It’s a fair critism that the biggest Italian publishers have struggled to match other countries in the quality of their online presence. This could change! Fiera Milano Media, publishers of Automazione e Strumentazione, Automazione Oggi, Fieldbus & Networks, Elettronica Oggi, Embedded, EONews, RMO Rivista di Meccanica Oggi, Progettare, Fluidotecnica and Energie & Ambiente Oggi are planning to launch five new specialised portals in early May under the generic brand Tech Plus. The five portals are:
- Elettronica Plus (www.elettronica-plus.it) is the portal covering electronics, from semiconductor to test and measurement systems. It will supplement Elettronica Oggi, Embedded, EO News and new vertical titles EO Medical, Power EO and EO Lighting.
- Automazione Plus (www.automazione-plus.it) is the channel dedicated to the technologies and processes to get the best machinery and equipment, while improving the safety and quality of work. This portal complements Automazione e Strumentazione, Automazione Oggi, Fieldbus & Networks and Soluzioni Software per l’Industria.
- Meccanica Plus (www.meccanica-plus.it) was created for an industry that is now one of the most dynamic players of the Italian exports. Content will be contributed from journalists at RMO – Rivista di Meccanica Oggi, Progettare, Fluidotecnica and Uomini & Imprese.
- Energia Plus (www.energia-plus.it) will have strong synergies with other portals, especially those dedicated to the automation and the Environment. Energy Plus will also benefit from the expertise brought by the editorial staff of Energie & Ambiente Oggi.
- Ambiente Plus (www.ambiente-plus.it) covers water management; control and treatment of emissions; waste collection; disposal and recycling of waste; remediation of contaminated sites; and the recovery of materials. It will benefit from content from Energie & Ambiente Oggi and of AIAT (Environment and Territory Engineers Association).
It’s great to see a publisher making ambitious plans for portals that meet the needs of specific engineering audiences. I’m also told that the infrastructure behind the site is going to be scalable as well as providing the features needed by advertisers, journalists and readers. For example advertising will be served by Google’s DoubleClick platorm – one of the best systems available today (other publishers take note: building your own ad server might mean you’ll be left behind as new advertising formats are adopted). I’m excited to see the new sites, and wonder whether the phrase “You Tech, We Plus” will be commonplace the next time I’m in Italy.