CHRISTMAS WITH A CHANGE
By Christopher Quah
Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of Christ, and a time to cherish family and friends, this year’s Asian Beacon Christmas celebration was something more than that. The celebration held on 1st December 2018, was also a time to celebrate a change for Asian Beacon.
For starting this month and year marked the beginning of Asian Beacon going fully digital. This means that there would be no more hardcopies of the Asian Beacon magazine to be printed from thence on. The decision was announced by Asian Beacon Chairman Tan Yoke Tee during the event which was attended by the Asian Beacon executive board, staffs, advertisers, as well as friends and family.
The decision was not to be seen as a negative turn of event for Asian Beacon, but instead a positive one, which was to match the festivities and mood in light of the joyous occasion of Christmas which speaks of hope and new beginnings. As this would mark a new Chapter for Asian Beacon in their endeavour to reach out to the masses in this digital age.
In fact, many of the guest took the news in an optimistic manner, as it was seen as a strategic move, to go fully online in this digital era and age.
But it was not to be without any challenges. As the chairman put it, “We are heading into uncharted territory, so we hope that everyone will be patient and hope that you all will walk this journey with us. Asian Beacon is now transforming from just a magazine into a digital platform and an online portal for Christian content that we hope to be used to engage people with.”
His announcement was supported enthusiastically by those at the party. When asked about the new direction Asian Beacon is taking and its future there were plenty of positive feedback.
Goldie who is the writer of the Dear Goldie column in the AB magazine also find the direction in which the magazine is heading a correct one as it would help make sharing the content much easier.
“We had this idea 2 years ago to move away from the hard copy and go towards the digital editions. But there were some preparations to be made. During those two years it has become more and more evident that digital is the way to go. And finally I am glad that we have finally made the leap,” Goldie said.
Stephen Ng another guest of the party also exclaimed that the decision would have an impact not just locally.
“With Asian Beacon going digital, it will be able to live up to its name reaching beyond Malaysia. It would be able to have a greater reach, and become a beacon that would shine throughout Asia,” he remarked.
Jie Han a representative for Methodist College who is an advertiser with the magazine also gave an optimistic outlook on the magazine going digital.
“With digital advertising, Asian Beacon can ultimately engage with a larger audience, which at the same time will help advertisers like us to reach a broader audience. It is also very important as it is now able to reach out to the younger generation also,” he said.
Dr Lim Poh Ann another long-time contributor for the magazine agreed on the matter. He explained that it was a strategic move for AB’s to be now on the digital platform.
“There are a few points which I believed that this is so. First there would definitely be a wider reach of readers. This is due to the fact that the trend now is for people especially the young people to use mobile devices on the go.
They don’t usually pick up books to read. So an entire new generation can read AB articles now. Secondly it is also more economical as budget wise it is very expensive for printing. Without the hard copy there is also less problem with certain issues like storage as well as distribution. On top of that corrections can be made easier without having to go through reprinting. This also helps maximize resources as there is no longer any worry about focusing time and resources to maintain both the online website and printed books. There will no need to go through so many people, from printing, all the way to distribution,” the doctor explained. They don’t usually pick up books to read. So an entire new generation can read AB articles now. Secondly it is also more economical as budget wise it is very expensive for printing. Without the hard copy there is also less problem with certain issues like storage as well as distribution. On top of that corrections can be made easier without having to go through reprinting. This also helps maximize resources as there is no longer any worry about focusing time and resources to maintain both the online website and printed books. There will no need to go through so many people, from printing, all the way to distribution,” the doctor explained.
Even the younger generation have taken the move in a positive light.
Coco, a student who was one of the many guest shared that it would be very convenient now for her to tell her peers about the magazine.
“Before this it would have been really hard for me to share the magazine around with friends as it was in hard copy, and made it very inconvenient. Now that it is digital, I can easily share the magazine content around with all of my friends by sending the link,” Coco exclaimed.
It is indeed the hope of all attendees that Asian Beacon’s introduction into the digital platform would now bring it to greater heights. Where it can reach out to the next generation of readers who are so closely linked to cyberspace. This Christmas party indeed would be a significant one to the those at the Christmas party as it would represent a new chapter for AB.
To those interested in subscribing to Asian Beacon, you can now do so through the Asian Beacon Free Digital Subscription Page at: https://asianbeacon.org/subscribe/
