Friends
A short while back, there were comments about 'diversions' from these
lists to one website in particular. The timing pre-empted something I
was doing and for this reason I have held back with this post.
>From my own private email, it is clear there are many Triumph
enthusiasts around the world who want to knowmore about the WHOLE
range of cars, rather than just those that may be popular in their own
homeland. It seems they want to know more of how the cars of others
are being used and maintained, see what other owners have to say,
delve into company history and get themselves more exposed to Triumph.
AFAIK, quite a number of these people - for whatever reason - are not
subscribers to Mark's lists. Because of this, I'm sure there is room
for a 'local' Triumph
publication that's global in its readership and for well over a year,
I have played with the concept of a Triumph
'ezine'. I know I am not the first to have gone down this route.
Those of you who are Triumph 2000 Register members will know I edited
SIXappeal for over a year until health and increased work
responsibilities at Gaydon required me to vacate the post. As my
personal situation has later
evolved and improved, I am finding ways of still keeping in touch with
Triumph happenings on a global scale through Mark's lists. Reading the
digests gives me much pleasure and I am confident Mark's successes
will
continue without dilution of subscriber.
Indeed, they must.
However, distance often precludes us from 'getting closer' to the cars
and owners that entertain us. Through the IT technologies at our
disposal, it is abundantly clear that Triumphs are alive and well
throughout the world, giving all of us enjoyment and a few headaches
(me included) as well! Presently, the only way all of us can
communicate our joys, woes and "how do I do that?" are via club mags,
email lists, some webrings, a plethora of owner websites and the clubs
to which we belong. You may disagree - but I feel an 'ezine' would
give all of us an opportunity to stretch our awareness of global
Triumph doings and all be potential contributors to a global forum?
With all this in view, two weeks ago I came to the end of creating a
dummy publication as a 'taster.' I admit its heavily UK biased because
it drawns on my own previously published material but it's free to
anyone who wants to see it before forming an opinion this project is
viable - or indeed whether it comes up to their expectations. The
'dummy,' in its current unzipped form runs to about 1.8 mb and 15
pages in Word 97. If there is evident support, I am proposing six
annual issues, though the amount of incoming material might make each
issue more than variable in size but later
versions will be transmitted as a .pdf file in Adobe Acrobat.
If it goes ahead, is there likely to be a cost?
Yes .I've already bounced this idea off-list with a number of selected
enthusiasts in different parts of the world and have received positive
replies well in excess of my expectations. The *cost* has a novel
dimension and is described in the 'dummy' - but the income raised
would be used to meeting charges levied by organisations having
material likely to be of interest but still copyright protected. Be in
no doubt, there will be costs to obtain certain articles, photographs
and reproduction rights.
I propose reports from Triumph Clubs throughout the world (and not
just in English) articles and pix from whoever wants to send them and
the opportunity to re-print articles from previous club magazines that
Editors agree to release in return for a credit, source
acknowledgement or financial consideration. Would articles, company
history, anecdotes, details of global / national events,
service/overhaul/repair tips, readers letters, cars and parts for sale
/ wanted be irreducible minima in terms of content?
Such a concept also demands correspondents. Perhaps you'd like to
think about being a contributor on behalf of your club or just an
occasional or regular contributor in your own right?
Please mail me off-list with your views, if possible within a week of
receiving this post.
At the moment, please limit your reply to "Yes, I like it" or "No
thanks." Depending on the response, I'll mail out the 'dummy' on
November 4 and in one swipe to everyone who says "Yes." You'll get a
warning of its impending despatch 24 hours before I send. If it's
likely to be viable, I plan to send out the first real issue in early
January.
BTW, this publication is presently called "FLYWHEEL Coventry" - as
this was the company's former telegraphic address and later telex
answerback in days of yore. Because the publication is electronic, it
seemed appropriate to use that unique identifier. I look forward to
hearing from you - and sorry for the length of this message.
Jonmac
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