If any of you (yes, I know, most of you) had anything to do with this year's LDI — attending, exhibiting, planning — then you're probably about as relieved as I am that it's over. Of course, it's not a bad experience. It's just as exhausting as it is exhilarating.

And so, enter the holidays, and this year as a gift, the staff of Live Design got an entirely new department. I know what you're thinking: again? Well, having been part of several internal shuffles in the last four years, we have finally and happily landed pretty much where we've wanted to be: Live Design is now officially part of the trade show group that runs LDI. That might not make a lot of sense to you, or you might have thought we were already part of LDI (and you might not even care), but the fact is that, since Pat MacKay sold the show and magazines just over ten years ago, we have always been in a separate division from the show. Shows on one side, and publications on the other, please.

Well, no more — this is actually a great move for all of us, as we'll have access to richer resources on the magazine side, but as far as our readers are concerned, nothing will change. We're still here, providing a great editorial product, and we plan to continue doing so for a very long time. The big differences in our new structure will be more on the business side of our publication. We now share one cohesive sales staff with the show, primarily to deliver a more customer-service-oriented experience to our advertisers and show exhibitors.

Funny — things used to run just like this ten years ago. I guess it's true what they say about not fixing what “ain't broke.” Good thing we gave Pat an award at LDI. She has some darned good ideas. We just recycle them. It's good to be green.

Happy Holidays and see you in ‘08!