The best way to fully grasp an idea is to hold the printed page in your hand, to read it in a tightly focused manner, to annotate and highlight as your eyes travel down the page. And—contrary to what some “appification” believers might have you think—that experience is still, in many ways, best delivered on paper.
The print object is also a great way to assemble people around ideas, to take stock of a specific moment in time, to nail down a set of opinions. It’s something to come back to later to assess progress, victories and failures, to look at accomplishments and also to look ahead. The team at E-180 felt it was time to take stock, to place a milestone and create something to hold in hand, think with, write on, share with colleagues, come back to and use in the world.
We created a limited edition “Issue Zero,” filled with features selected from the online magazine and great articles pulled from the newsletter. Think about it as a prototype to start fleshing out the process of creating a publication, to find out how this can work within a company like E-180, to broaden a network of collaborators, add a voice to the global discussion on the future of learning and to find out what people like, don’t like and what they want to see more of.
We believe that to always keep learning is the best strategy a person, group or organization can adopt (and live) to remain effective, active, relevant and, well, happy.