I write to you today not just as Your Friendly Neighborhood Blogger, but also partially wearing one of my other hats—that of the assistant editor at STC, with Intercom as one of my duties.
You hopefully have noticed that Intercom is in the process of changing. We’ve seen some blogs and tweets that displayed a bit of confusion about the changes, so I wanted to address a few things to clarify and, in the words of the legendary Barney Fife, “Nip it.” “It” being the confusion.
To start, let me assure you that the flipdoc debuted with the January issue of Intercom is just Step One of the new and improved “yummy goodness.” (And if “yummy goodness” is not a technical term, it should be.) Over the next few months, we’ll roll out a completely redesigned magazine and starting in April will have four online versions available for our members:
- the standard PDF, as we’ve had for the recent past, with a new design
- the flipbook PDF, which was debuted with the January issue
- a text-only PDF, for mobile devices
- a web-based version
STC is currently working with EEI Communications on the magazine’s redesign. A task force is discussing the print, PDF, and online design of the magazine, with the STC Board of Directors involved as well.
Some may ask why the flipbook PDF was the first to be rolled out. Simple answer: It was the easiest. There was very little extra work necessary to debut the flipbook. The technology and design already exists, so we simply needed to personalize it slightly and put the “skin” on the already-existing PDF. The redesign of the magazine and the design of the online home, however, are more detailed, more in-depth, and taking more time. So those will come a little later.
We’ve already received some positive feedback from those who enjoy the flipbook. Our editor, Liz Pohland, received an email from one member who wrote, “I just love Intercom being online! I think I just read more in one issue in ten minutes than I have ever in a paper copy. . . . It was so easy to flick through, zoom in, and move around the page. Really great work.” Another member asked to use the flip doc version as a positive example in an upcoming talk he’s giving to publishers. And yes, there are some who are eagerly awaiting the web-based version instead. Chalk it up to different strokes.
There are a few things that can be better with the flipbook, and we’re working with our vendor to improve. If you have specific suggestions/comments on how we can make the flipbook better, please email me at kevin.cuddihy@stc.org. For example, we’ve already changed the video ad on page three from an auto-start to a click-to-start.
The January Letter from the Editor states that HTML will be the primary format of Intercom. The PDFs are to provide more options for everyone. And we’re confident that—with the four options listed above that we’ll be offering—there will be a version that just about every STC member will enjoy and be able to use. That’s our goal. We realize that not every member will enjoy or use every version, but we hope that there’s at least one version that each member can use.
Thanks again, and I look forward to your feedback!