In Internet years, 10 years is a lifetime. That's how long I've been with PCMag. Well, that's not entirely true. It's actually been 10 1/2 years this time. And then there were those 5 years in the early 90s when I considered myself a print editor. Now, this long journey is ending, and I am moving on to new, exciting, and perhaps even more challenging vistas.
Most of you who've been reading my work, tracking my career or surrendering to my fusillade of Twitter posts know my biography, so I won't retread it here. Instead, I wanted to reflect on what I've seen, who I've worked with, and what it's all meant to me—and maybe to you, too.
When I rejoined PC Magazine in November 2000, there was still a thing called COMDEX, and the magazine edition of our brand was churning out 250 pages, twice a month, for almost one million readers. The Internet was encroaching, but print was still king. Google existed, but no one thought it would dominate. There was no iPod, iTunes or iPad. Windows XP had yet to arrive. Cell phones were no smarter than you or me. I read paperback books that kindled my interest and knew that only birds could tweet. Mark Zuckerberg was just 16 years old. It was a long time ago.
PCMag and Ziff Davis gave me the opportunity to build, rebuild, and build again, many great things. When I rejoined the company in 2000, Ziff was in the unenviable position of no longer controlling its own websites. PCMag had no Internet team. I had to hire everyone. My first hire was our current Director of Online Content, Vicki Jacobson. Together we built a team and rebuilt PCMag for its first major relaunch in 2001. We also hired my successor, Dan Costa, an industry vet who stepped into my old role as Executive Editor of Reviews, when I was promoted to Editor in Chief in 2007. Now he'll do it again, becoming PCMag's sixth Editor in Chief—and I know he'll do it well.
To be honest, throughout my career, I've been blessed with great mentors and coworkers—intelligent, hardworking, kind, helpful people who made my career possible. There are simply too many to name. Suffice to say I am eternally grateful to everyone, but most especially to Ziff Davis' rock star team and to each and every person I've worked with over the past decade. I am humbled by your accomplishments and proud of all we did together.
Technology is, by definition, all about change, but I think we're boarding boats to ride the waves of some of the most significant sea change we've seen in a lifetime. We're rethinking the role of the PC, operating systems, mobile devices, and how we access and create content, documents, and more. Convergence is finally happening in the home and elsewhere, and physical media (DVDs, CDs) could disappear in a decade. Terabytes of storage have moved into the home, yet we're already talking about putting micro data centers on mobile devices. Social networking has escaped the confines of our desktops, laptops, and smartphones and moved to our televisions. Expect it on every device in the home and at work.
Our very concept of computing is changing.
On the other hand, the need for traditional computing devices, business technology solutions, buying advice, and guidance on how to get things done will persist well into the future. So while I leave PCMag and its affiliated sites (ExtremeTech, Geek.com, LogicBuy) this month to pursue new opportunities, their relevance will not diminish. In fact, knowing the kind of innovation this team is bringing to market, I'm certain PCMag's relevance and impact will only grow. And I know I'll be watching.
For now, you can find me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/lanceulanoff, where I'll provide updates from my personal blog, the best links from my favorite tech and information sources, and where, soon, I will reveal my second (or is it third?) act.