I rarely use this forum to talk about what’s in a given issue of the magazine. I may reference an article to underscore a point (and perhaps entice you to read it), but usually I let the magazine’s table of contents be your guide.
But this month, and going forward, what we call the TOC looks different from last month, and it’s not the only thing that’s new at Pro Builder. First and foremost, you’ll notice our name and logo have changed. While Professional Builder had a good 83-year run, we thought it was time for a less-formal moniker and logo that reflect a more contemporary look for the magazine and how most of you (and most of us) actually refer to this publication.
The TOC is still your guide to the wealth of articles in every issue, but its new look reflects our shift to a cleaner, easier-to-read presentation of those articles in the magazine. Along with our name, we’ve updated the names and formats of some monthly departments, too. “Housing Intel” replaces “Exclusive Research,” allowing for the latest, most topical data and analysis from multiple reliable industry sources—not just Pro Builder’s own research—on a bimonthly basis. And while “Q+A”—the 2020 version of “Executive Corner”—will continue to publish interviews with thought-leading home builders, it will provide a forum for a wider variety of voices and perspectives as well.
Our website, probuilder.com, will reflect these changes and continue to serve as a warehouse of supplemental and additional content to the print magazine. Online you’ll find feature article sidebars providing greater insight into solutions and successes; photos and illustrations showing additional design and construction details (for example, more projects from the 2019 Best in American Living Awards); links to related content; and videos that call out key aspects of the story or present it directly from the source.
We’re also redesigning the website, not just with the Pro Builder logo, but also with a more inviting, compelling, and logical presentation that gets you to the stuff you want (and maybe some stuff you didn’t know you wanted) faster and more easily.
With that, we’re continuing to amp up our presence on social media, namely on Instagram (probuildermagusa) and Facebook (/ProBuilder), with plans to beef up our library of original and shared videos on YouTube in 2020. We post daily to Facebook and Instagram, so check them out (and follow us!) for updates and links to timely, relevant content. And use the comments to let us know what you think.
I hope you like what we’ve done with the magazine, and I welcome your feedback. We think we’re better for the change and it’s a great start to a new year and a new decade ahead for housing!
Access a PDF of this article in Pro Builder's January 2020 digital edition
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