Arlyn S. Powell, Jr.
Chief Editor
As we learned in school, the Roman god Janus was two-faced, with one face looking backward at the old year and one ahead to the new. This idea has become part of our culture, both in the name of the New Year`s month, January, and in our tradition of New Year`s resolutions. During the 1997 holiday season, we at Cabling Installation & Maintenance have been looking both backward and forward, too.
What the rearview mirror has shown us is five years of growth and success in covering the events and issues of the communications cabling industry. We will be celebrating our five-year anniversary next summer with a special issue that we plan to make both fun and informative.
When we look ahead, we recognize the need to make some changes to a magazine that has essentially grown in piecemeal fashion over the last half-decade. With the January issue, Cabling Installation & Maintenance will have a new look. We`ve reorganized and redesigned it, but we`ve been careful to retain the features of the magazine that have proved to be popular with our readers. We`ve identified these features through reader surveys and focus groups, so you can be assured that the changes being made are not happening just for the sake of change.
This December issue of the magazine also looks both back and ahead. In it we`re including a special report on business and technology trends apparent in 1997 that we see extending well into the next millennium. This special report, a first-time event for Cabling Installation & Maintenance, is, again, a product of reader feedback. Our research indicates that more information on business trends would be welcomed by the readership.
The holiday season is a time for getting in touch. We`d like to hear what you have to say about this month`s special report and next month`s new look, in particular, as well as what you think of Cabling Installation & Maintenance`s first five years and what`s ahead for the next five, in general. And if you don`t get around to writing--as seems to happen to me every year--please accept the magazine staff`s best wishes for a happy holiday season.