Happy New Year. Last year was a very trying year, and I, for one, am glad to see it replaced with a much more optimistic 2002. Thank you for your support and I hope you'll enjoy what we have in store for the new year. Analysis 2001 MagWeb.com continued to grow in 2001, and except for two numbers, racked up some impressive gains. One of those numbers is the price. Although sorely tempted to raise prices for 2002 (we haven't raised the $59.95 yearly price of MagWeb.com since January 1, 1997 even though we've quadrupled the amount of info offered), we kept them the same. MagWeb.com is still the best deal on the internet for Military History. However, come July 1, it looks like we're going to bump the yearly membership up to cover our increased costs unless we get a boost in new members. I'll get to the other number in a moment. We reached 99 magazines, newsletters, and other publications by the end of 2001. We started with only 8 in 1996. I expect 100+ in 2002 as MagWeb.com momentum continues. One development is that we're being contacted by experts who want to use MagWeb.com as a vehicle for focused newsletters--they get to publish and receive royalties, and yet, do not have to worry about customers, mailings, or costs other than e-mailing us articles. We'd like to encourage that some more. We posted 288 issues in 2001, an average of 24 per month. This is unchanged from 2000, although from my viewpoint, the extra travelling we did to conventions, conferences, and shows made that rate difficult to maintain. But maintain it we did, as well as post lots of bonus articles like sample book chapters, battlefield visits, book and other product reviews, more WarLore, and more. I have to have Tibor run the numbers, but we should be close to 25,000 articles in our archive. MagWeb.com has plenty to keep you busy. We deployed a new server early this year, with sometimes disastrous results (at one point, I remember screaming at the top of my lungs at the hired gun techies when just about nothing worked--not one of my shining moments of the year, or in life for that matter, but frustration has that effect and I apologized as much as possible afterwards). Knock on wood, the last eight months have been completely problem free regarding interim software upgrades, hardware and network reliability, and new programming. There's an awful lot that goes on behind the scenes in order for folks to point and click on the latest article! MagWeb.com continued to receive more attention from mainstream media. Our biggest coup was appearing on The History Channel (Modern Marvels: Battlegear episode) along with being quoted (albeit at the end, long after Spielberg and Gibson) in a front-page USA Today article on the comeback of war movies. Plus, we were mentioned in a number of other publications in print and on-line, including trade magazine articles mentioning us with more notable websites Yahoo, Brittanica, and yes, even Penthouse. I even gave a speech in front of the Princeton NJ chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals--and gave away an M-1 Abrams tank as a door prize (er, 1/285th scale, that is). We attended more conventions than ever before in more states than ever before. This is a double edged sword. It's great to meet folks, "show the flag," and entice new members, but it meant spending more time in airports, hotels, and rental car booths, not to mention more cash on travel. It also produced a goodly amount of physical wear and tear, such that by August, I cancelled all further travel in the third quarter and most of the fourth. Now, the other number I mentioned above that didn't grow was our bottom line. The slim profit of 2000 was erased in 2001 thanks to a stalling, if not shrinking, economy made worse by terrorist attacks. Starting in the second quarter, our revenues were down. It's somewhat understandable, as the Internet took a pounding and sites went bankrupt. MagWeb.com is a subscription-fee based service, and I can understand the apprehension that with all the dot bombs, folks might think we wouldn't be around. I can only point out that not only did we survive where many advertising-supported sites or VC funded widget-selling sites died, we continually improved and added content. Our free site set record numbers for access in September and after, pulling in 25,000-30,000 unique visitors per month (about double). History shows it takes 6-9 months to turn a free site visitor into a paying member, so I look for a boost in the third quarter timeframe. In the meantime, we remain up and running 24x7, committed to adding new content and growing the value of the archive. Special Project: MagWeb.com BattleMusic Finally, we completed the first "Special Project" in 2001: an audio CD of original classical music. We commissioned a composer to create a CD of new and original "war" music called Emperor Triumphant. The music depicts war in an age of elegance, from the splendors of the palace to the horrors of the battlefield, and tells a tale of a brave Emperor who must rally his people and lead the army to victory. Thus, we spun off MagWeb.com BattleMusic to produce the CD. We also hired a talented commercial artist to create the unique cover art. We wanted a more dynamic look than the standard images of horse-and-musket era paintings, and our artist