Editor's Note

For a long time, the online home of Training magazine has sort of been the Honda Civic of Web sites—reliable and safe but nothing that anyone would ever confuse for flashy. And when a colleague asked a few months back how to get to the home page on the Training site, I must admit I was a little embarrassed to tell him that he was already there. But all that changed when Training's new online prototype rolled off the assembly line Aug. 1. The result is a portal Web site called ManageSmarter.com.

The idea of a portal is that it brings editorial content from several sources under one roof, creating a vast universe of resources. Users can find their area of interest—sales, marketing, management, incentives, training or presentations—and drill down to see stories from across several brands rather than just one. While much of the content for the ManageSmarter portal comes from five publications—Training, Presentations, Incentive, Potentials and Sales & Marketing Management, our editorial team is also producing exclusive content not found in any of the print publications.

For instance, on the training page of the portal, users can find stories from Training magazine and other publications, as well as exclusive, Web-only content. In addition, specialized guide pages enable users to find niche content by industry segment. The site also aggregates news from around the Web. Sure doesn't sound like a Honda Civic to me.

But don't worry, we haven't given up our Training magazine Web site for a shot at portal immortality. The www.trainingmag.com site is still alive and kicking, but it has left its sub-compact, sensible sedan image in the dust. Everything you've grown to depend on and love about the site is still there, but the look, feel and functionality got a complete makeover. But we didn't stop there. As part of our electronic overhaul, we've also launched the Training Day Blog. Now, users can enter a new blogosphere to discuss the business of training. Training magazine editors, as well as a handful of industry folks from all areas of expertise, are busy blogging right now at Trainingdayblog.com.

So, what do I have to do to put you on the new ManageSmarter.com today? C'mon, take it for a test drive, I promise you won't be disappointed. It comes fully loaded—and it's all for the low, low price of absolutely free. And if you do it right now, you might still catch a whiff of that new site smell.