Volume 2, No. 13. July 12, 2002
Eric's Turn
What’s
in a domain
In the Asterix comic books—which I have been a fan of since my college
days—the chief of the tribe stands on a shield borne by two men, who transport
the chief around the village and to summit meetings with other tribes’
leaders. So when I visited Parc Asterix near Paris earlier this year and spied
the photo-op above, I didn’t even think of resisting the offer to have
my picture taken on the shield. I don’t look very chief like, I grant,
but it’s the feeling inside that is all.
I’m
prompted to share this experience and photo because several developments this
week have given me pause to survey my domain. Pun intended: that's "my
domain" as in my web site.
This
issue of THE LOOP contains several stories that prompted this pause. Unintentionally,
this particular issue seems to have a theme of how prevalent the World Wide
Web has become in our business.
Schlitterbahn
Waterpark Resort in New Braunfels, Texas, discovered that their Web site, with
frequent updates, was the best counter to misperceptions about the park’s
status during the recent central Texas floods. The ability to get word out immediately
proved vitally important to the park’s return to normalcy.
Monterey
Bay Aquarium has teamed up with nearby MRI centers to provide its live streaming
web cams for patients undergoing the discomforting magnetic resonance imaging
procedure. Watching the aquarium's otters, penguins, tuna or kelp forest via
an Internet hookup helped reduce stress among patients as they were enduring
the claustrophobic conditions of MRIs. That’s just one new benefit their
web site has brought the aquarium. Public Relations Manager Ken Peterson told
me the web site this year may get more visitors than the aquarium itself, a
triumph for the institution’s education mission.
The
Internet is taking hold as the preferred place for people to get information
and to share information quickly with their colleagues (another theme which
seems to be running through the stories in this issue of THE LOOP). We’re
proud to be a part of that trend. And this week we can boast that our own makeover
of www.gettheloop.com is now complete. Every element of our site has been given
a new look with easier navigation, and we continue to refine our services to
the amusement and attractions industry.
Our
alliance with Amusement Today, and the resulting Extra! Extra! page on www.amusementtoday.com—which
we hotlink at the top of every LOOP via an ever-updating compilation of headlines—is
exactly the kind of service the web can give you that is not available in any
other medium. There you will find up-to-date accounts of developing stories
within our industry. Amusement Today may be a monthly, and THE LOOP may be a
semi-monthly. But our Extra! Extra! is a daily. Actually, it’s a minutely.
We have been the first to post many stories, but while we aim to be the first
getting the news to you, we place more importance on being your most trusted
source of information and only post what we can ensure are accurate, verifiable
stories.
We
invite you to browse about both our site and www.amusementtoday.com,
look at archived issues of THE LOOP, check into the Reading Room for some helpful
service articles, visit our cyber animal art gallery, and, yes, take a look
at our advertising opportunities. Remember as you plot your futures, on the
Internet, the future has already arrived.
Correction
In the June
28, 2002 issue of THE LOOP, we gave the wrong numerical designation for
the annual American Coaster Enthusiasts' Coaster Convention. Kicking off the
organization's 25th anniversary was the 25th annual ACE Coaster Con at Magic
Mountain, Adventure City, Knott's Berry Farm and LEGOLAND in California.
We also gave an incorrect measurement for the length of track on Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm. The track is 2,202 feet (667 meters) long.
Both articles were corrected after THE LOOP was initially posted, but we wanted to alert you to the changes.
©2002, Minton Enterprises LLC
All rights reserved