EDITOR'S
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KEEPING UP WITH THE DOW   JONESES

All of a sudden, every corporation in America has to have a web site. It reminds me of Hula-Hoops in the ‘50s. Very few people could make those crazy things work, but everyone had to have one. But Hula-Hoops were just a fad. The Internet is a phenomenon. I’m going to predict – right here, right now, in writing – that our web site’s debut in March will be remembered as the pivotal event in this magazine’s history.

We are on a mission to become the commonwealth’s premier provider of state and regional business information. That’s the Reader’s Digest condensed version of the mission statement we adopted last year. The official version includes some additional verbiage about making money and delivering valuable content – but not one word about publishing a monthly magazine.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love this magazine, and I think it will continue to play a vital role as Virginia is inundated with information in the 21st century.

But our new mission is to channel those unwieldy waves of information into formats that are useful. This magazine is one way to do that. But even if we published 1,000 pages per month, we would just be skimming the foam off the incoming wave. The Internet, on the other hand, is ideal for organizing the vast quantities of information that are relevant to doing business in Virginia.

We want our web site – www.virginiabusiness.com – to become the first place businesspeople go when they’re looking for on-line information. We’ll start with links to obvious sources such as the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Center for Innovative Technology and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. We are also working on ways to tap demographic data from U.Va.’s Center for Public Service, health-care statistics from Virginia Health Information Inc. and legislative information from the General Assembly. The possibilities are mind-boggling. We also will offer expanded versions of VIRGINIA BUSINESS magazine, including our List of Leaders and our annual rankings of the wealthiest people in Virginia.

And that’s just the reference section. Our web site also will feature electronic marketplaces that will match buyers and sellers of everything from conference space and real estate to computer expertise and legal services. The law firm of Hazel & Thomas has already agreed to sponsor the business-law component, and we are negotiating with potential sponsors of several other industry-specific subsites.

By the time we get all that done, we won’t need Virginia Business magazine anymore, right? Wrong! The magazine is the promotional vehicle that will bring businesspeople to our supersite. Beginning next month, we will publish an on-line table of contents – directly across from our regular table – that will highlight what’s available at www.virginiabusiness.com.

But you don’t have to wait till then. Visit our site and e-mail us your questions and suggestions. What on-line resources should we link to? What types of electro-marketplaces should we create?

C’mon, don’t be shy. According to our research, two-thirds of you have access to the Internet. This is not the Hula-Hoop: It’s the most powerful communications tool of our time. Let’s learn how to use it.

Karl Rhodes
Executive Editor