Along with the hoopla attending the recent turn of the calendar from 1999 to 2000 came a debate over whether the 21st century would actually begin on Jan. 1, 2000, or Jan. 1, 2001. Although spoilsports who favor the latter date may have logic and mathematics on their side, they will have to settle for a relatively subdued celebration on the next New Year's Eve.
I prefer to think of this entire year 2000 as the cusp between the two millennia. If we still have one foot in the 20th century, the other is certainly planted in a new era, as evidenced by an almost bewildering rate of change in information technology. Applying this metaphor to the tiny corner of the world occupied by JCO, we still publish a monthly orthodontic journal with ink and paper-- and expect to continue doing so for some time to come-- but we are moving increasingly into the realm of electronic publishing.
JCO articles have been prepared on computer for nearly 20 years. For about 10 years, we have been sending entire articles, including graphics, to our printer in digital format. Now, on the brink of the new millennium, we are ready to launch the JCO site on the World Wide Web.
Some readers might wonder why it has taken us this long. We have not delayed the opening of our website because of some nostalgic notion that the information revolution would stall out or that email would never catch on. Rather, we wanted to make sure we had something worthwhile to contribute to the already vast cloud of information floating around the Internet. Respect for our readers' time and intelligence has always been a hallmark of JCO. With our new website, we intend to honor that legacy, and at the same time, establish a new tradition within the orthodontic specialty.
Similar articles from the archive:
- THE EDITOR'S CORNER Dr. Jones.com March 2000
- THE EDITOR'S CORNER New Faces November 1998
- THE EDITOR'S CORNER The Editorial Balancing Act June 1997
I invite you to go to www.jco-online.com (don't forget the hyphen) and have a look. On the left side of the home page, you'll find a menu with the following options:
- Current Issue--a detailed contents listing of our most recent issue, accompanied by a graphic of the cover.
- Previous Issue--the same information for the last issue published.
- Subscribe--an easy way to begin or renew your subscription online, using your VISA or MasterCard over a secure connection.
- Online Forum--a moderated, threaded forum on topics of current interest to clinicians.
- Marketplace--the portal to a catalogue of JCO publications, including back issues and Orthodontic Practice Study books, plus an online Product News section with links to manufacturers' websites.
- Classified--our online classified advertising section, updated weekly and hence more up-to-date than the monthly printed version.
- Contact Us--the way to reach any department at JCO via email.
Those of you who are used to ordering books and supplies or tracking your portfolio on the Internet will find many familiar features at jco-online.com. I want to call your attention in particular, though, to the Online Forum. This will be the feature that keeps you coming back to the website day in and day out.
When you visit the Forum, you will find that a number of prominent clinicians and teachers have already originated discussions of topics such as "the intelligence of preadjusted appliances" (Tom Creekmore), "hiring in today's economic environment" (Mel Mayerson), "the possibility of tooth movement with removable plastic appliances" (Jack Sheridan), and "getting started with digital photography" (Jim Clark). We will also be regularly posting clinical and administrative Pearls that have not appeared in the printed journal, along with "howtos" on topics such as bonding to porcelain (Paul Gange) and setting up a patient incentive program (Susan Hime). You are invited to add your comments to any topic currently listed, to contribute your own Pearls, or to begin a new topic by posting under "Speak your mind" or "Queries". The discussions will only be as good as the participation from orthodontists around the world makes them. But in keeping with our dictum about not wasting readers' time, here is what will set JCO's Online Forum apart from other orthodontic discussion groups: all postings will be screened and edited by us for clarity and brevity.
We hope you will bookmark the site at www.jco-online.com and add it to your "favorites" list. And since all websites are works in progress, we hope you will make use of the built-in email contacts to send us your comments and suggestions. If you have trouble navigating from one section to another or placing an order, please let us know. You can also stop by our booth (No. 508) at the AAO meeting in Chicago to see and operate a demonstration version of the site, and to contribute your own postings to the Online Forum.
Upgrades to the website are already being planned. For example, we eventually aim to include graphics and even streaming videos in the Forum section. Our ultimate goal is to make the entire archive of JCO, from our inception in 1967 to the present, available on the Web; while the archive will be accessible only to online subscriber-members, it will be searchable by anyone--meaning you will be able to instantly identify any JCO article by author or keyword.
The same quality of writing, editing, and graphics you have come to expect in the printed version of JCO will be in evidence in the electronic version. We think it's a good way to ring in the 21st century.
DSV