me know what you think about the work they've done.

By the way, a couple of weeks ago, that same longtime reader took the time to e-mail me again to send his best wishes as we moved to the magazine format.

"I've been a reader of Computerworld for perhaps 37-38 years, and I've been there from the huge tabloid in the early days to this new format," he wrote. Noting that he enjoys reading the print edition, he expressed the hope that the new format will increase its longevity.

"Like that old IBM backup system (No. 2 pencil)," he wrote optimistically, "the paper format may make a comeback someday."

Maybe, maybe not. What's certain is that we have a constantly expanding opportunity to learn even more from you, deliver even more information to you and engage you even more productively online. Our Web site's enormous popularity will enable us to keep doing what we do, and to keep doing it better, regardless.

So thank you for that, too.

Don Tennant is editor in chief of Computerworld. Contact him at don_tennant@computerworld.com.

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