Old School & New School

By Sean Moloughney, Editor | 12.03.13

At Nutraceuticals World, we remain committed to the print publication that established our reputation in this industry, while also providing original, exclusive digital content.

You could argue that I’m biased, as an editor with a franchise born from a print publication, but I still prefer to read and flip through physical magazines, as opposed to digital versions on my computer, phone or tablet—or wristwatch, or eyeglasses or whatever smart device can possibly be conceived. And I’d respond that I’m just a little more Old School than New School. I suppose I’m in the minority these days, though, since I still have the physical newspaper delivered to my house. Ok, a lot more Old School?

That’s not to say I don’t read news online, or on my phone. Of course I do. However, sometimes it’s just refreshing to take a technology timeout and focus on what I’m reading without being interrupted by e-mail or text messages—or FaceTime, or Skype, or Snapchat … oh yeah, or phone calls. As much as we’re forced to do it, people are notoriously bad at multitasking. That’s why it’s illegal in most places to text while driving, right?

However, everyone’s brain functions uniquely, and everyone consumes media differently, which is why we like to offer our readers a variety of ways to interact with our content.

Here at Nutraceuticals World we remain committed to the print publication that established our reputation in this industry as an authoritative source of information on dietary supplements, functional foods and nutritional beverages over the past 15 years. If you like to grab our magazine before a business trip, read it on the plane and then pass it around to colleagues, you can look forward to continuing that tradition. Thank you for your continued readership and interest.

At the same time, we are equally committed to providing original, exclusive content on our website www.NutraceuticalsWorld.com. Our online traffic has grown by about 40% this year, and we intend to meet what is an obvious demand. Additionally, if you are so technically inclined, and would like to read the digital version of our magazine and subscribe to Breaking News feeds on your iPad or other device, then there’s an app for that—available now on the App Store and Google Play.

Global demand for nutraceutical ingredients is expected to reach $28.8 billion in 2017 on 6.4% annual growth, according a new report from the Freedonia Group. It’s our business to help your business navigate this important and thriving industry. We welcome your feedback on how to better serve your needs.

Maryanne Wolf, director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University, was quoted in an article published in Scientific American earlier this year, and she summed up the tension between Old School and New School methods of reading. (Full disclosure—if you’re wondering—I read this online.)

“There is physicality in reading, maybe even more than we want to think about as we lurch into digital reading—as we move forward perhaps with too little reflection. I would like to preserve the absolute best of older forms, but know when to use the new.”

That’s the approach I intend to take as we move forward in our commitments to you: offering the best of both worlds. Happy reading—whatever way you do it.