In the Jurassic Period of the Internet, a pretty darn good woodworking magazine was trying to figure out what to do with the medium. There were some woodworking-based “chat rooms,” as we called them then. We wondered, “Should we do one of those?” (Remember, back then, 99 percent of web pages were text-based because you could brew a full pot of coffee in the time it took to load an image the size of a mosquito.) The questions were: “What would woodworkers want to see on the Internet, and how do we make a couple of bucks with whatever we do?”
It may not sound so revolutionary today, but when we decided to put out a biweekly woodworking magazine on the web – with fresh content written just for the Woodworker’s Journal eZine — we were the only one. Not only that, but we were so “bleeding edge” that some advertisers did not even know how to make an ad for the Internet. (“You can put ads on the Interweb? COOL! Does it work in the email?”)
It is hard for me to believe, but it was April of 2000 when we sent our first eZine into the ether. Today, with Issue 375, we celebrate 15 years of success on the web: truly, a real milestone. And, as we email this issue to 270,000 of you, we remain the biggest eZine in woodworking.
So are we going to rest on our laurels and bask in our achievement? Nope! Starting with this issue, we will be moving from an every-other-week schedule to sending the eZine every week. (I know, getting this missive every week has your hair curling with excitement!) So hang on and get ready for even more great woodworking in the eZine!
Rob Johnstone, Woodworker’s Journal
P.S. Woodworker’s Journal has continued to grow with the Internet. Our newly redesigned website features all your eZine content, and much more. You can view it equally well on a phone, tablet or computer, and our video pages are second to none. Check out our other pages, and I think you will find them to your liking!
