Blogging

I've had my blog going for over a year now and it has been a great experience. If you try it, think of it like Joe said... your own private soap box.

It's also a great way to expose the hobby (or your specific niche of it) to others. I get many readers who stumble upon it while searching for other things related that have no idea what the hobby is all about!

Try it and you will probably like it!

http://nscalenar.blogspot.ca/

Bloggng

G'day Joe,

                  I always enjoy reading your editorials.

     I have posted a blog on the MRH website and have received constructive comments.

     On occasions I read some of the other blogs on the MRH site.

    Please could you tell me if it is possible to go to an individual's blog if you want to follow a specific blog? Or is clicking on "Recent blogs" the only way to read blogs on the MRH website.

   Thanks for a great online magazine.

         Ken

four years

I'm leaving to work in China in about ten days and I've taken the opportunity to download MRH for my Kindle fire from the inception. It's interesting to me to read the initial editorials about whether interest in model trains was really waning , despite the apparent waning of readership since 1980 at Model Railroader. I think the point to be really well taken that we have gone from a sole source for information to a wealth of information that is very specific to a narrow band of interest. When I go to the Big E in January, I can clearly see that the interest is just fine and that the level of sophistication is all over the map.

 Fast forward four years and our sophistication includes you tube and a lot of very good DVD's on technique. This is a real departure from the traditional approach which essentially recycled a format about every three years max that inevitably included a 4x8 layout, a contest, material on making scenery etc and the articles could almost be overlaid on each other seamlessly. In that capacity, it really is hard to maintain interest in a repetitive format. So recently when I was asked to subscribe to an online format and to pay  for what I already paid for in the print version, I found it to be a failure of vision. There's a tremendous amount of information out there for the taking. Trying to charge for duplicated information isn't going to fly in my book and I will be surprised if it really succeeds.

What I think you do so well, is the extended examination of an issue or technique since you don't have to pay for printing page after page. I do acknowledge the cost but the costs are different. What you have is an in depth look  and I really appreciate that. You are to be commended four years in.I've watched formats come and go and watched as you have learned what you actually want. I do buy from your advertisers and I do make a point of letting them know where I found them. The only problem I have with those pdf versions is that you can't click on a vendor. In some cases, the vendor has presumed that when you click, you can then figure out who they really are. Not a good plan in pdf form. It's always good to say who you are when you want someone's attention.

Thanks to you all. It's pleasurable to look forward to having it going on the Shanghai jet.

Pete VanderLaan