The brave new Web world requires some exploring

The exploits of the world’s explorers were awe-inspiring when I was in school. From Columbus and Cook to Armstrong and Aldrin, the courage and confidence to take that one small step – or one giant ocean voyage – was something I always admired. It took months to cross the Atlantic and years to circle the globe in the tall ships.

By Bob Vavra, Editor April 15, 2007

The exploits of the world’s explorers were awe-inspiring when I was in school. From Columbus and Cook to Armstrong and Aldrin, the courage and confidence to take that one small step — or one giant ocean voyage — was something I always admired. It took months to cross the Atlantic and years to circle the globe in the tall ships. It took two weeks to rocket the 238,000 miles to the moon and back, or about 20 trips around the equator.

Today the barriers of time and space have shrunk. Cyberspace changes the way we connect to all corners of the globe. Every bit of knowledge we’ve accumulated seems to be available at our fingertips, thanks to the Internet.

Not everyone needs EVERY bit of knowledge, of course, and so we move into this brave new world the way explorers moved through a jungle — hacking their way through the stuff that gets in our way, creating a new path to get us where we want to be.

Part of the challenge for us these days is finding out what you want and need, in what form and at what time. Some of what we have included in our relaunched Website, www.plantengineering.com , is information you can act on immediately. Some will take more time to digest. Much of it will be unique, dynamic content that takes advantage of the unique, dynamic Web qualities: video and audio, immediacy and interactivity.

We have bloggers who will offer you their ideas on manufacturing — and a forum for yours. We are accumulating a wide array of content to share with you. Some of it may actually be fun, but most of it is designed to build on Plant Engineering’s 60-year history of helping plant managers.

Our primary mission is to help you navigate that brave new world of manufacturing. It’s fraught with challenges — and even dangers. Our coverage of arc flash — and safety in general — expanded because there was a need from our readers to get more information on those topics. You’ll start to see new information on safety coming to you in new ways.

The explosion of new technology in manufacturing helps make things better and faster and smarter. The content we’ve always provided in print was designed to do all of those things as well. Now, we’re putting the emphasis on ‘faster.’

For our role, we will get you the knowledge you need as fast as we can, and make the knowledge we’ve already accumulated available to you as fast as you ask for it. Zibb, our new search engine, will get you that information without all the Internet clutter, because the focus of Zibb is on business. That lets you make smarter, better decisions faster, and that keeps you ahead of the challenges of time and space.

Welcome to the new plantengineering.com. We hope you enjoy your exploration. If I can help you find your way, or you’re looking for something new to explore, let me know as fast as possible.