As I sit here at my trusty old LC 575, staring somewhat
blankly at the white screen, I find it terribly hard to be-
lieve MacSense: The Macintosh E-Zine is one year old. It certainly doesn’t seem that long ago that I started my foray into electronic publishing. And I suppose it wasn’t, really. Just a year.
A year that would change my life.
MacSense debuted January 11th, 1994 as a double-sided paper publication with little interest in being electronic. Its founding goal was to cater to Ottawa area Macintosh users, bringing important news and valuable information to the community in a timely fashion. Despite limited distribution, MacSense was well-received; so much so that a local online service (that I had never dialed up) pressured me into converting MacSense into an electronic DocMaker publication. It was not long before I realized that I could address a much larger—and international—audience with an electronic publication. And it could all be in vibrant color! I thus made the decision to abandon the paper publication and concentrate on an expanded electronic format.
And here we are, 14 issues later. An international e-zine. We now receive hundreds of pieces of e-mail per month, from all over the globe: Japan, Australia, Europe and [especially] Southern California. It is staggering to think of the impact we have had in such a short time. If I had to pinpoint a reason that MacSense has made it to its first birthday, it is because of the letters we receive from our readers. In spite of the virtual anonymity of electronic mail, hundreds of people have taken the time to write to us and tell us how much they enjoy and appreciate our publication. I can’t tell you how many times I have arrived home from work or school, disgruntled and depressed, only to find two or three e-mail messages praising our work with MacSense. Nothing in life can be more gratifying than the kind comments of a total stranger. This is something I vow never to forget, regardless of how successful MacSense becomes.
So what lays ahead for MacSense? That’s a question this anniversary has forced upon me. I can confidently say that the future is very bright for MacSense. We will conti- nue to push the limits of electronic publishing, and expand our horizons. Before the fall, we may well be a biweekly publication, producing 24 issues a year. Before our third birthday, we may actually be a printed magazine. Who knows? We may even be a division of another company.
At this point in time, I really choose not to define the future. There’s a blank slate out there waiting to be drawn upon, and I prefer to take things one day at a time. Regard- less of the turn of events, all of us here at MacSense will continue to do what we do best—explore the industry and commercial success that is Macintosh.
We hope you’re along for the ride.
 
We love to hear from you. Send your comments, suggestions and queries to us at MacSenseEd.@eWorld.com (MacSense Ed. on eWorld).
