publisher’s corner
DOI: 10.1145/1409360.1409362 Scott E. Delman
Well within
our sights now
is a magazine
that can truly
be considered
the most
important
scholarly
publication
in the field of
computing.
Looking Back
and forward
2008 has been a year of incredible change
for Communications of the ACM. Starting
with the 50th anniversary issue in January
in which it was first announced that the
magazine would undergo a major revi-
talization to the realization of this goal
with the debut of the July issue with a
dramatically expanded editorial scope
and completely new look. Behind the
scenes there has been a team of the
most dedicated and talented staff
and volunteers any publisher could
ever hope to work with and a renewed
sense of optimism about what is pos-
sible for the Association’s flagship
publication.
Well within our sights now is a
magazine that can truly be consid-
ered the most important scholarly
publication in the field of computing
that is fast attracting the interest of
practitioners and industry technolo-
gists as well as researchers and edu-
cators, and a source of high-quality
in-depth news for the entire comput-
ing and IT industries. Now more
than ever in the recent past, Commu-
nications is attracting readers new to
the magazine and longtime readers
whose interest had lapsed but have
now returned and are enjoying each
new issue.
Getting to this point has not been
easy. The past year has been at times
tumultuous and filled with uncer-
tainty, as roles and responsibilities
have changed, new members have
been added to the team, and several
have left for other pursuits. Change
is never easy and it takes a special or-
ganization to manage it well, starting
with a clear vision for what needs to
be accomplished and a drive to keep
working toward that vision. The pub-
lication that exists today is not perfect
and our job is not done, but we are on
the right path and what we hear on a
daily basis from you, our readership,
helps to keep us focused and moving
in the right direction.
The next year will be filled with
even more challenges and opportu-
nities. For the first time, ACM will
launch a true destination Web site for
its flagship publication. This site will
among many other features include
daily news for the computing com-
munity, Web 2.0 functionality such as
the ability to comment on all articles
published in the magazine, smart
technology that will serve up related
content based on user preferences,
and an improved user experience for
job seekers and employers looking to
connect with each other. The site will
serve as an important complement to
the print magazine, but will in many
ways exceed the magazine’s print
limitations. Ultimately, it is our goal
to provide you with a complete expe-
rience that serves your information
needs and gives you even more value
for your hard-earned membership
dollars than ever before.
Thank you for all of the feedback
you have given in 2008 to make Com-
munications of the ACM what it is to-
day and please continue to offer your
ideas and contributions to help make
the magazine even better in 2009.