Electronic Industry's UBM Electronics Unveils Redesign of EDN.com; Creates First Community-Driven Electronics Design Network

SAN FRANCISCO, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM Electronics, the daily source of essential business and technical information for the design engineering and electronics industry's decision makers, today announced the redesign of EDN.com, the Electronics Design Network, a new online community designed for electronics design engineers, developers, and industry-related management. EDN serves as the go-to source for expert information and resources for electronics engineers worldwide. The new EDN website will continue to provide users with in-depth technical and how-to information and technology updates, while raising the bar on learning, design tools, networking, mentoring and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, and discussion opportunities.

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"Engineering is all about exploring, building, testing, modifying, perfecting, and, in the end, making a difference in the real-world. That's what engineers like to do, and EDN.com is focused on empowering engineers to do this quicker and within a user-friendly, easily navigable, collaborative environment that we call the Electronics Design Network," said Patrick Mannion, Brand Director, EDN, Test & Measurement World, and Embedded.com at UBM Electronics.  "Also, we know engineers have strong, informed opinions, yet also like to have a little fun, so we've put the users and their opinions front and center on the site, while also adding user upload capability, peer ranking, the ability to accrue points based on expertise, and personal touches, such as a profile page where users can share a bit about their background and interests, as well as the ability to 'follow' discussions and specific people you find interesting."

"Through proven social networking technologies, mentoring, and education, the new EDN.com provides engineers with the vital information and peer-to-peer resources they need to succeed," said Kathy Astromoff, CEO at UBM Electronics. "The way our audience uses media is changing – whether it's on the go, via multiple devices, or in different formats. As the Electronics Design Network, we're evolving the EDN brand to enable this new interactive, engaged online community to expand and deepen users' engagement with each other, our customers and the electronics ecosystem as a whole, from the designers and innovators themselves, through to the design services and technical marketing resources they need to make their design a success. As such, the new EDN.com is an integral part of our business' strategic growth plan of reach, services, and commerce."

Along with expert content, tools, and resources the website will include new community features to enable participants to share their own content, ideas, and experiences directly on EDN.com and within the community. EDN.com will also bring users into the conversation through moderated discussions, blogs, and a full suite of multimedia content such as video and audio.

The main components of EDN.com include:

• Home Page highlights newly added expert content, blogs, and the latest posts from EDN's Facebook and Twitter content as well as top discussions, videos and comments from the EDN.com community.
• Design Centers pull together all the various information and discussions from across EDN that are tied to that design center's focus, whether it be, Analog; Automotive; Communications & Networking; Components & Packaging; Consumer; DIY (Do It Yourself); IC Design; LEDs; Medical; Power Management; Sensors; Systems Design; or Test & Measurement. Each Design Center community is led by an EDN editor.
• Tools & Learning showcases products, development kits, design tools, teardowns, courses, videos, webinars, tech papers, and the Knowledge Center.
• Community cultivates deeper engagement and interaction among members. Community features include:
  • Design Ideas;
  • Tales from the Cube;
  • Expert Q&As;
  • My Profile where users can share information about themselves, post their photo, and track their activity, including their own articles, discussions, and comments;
  • People and Discussions I'm Following where peers, editorial, and discussions can be followed;
  • My Library where users can view content they have bookmarked, saved, and followed; and
  • My Tools where engineers can tag tools they like from EDN's chosen list.
• EDN Vault offers Design Idea collections; Teardown collections and analyses; Hot Topics where content focuses around a trending topic area; and a robust library of EDN issues to date in Magazine Archives.

The site incorporates data from DataSheets.com (www.datasheets.com), a website created for design engineers and electronics purchasing professionals to quickly and easily find electronics parts and inventory. EDN.com also has launched a formal mentoring program to help new engineers learn from their more experienced counterparts, and vice versa.

In keeping with the evolving way engineers are finding and using professional information, in Q3 2012 EDN will be available in a tablet version as well as a mobile app. Also, beginning with the June 21, 2012 issue, EDN will change its print frequency from 24 issues per year to 12 issues per year augmented with six themed supplements that pick a hot topic and bring the full resources of EDN to bear in helping designers understand and design to it. To complete the circle from online connections to face-to-face meetings, EDN will also be more tightly linked with UBM Electronics' annual DesignCon event beginning with the January 2013 show and conference.

Leading the EDN.com content team is Brand Director and editorial expert Patrick Mannion, who has more than 20 years of editorial experience in the electronics OEM media industry.

Additional content staff team members include:

• Rich Pell, Executive Editor
• Amy Norcross, Managing Editor
• Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, Online
• Margery Conner, Senior Technical Editor
• Steve Taranovich, Senior Technical Editor

For a full staff list, go to: editorial contact page http://ubmelectronics.com/contact-us/editorial-contacts/.

Follow EDN on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/EDNmagazine), Facebook, or LinkedIn for all the latest news.

For additional information regarding EDN, visit EDN.com or contact Patrick Mannion at [email protected]. Marketers interested in advertising or partnership opportunities, should contact Jim Dempsey, Western Sales Director at [email protected].

About EDN

The Electronics Design Network, is an online community designed for electronics design engineers, developers, and industry-related management.EDN.com provides engineers with the technology trends and design-how-to information they need to keep pace in this fast-paced environment, as well as the networking, contacts, mentoring, and peer-to-peer knowledge opportunities needed to take an idea from concept to reality.

About UBM Electronics

UBM Electronics is the global leader in media and marketing solutions for design engineering and the electronics industry. We deliver results for the key influencers and decision makers involved in the design, development, and commercialization of technology through its market leading brands, peer communities, and professional education services. More than 2.2 million engineering professionals engage with UBM Electronics brands which include EE Times, EDN, Design News, Test & Measurement World, TechOnline, EBN, DataSheets.com, Designlines, and Embedded.com across the globe to accelerate technology sales. The international electronics community gathers at UBM Electronics market leading events such as the Embedded Systems Conferences, DESIGN, DesignCon, and ARM Technology Conference to share, learn, discuss, and advance the critical issues and challenges facing the electronics industry. Additionally, UBM Electronics provides end-to-end services ranging from next-generation marketing, integrated media, custom solutions and research. UBM Electronics is part of UBM (UBM.L) a global provider of media and information services for professional B2B communities and markets.

For more information, go to www.ubmelectronics.com; follow us at @ubm_electronics to get the latest UBM Electronics news.

About UBM

UBM plc is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, and in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 6,634 staff in more than 31 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For more information, go to www.ubm.com; follow us at @UBM_plc to get the latest UBM news.

For more information on UBM Electronics please contact:
Felicia Hamerman, Vice President, Marketing
T: 516.562.5652, E: [email protected]

SOURCE UBM Electronics