delivered. We have had excellent pre-reviews in Emperor Triumphant's initial, limited distribution, and will be unleashing a blitz of PR and marketing in the months ahead. We're also working on the website for direct ordering through MagWeb.com. The CD is available now and costs $20 (includes postage, shipping, and handling) and will be mailed in a padded envelope for protection. Special Offer: We also had custom printed a very limited number of 11x17" posters featuring the cover art, song titles, and story. The first 100 purchasers of the Emperor Triumphant CDs will receive a poster at no charge! You may order immediately by phone (609-397-4265), fax (609-397-9433), e-mail (magweb@magweb.com), or letter (MagWeb.com, 161 Lambertville-HQ Rd., Stockton, NJ 08559 USA). We accept MasterCard, Visa, and money orders and personal checks in US dollars or British pounds. We will have a secure web site ordering page shortly. MagWeb Priorities This may sound like a list of New Year's Resolutions, but this is what we hope to accomplish in 2002. 100+ Publications Reach that magic triple digit mark...and more. Special Projects With the first one under our belt, we have a couple others in motion. Sorry, we can't reveal just yet what they will be (I do not announce products until I have them in my hand), but they've been in development for a while. Conventions and Conferences MagWeb.com will reduce the number of shows it will attend. One big show we're gearing up for is the 2002 Borodino Conference (Sept 5-8, Fort Monroe, VA), where we're sponsoring the MagWeb.com Speaker Seminars. We're bringing in Napoleonic experts for four days of non-stop lectures and presentations on a US military base, including, we hope, representatives from appropriate consulates, and a special guest historian. Historic Developments What kind of hard-driving, tough-as-nails business resolution is this? The kind lodged under the "business application" category. It's one of those things that gets shorted here at MagWeb.com, but one I am determined to see more of these through. Member Survey It's been a while since we did this, but it's time to survey the opinions of MagWeb.com members, not that they aren't a vocal group in the first place! We'll use a a point and click form this time instead of e-mail to see if we can't boost the response rate. We'll also offer a special incentive of some sort--though I have to figure out what that would be. Mobile Offering A low priority, but I seem to think there's an opportunity to partner with one of the many content distribution organizations to take advantage of these emerging technologies for cell phones, pagers, and specialty units (Blackberry etc). Technology Our "paid hit card" technology fizzled, but we're re-evaluating how to deploy it for greater activity. Free Side Redesign I did a preliminary outline of a redesign last year and showed a few very impressed souls, but travelling kept getting in the way. I have a date of July 1, the completion of our sixth full year and beginning of our seventh, to get it done. The same articles will be available, but I'll add a few and streamline it a bit. With almost 100 publications, it's getting a bit cluttered. A better focus will help. Privacy I've stated it before and I'll state it again. MagWeb.com does NOT sell, lend, trade, or give away ANY information about our members, visitors who enter our contests, or any one else. 'Nuff said! Things You Can Do to Help Many members contact us to suggest new magazines and newsletters that they'd like to see on MagWeb.com, and we've tried to follow up. Often, we have already contacted the magazines, othertimes, it's a magazine new to us. If you know the publisher, editor, or owner of the magazine, please let THEM know that you think they should be on MagWeb.com. Contacting the editor/publisher is very important. It lets them know about us and helps us gain an introduction. You see, MagWeb.com grows in a cycle. The more members we have, the more magazines are interested in joining MagWeb.com. The more magazines, the more members we attract. And so on. And the bottom line is that your membership becomes even more valuable. Review MagWeb.com for a Newsletter If you are a member of MagWeb.com, please take some time to write a review of MagWeb.com--what you find valuable, you like or dislike, how you use the information within. Don't worry about style--just put down the substance. Editors love to get these hands-on reviews, you'll help MagWeb.com, and you'll help your fellow readers. Write a Letter to the Editor Mention what you found in MagWeb.com, as well as let the editor know that MagWeb is an important source of information. It's quicker than a review to write, and also important. With e-mail, it is also extremely easy to do. Post to a Newsgroup or Board When someone asks for information, you might mention that you found the info or similar info in MagWeb.com. Folks who would be glad to spend $20 on a book can get an entire month of MagWeb.com access. Just point them to www.magweb.com! Thank You Again, I would like to thank all of our MagWeb.com members for their support and wish them a happy and healthy 2002. Russ Russ Lockwood CEO MagWeb.com On-line Archive of Military History and Related Magazines This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com