American Gas - March 2010 - (Page 2)

President’s Message Communicating in the 21st Century aGa is embracing new communications tools to spread the natural gas message. chief among AGA’s priorities has always been the dissemination of timely and valuable information to our members—information that will help them run their companies more efficiently, grow customers, increase safety and reliability, and stay abreast of the legislative and regulatory issues being debated in Washington, D.c. From best practices, to energy legislation, to a DOT rulemaking, to the countless AGA-developed studies, white papers and reports—if it provides value, we share it with our members. Yet, in the 21st century, how we share information has undergone, and continues to undergo, a radical transformation. To give just one example, this issue of American Gas is the first issue that many of you are reading in digital form, and we expect that the number of our digital readers will grow exponentially. Yes, we will continue to publish American Gas as a print magazine, but we will now send it out digitally to every subscriber whose e-mail address is in our database, and over time, as more of our readers opt to receive it digitally, we expect to eventually transform into an entirely digital publication. it is quicker, easier, more reliable, less expensive to produce and deliver, and it allows us to be more timely and up-to-date. it is also more user-friendly and interactive, allowing both advertisers and potential customers to communicate with each other directly. And, not incidentally, it is more eco-friendly to produce and distribute. (To take advantage of all of these benefits yourself, change your current subscription to “digital only” or sign up for your new digital subscription at www.aga.org/Publications/ AmericanGasmagazine/subscribe.) The digital American Gas is just the latest AGA entry into the electronic communication world. in the spring of 2009 AGA introduced its own blog, True Blue natural Gas (www.truebluenaturalgas.org), in which an AGA blogging team shares information and opinions on both natural gas and energy issues with more than 30,000 people—now averaging about 3,000 readers a month—which puts it in the top 1 percent of blogs in the “blogosphere.” AGA also uses Twitter to share articles and post updates to almost 500 followers, putting it in the top 5 percent of all Twitter accounts, and AGA also has a Facebook “fan” page, a Linkedin group for AGA members, and its own YouTube channel to post videos of televised interviews and press events on natural gas–related issues. Of course, these new 21st century communication tools are designed to work in conjunction with, not replace, our traditional communications outreach. To give just one example, AGA’s communications team has developed a comprehensive advertising campaign that is designed to reach all of our key lawmakers and stakeholders in 2010, but this campaign will combine traditional print ads with online banner ads, with the digital American Gas and any other electronic outreach tools that will help us effectively disseminate our highest priority messages to our highest priority audiences. it’s a new world, with a variety of new communication tools, and those of us who once thought of electric typewriters and fax machines as “cutting edge” need to embrace it. As Winston churchill once said, there is nothing wrong with change, provided it is headed in the right direction. DaviD N. Parker President and CeO dparker@aga.org march 2010 AmericAn GAs http://www.truebluenaturalgas.org http://www.aga.org/Publications/AmericanGasMagazine/Subscribe http://www.aga.org/Publications/AmericanGasMagazine/Subscribe

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - March 2010

American Gas - March 2010
President’s Message
In the Know
Contents
Industry News
Safety First
To Be the Best
It All Computes
From Volatile to Variable
Vendor News
Advertisers' Index
Places to Be
Marketplace
Jobline
Noteworthies
Facts on Gas

American Gas - March 2010