15 Years Online

Tell me which topics appeal to you for our 2012 virtual events' webinars.

Writing this column as millions of people around the world are mourning the death of Steve Jobs, I wonder how essential the Internet and digital tools are to you and to the safety and health professions generally. I can’t imagine a job or a workplace that has been untouched by them; mine has been completely transformed along with the resilient publishing industry.

We launched www.ohsonline.com in August 1996, more than 60 years after this magazine started its life with the name Industrial Medicine. My tenure dates from November 1995, so I have overseen the website throughout its existence and written or edited most of its content. What once was little more than an online replication of this print magazine has grown into a very popular 24/7/365 resource, with a variety of related digital products, all-day virtual events, a nicely growing Twitter community, and an online Career Network where thousands of searchable job openings are posted. About 25,000 people are receiving our magazine's digital issues every month.

Early in 2012, we'll roll out an improved online buyer's guide that expands our existing Industry Directory. We also will offer two more virtual events, the first on March 7, 2012, and the second on Sept. 6, 2012, with five live webinars in each of them. Five potential topics for the first one are listed below; you can help by e-mailing me at [email protected] and telling me which topics appeal to you.

Potential topics on my list to be presented by industry experts are:

  • Increasing safety in oil and gas drilling and production
  • Combustible dust best practices
  • Preventing nail gun injuries
  • Should OSHA require Injury and Illness Prevention Programs?
  • World-class safety training for fleet drivers

Is one or more of these a clear winner? I know you'll have even better ideas and perhaps some information gaps these webinars can fill.

This article originally appeared in the December 2011 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.

About the Author

Jerry Laws is Editor of Occupational Health & Safety magazine, which is owned by 1105 Media Inc.

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