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This is my twenty-ninth and penultimate issue as editor of Sacra Blue. Beginning with the August issue, Chris Graillat will be wielding the blue pencil. Dion Gomez has joined the staff as associate editor, and will continue as Chris's "#2 pencil" when she takes over. I'm especially pleased that Chris and Dion are willing to volunteer their services for our group, since they both have a lot of experience with writing and with computer publishing tools.
Next month's issue will be my thirtieth as editor, and since 30 is the number newspaper reporters use to signify "the end," it's appropriate that the next issue will be my last. Rest assured that I don't intend to disappear. I will continue to submit a monthly column, though under a different title. I will also continue to submit reviews of products and books, especially for those books in my "egregiously late for review" pile. I'll also be helping out with the newsletter, but Chris will be editor-in-chief starting with issue 205 in August.
I'll let Chris introduce herself and her team in more detail as the transition progresses. I'm glad that several people have already come forward to help our new editor. One of those people is Chuck Sinclair, who will be taking over as product review coordinator next month. Thanks, Chuck.
One of Chris's responsibilities is to determine which other positions need to be filled (or created so they can be filled). If you would like to join the effort to keep Sacra Blue a high-quality publication, please contact Chris. Her contact information is on the inside front cover.
Congratulations and thank you, Chris, and to all your assistants.
Internet Survey
This month we have several Internet features, and two stand out. First, long-time contributor Gene Weisskopf talks about his experiences with DSL technology. Second, we have an Internet service provider (ISP) survey that we'd like you to fill out and send back. We want to learn about your experiences with ISPs over the last couple of years, and it's important for you to send in the survey as soon as possible so we can share your experiences with other members in the July issue. The results will be helpful to our members, particularly new members, who want to find a new ISP. Your input is quite valuable, so please take a few minutes to fill out the survey and send it back to us. Thank you!
New Format Tips
At last month's meeting, several members said that they were uncomfortable with the smaller version of Sacra Blue along with its eBlue supplement. Since our new format is only three months old, everyone involved with the project is still working to get comfortable with our new hybrid newsletter. As Tony said at that meeting, it's going to take some time for us to work out the bugs, and we need your help to bring eBlue beyond version 1.0.
Though some unforeseen problems caused delays in getting the first couple of issues of eBlue up on time, the eBlue team is getting comfortable and into a rhythm. I'm grateful to our Webmaster, Dave Eden, and our eBlue team (Ron Gothberg, Chuck Harris, and Stan Morris) because without them, eBlue wouldn't exist. The team is working hard to make eBlue an accessible site that's easy to read. If you encounter problems, however, or you have some suggestions for making eBlue better, please contact Dave or Stan; their contact information is on the inside back cover of this issue. The sooner you let us know about your concerns, the sooner we can address them.
Now that we've established a new printed format for Sacra Blue, we need some help from all the writers and reporters who contribute all our great material. The first stop is chapters, SIGs, and ACOs. If you write meeting reports for our section on chapters, SIGs, and ACOs, you've probably noticed that this new format only affords us about 200 words for each report. However, I realize that many groups would like to have more information about what happened at their meetings, so I need two versions of your article.
The first version is a 200-word abstract for the newsletter that has some brief information about what happened at your last meeting, when your next meeting is, and a note to look on eBlue for the full version of the report. I think it's a good idea if you write the abstract first, since it will serve as a good outline for your full report. The second version will be your full report that will appear on eBlue.
You've probably noticed that we have a set amount of space for columns and articles, too--about 350 words. Production pressures don't allow me to produce an actual abstract of each article. Instead, I cut off the article at a particular point, and that doesn't give the reader much of an idea whether the article is worth reading to the end. As with reports from chapters, SIGs, and ACOs, I need two versions of an article from writers. The first is a 350-word abstract that summarizes what your article is all about. (I recommend that you write the abstract first so you can have a good outline for the full version.) The second is your full version that we post on eBlue.
