Kiosk magazine, published by Louisville, Ky.-based NetWorld Alliance (which also publishes this Web site), is undergoing a change, and with the new year comes a new name: Self-Service World magazine.
"The more we examined the needs of our readers, the more we understood they weren't looking for kiosks and kiosks only," writes editor Joseph Grove in an introductory letter to the first issue bearing the new name. Grove is also vice-president and associate publisher of NetWorld Alliance. "They were looking for total self-service solutions. Certainly, kiosks have always been a huge part of self-service, and they will continue to be. But there is more to helping customers help themselves than just those kiosks."
Grove points to a number of emerging self-service technologies that simply don't fit under the umbrella implied by the term "kiosk" — RFID, digital signage and smart carts, to name a few. The new name not only expands the scope of the magazine's coverage, it also creates a synergy with the Web portal SelfServiceWorld.com. While the Web site will continue to focus on breaking news and weekly features, the print counterpart will take bigger, more in-depth views of issues of interest to the community.
"We're not eschewing the concept of Kiosk magazine so much as we are adding rooms to a very comfortable house, making space for even more readers to learn how they can benefit from the biggest evolution in retail, financial, restaurant and other verticals since the advent of the cash register," Grove writes.
