This web's for you.

IT MAY SEEM COUNTERINTUITIVE to be introducing a revamped publication website in the pages of a print magazine, but the fact is, a large part of the site's target audience is you, the readers of this magazine.

The site has been rebuilt from the ground up to be a complementary resource

Here's what this means for you:

* The print publication will continue to focus on industry trends and critical issues, presenting the views of bankers, government officials, vendors, consultants, and other informed people. Its mission is to identify and explore emerging trends and business opportunities that readers can use in formulating or adjusting their business strategy and tactics.

* The digital magazine--which you can get to via the website or by the link in the highlight newsletter we e-mail to registered readers each month (send us an e-mail if you would like to receive this)--contains the entire print edition, including advertising, in a flash-based e-magazine format. In most issues, there are one or more additional articles that relate to an article in the print edition-offering additional detail, a case study, etc.

* The revised website is really completely new. Its mission is two-fold:

1. To provide original content of a more tactical or practical nature. One example is the article on the site now that reviews key points about investor relations for public banks. Content such as that will be added weekly, with articles kept on the site for 12 months or more, indexed by topic.

2. To provide a resource for bankers searching for information about products, case studies, and how-to articles, when you need that data.

The New Products and Case Studies links are two key examples of this. In the former, we categorize product announcements by topic, present a brief description, and allow you to view the full press release, including a link to the vendor's site. The idea is that when you need an upgrade of, say, your branch sales capabilities, and want to know what the latest offerings are for customer relationship management software, you can go to www.ababj.com as part of your research, where you can find products by category or by keyword search.

The case studies, provided by vendors, can be selected by several sort criteria, and have links to the vendor. These cases, which the limitations of space prevent us from using in print, often contain useful information and contacts.

The new site also carries news from the ABA newsroom and the ABA economics unit, updated daily. Upcoming soon will be a live feed from ABA's ACB NASDAQ Index (ACBQ). This stock index includes more than 500 community and mid-size banks. It is updated every 15 seconds, with a total return value calculated at the end of each trading day.

We will add new features to the site on a regular basis, including blogs and other means for bankers to respond to, and interact with, content providers, us, and each other.

Please visit the new ababj.com site and give us your feedback, good or bad. Your comments have already helped us in shaping the site, as they have always done with the print publication, and they will continue to guide us.

bstreeter@sbpub.com

WILLIAM W. STREETER

Editor-in-Chief