Except for a few officer reports and the meeting report, all our contributions for Sacra Blue need to be in an abstract format. If you're writing or reporting for Sacra Blue, your cooperation would be greatly appreciated. Your help would also make the lives of Chris and her team much easier.
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Patching Solutions
There were a couple of comments at the last meeting about the smaller version of Sacra Blue and how it would affect our membership dues. One member felt that because the newsletter was smaller, he felt dues should decrease. Another said that because the group's financial situation caused the newsletter to shrink, we should double our dues.
My reaction to these suggestions comes in the form of an analogy: It doesn't matter how hard you paddle, because paddling doesn't patch the leak in your boat. In other words, dues changes will have no effect on our monetary problems. The reason why Sacra Blue became so large is because of two reasons: We weren't losing members and we had plenty of advertising.
Today we're losing an average of about 35 to 40 members every month, which translates to an average of over $1,200 in lost monthly income. It may surprise you to know that our membership today is about half of what it was three years ago.
When Tony Barcellos built up the magazine from 24 pages to 80 pages, he had two members, Ed Morrison and Harry Lewis, getting ads. Ed and Harry kept ad hassles out of Tony's hair (and the hair of a couple of successors). When Harry left, we had a harder time getting people to sell ads, and editors had this additional burden. Today, we have no members willing to volunteer their time to get ads, despite numerous pleas for help. There is a national advertising co-op that's just getting started, but it won't provide all the ads we need to build the magazine to 80 pages again.
I like a printed monthly magazine more than our print/Web hybrid now, and we held out with the printed magazine only for as long as we could. That isn't to say that I don't like the Web version--I think it's about time that Sacra Blue has a Web presence. It also has definite advantages, especially when it comes to luring advertisers. But our financial situation dictates that we provide as much of the same services as we can for the lowest costs possible so we can get the most bang for our buck.
The Personal Touch
I would like to see Sacra Blue with 80 pages again, but to do that, Chris and the rest of the group need your help. If you want to enlist in this effort, there are some things I think you can do.
Renew your membership. This is the most important thing you can do. If you're leaning against renewing your dues, please contact an officer (or even your editor) as soon as possible. You may also want to attend the next Steering Committee meeting. If you think that the officers won't listen to you, keep in mind that the officers can't listen if you don't speak up.
We need to know what you think, and we need to know it sooner rather than later. If you know of any members who are considering not renewing, persuade them to renew for another year and tell them to contact an officer if they're still not sure.
Enlist new recruits. Persuade three friends, colleagues, or computer users you meet at your local hangout to join the group. Invite them to a meeting, show them a brochure, or show them your copy of Sacra Blue and invite them to log onto eBlue. If every member got three people to join the group, we'd have over 4,500 members. You need to persuade only three people. That's all.
Spread the word. We need to reach to local businesses, schools, and other community institutions, but we can’t do that without volunteers. If you’d like to enlist in this effort, there are many ways you can help. You can contact Tony about helping to spread our press releases. You can contact an officer saying that you’d like to be on a public relations committee. Other ideas include offering brochures in your company’s break room and posting a flyer on a bulletin board at work or school. These are only a few ideas, and we welcome any others you have.
Volunteer to sell ads. It's getting harder to sell ads these days, particularly because our membership is dropping and because we don't have anyone to sell the ads to local businesses. But selling ads is easier than you think. One idea Chris has is to have members encourage their employers or their favorite store to buy ads--just as Girl Scouts sell cookies to friends and family. Simply go to your employers or to the stores, show them the newsletter, invite them to log onto eBlue, and even invite them to a meeting. After all, advertisers get a powerful package with a print ad, a banner on eBlue, and a meeting table to promote their business.
If you have other ideas for getting ads, please share them. If you want to sell ads, we can provide the materials you need. All you have to do is tell the owners or managers of those businesses why you'd like to see their ads in Sacra Blue.
The personal touch makes all the difference. If you want to bring Sacra Blue and our group back to the heights they once enjoyed, we need your personal touch to make it happen. Can we count on you?
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Eric introduces his editorial successor, and also has an Internet service provider survey, formatting tips, and tips for growing Sacra Blue.
