by Roger Lilley, Energize
Change is inevitable. Social and technological developments make change inevitable. We have seen it in all areas of life: developments in communication, entertainment, transport, buying and selling, power generation, lighting and cooking, the list is endless. As technologies develop and improve, people change their way of life. Change is inevitable. It’s like getting older. As much as you may hate the idea of it, you cannot escape it.
Regarding information, people find content on topics of interest from multiple, easy-to-find, sources. Many of these sources offer free-of-charge access. People who used to pick up and browse an 80-page print magazine for information on any topic, now search the Internet for quick, easy-to-find answers.
It has been said that the 21st century is the Information Age. The information age was made possible by the invention and development of the microprocessor, which in turn owes its existence to three engineers: William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brittain, the inventors of the transistor. The transistor was invented in about 1949 and revolutionised the world of electronics. Suddenly electronic appliances could be made smaller, lighter and portable. The microprocessor was invented in 1971. Since then, digital systems – which microprocessors work with – have progressively revolutionised the world. Things, which in the 1960s seemed nothing more than science-fiction, have become commonplace. Personal computers developed into laptops, and then into tablets, and today, mobile phones have more processing power than a ten-year-old PC has.
Technological changes affect how people view the world. The digital revolution has ushered in social media - instant news updates from around the world. Information which in the past would have required a visit to the public library can now be located quickly, easily and cheaply via the Internet.
Publishing has not escaped the change in reading habits. So, it’s time for a change. After about 24 years of distributing Energize as a printed magazine, the title became a digital, or virtual, magazine in 2020. This changed the method of delivery rather than the magazine itself.
No longer does the publisher need to have the magazine printed, packed, prepared for delivery, and then posted or collected by a courier company to get the magazine into the hands of its subscribers.
Suddenly, since April 2020, Energize was available on the web. It was published and delivered to subscribers on the same day. At the same time, in fact.
Because the subscriber no longer receives a physical magazine, the publisher sends an email notifying the subscriber that the latest issue is available.
But despite these changes, the basic format remained unaltered. That is about to change. The December issue, which was published yesterday, is the last one in that format.
As from January 2023, Energize will be published every two weeks. The issues will no longer be referred to according to month, but to year and issue number. Each issue will focus on one of three primary themes. And, each primary theme will be repeated every six weeks. The three primary themes are Generation, Renewable Energy and Storage; Transmission and Distribution Networks and Equipment; and Application and Lighting.
This is a welcome change. It provides us with the opportunity to improve the way we deliver the content you want to read about, to you more quickly, more frequently and in a more focused way.
The first issue in 2023, Issue 1, deals with the theme of Generation, Renewable Energy and Storage. It will be published on Tuesday 17 January. And the next issue of Energize will appear two weeks later on Tuesday 31 January – and every second Tuesday thereafter.
This new arrangement will keep readers more up to date with developments in the power sector and will provide more opportunities for companies wishing to promote their products and services more frequently through the year.
The magazine will still contain sections covering Industry News; Product and Company News; Views and Opinion; and Technical articles. We invite our readers to submit editorial on any of the afore-mentioned themes to the editor for possible inclusion in a forthcoming issue.
Should you wish to submit an article for consideration, kindly contact the editor (rogerl@nowmedia.co.za) who will be pleased to send you an author’s guide.
It’s an exciting change. The magazine will be shorter and quicker to read. It will be easier to find information on a topic, or to reread an article one has read before. Each issue will contain less content, but more focused content will be included over the year than has previously been the case.
