News

Letter from the Editor: A change is on the way

December 19, 2005

This article originally published in Kiosk magazine, Nov/Dec 2005.

About a year ago, our company acquired Kiosk magazine. The bi-monthly publication covered the kiosk industry and related applications with the end-market in mind. We embarked upon a redesign and expanded the content, and were elated that readers responded so well. Executives and decision-makers from dozens of Fortune 500 companies asked to be added to our mailing list, and we quickly developed the largest number of subscribers in the magazine's history.

But the more we examined the needs of our readers, the more we understood they weren't looking for kiosks and kiosks only. They were looking for total self-service solutions. Certainly, kiosks have always been a huge part of self-service, and they will continue to be. But there is more to helping customers help themselves than just those kiosks.

Smart carts, digital signage, RFID applications - all are springing up as viable self-service technologies, and the potential for integration with kiosks is enormous. Could we continue to serve our readers well by limiting the focus of our magazine to kiosks, we asked ourselves. And if not, what should we do instead?

The first answer, we decided, was no. The limitation was counterproductive. We had to address additional technology and the way the pieces fit together with kiosks. The second answer - what to do about it - was right under our noses.

NetWorld Alliance - the publisher of Kiosk magazine - recently launched SelfServiceWorld.com, an ambitious site designed to bring the world of self-service technology and solutions to its visitors. The solution was clear: Change Kiosk magazine to Self-Service World magazine. Let the site post the latest news and be populated aggressively with the latest self-service events and information, and use the magazine to provide in-depth features, trends and commentary.

Really, then, we're not eschewing the concept of Kiosk magazine so much as we are adding rooms to a very comfortable house, making space for even more readers to learn how they can benefit from the biggest evolution in retail, financial, restaurant and other verticals since the advent of the cash register.

And the award goes to Â…

We extend a huge thanks to the companies and readers who participated in the Kiosk Awards and the Readers Choice Award competition. Our judges were superb and have our gratitude: Francie Mendelsohn (Summit Research Associates), Gary Pageau (Photo Marketing Association), Tamara Mendelsohn (Forrester), Lief Larson (founder and editor emeritus of this magazine) and Peter Honebein (co-author of "Creating Do-It-Yourself Customers").