As I surveyed the landscape of column possibilities in my role as a business columnist at The Detroit News late last year, nothing loomed as large as the world’s developing prospects in small tech. Here, it seemed, was an industry that had all the markings present in the embryonic automobile industry a century before.
This, as the TV commercial used to say, was going to be big. Really big.
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| Jon Pepper |
Small tech, it seemed, could be to this decade and the next what high tech was to the last decade and the one before. My choice was to either watch it from 40,000 feet from my perch at the paper, or to hit the ground and join in the excitement full-time.
Now, here I am — and here you are with the first product from the company we created a mere six months ago. Smalltimes.com, under the direction of managing editor Steve Crosby, is designed to be the world’s first portal devoted entirely to fresh news every business day from the growing universe of small tech. Combining exclusive staff-written reports, our own listing of Small Tech stocks, and wire reports culled from every part of the globe, smalltimes.com will evolve to offer even more features that you require in the months and years ahead.
More will come. Our first issue of Small Times Magazine will debut in September with a cover story on how small tech will change the world in life sciences, telecommunications, transportation, defense and a variety of other industries. Small Times Magazine will profile our industry’s pioneers, its up-and-comers, commercial applications that are well within reach, and the most promising innovations on the horizon.
In addition, we’ll demonstrate that small tech is ready for prime time with our premiere trade show at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington D.C. from Sept. 18-21. Small Tech 2001, led by our Vice-President/Events Chris Morrisroe, will feature the leaders in our industry, frank comments from small tech’s end-users, and a bold vision for the future.
All of these initiatives from Small Times Media are geared toward giving shape, voice, language and coherence to a nascent industry that’s been difficult to aggregate. If we do our job right, we will take some of the mystery out of these incredible technologies without losing our sense of awe. We’ll point out the sweeping applications in the marketplace without ignoring the stubborn obstacles that remain. We’ll report on the positive force that small tech promises for our standard of living and our environment while remembering that others who attempt to employ its powers may not be so beneficent.
It should be noted in the interest of full disclosure that our parent company, Ardesta LLC, has a stake in the acceleration of this industry’s development, which is one reason it’s supporting the creation of our company. While Small Times Media’s goal is to ultimately become fully independent, we pledge in the meantime to treat all companies with an equal sense of fairness.
I don’t mind conceding that this endeavor has its daunting moments. We fully understand that we are offering our product to some of the world’s smartest and most forward-thinking people, an audience that we regard as both a challenge and a privilege to serve. We will count on you to let us know where we’re going right, when we’re going wrong, and how we can provide the most essential information possible.
There’s no industry in the world that’s more ripe with possibility, which is why we at Small Times Media are so enthused about getting involved. Starting today, our first small steps begin to track the industry’s great leaps.
It’ll be fascinating to keep pace.
Jon Pepper
President and Publisher
Small Times Media
(734) 994-1106. Ext. 226
[email protected]