A new online “community” for power electronics engineers has been launched by Power Systems Design on their English website. After registration, community members can access design tips, member forums and magazine archives of every copy of PSD Europe and PSD North America since 2004 in PDF format.
I’m sure lots of other publishers will be watching the success of PSD’s community with interest. Publishers can’t afford to be reliant on Google for traffic, particularly as one small change in the algorithm could result in a dramatic fall in traffic. By creating the opportunity for interaction, and providing more resources and information, publishers will build a user base that isn’t driven by search. However, I’ll be interested to see whether putting this kind of content behind a registration wall proves to be the right decision: whilst traffic will inevitably be lower, the quality of interaction and the reach of PSD’s databases will clearly benefit from the requirement to register.

Author

  • Mike Maynard

    In 2001 Mike acquired Napier with Suzy Kenyon. Since that time he has directed major PR and marketing programmes for a wide range of technology clients. He is actively involved in developing the PR and marketing industries, and is Chair of the PRCA B2B Group, and lectures in PR at Southampton Solent University. Mike offers a unique blend of technical and marketing expertise, and was awarded a Masters Degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from the University of Surrey and an MBA from Kingston University.

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