Founded in April of 1998, the original Industry Standard helped define an era. Ten years later, a reborn Industry Standard is here to document the new Internet age.

The 'Net economy is alive and well, having survived the boom and subsequent bust. Still, there are obvious echoes of a time when often anything seemed possible and sometimes nothing seemed logical. The new Industry Standard will certainly treat the growing volatility of our economy as an important part of its coverage, and endeavor to become a trusted source for reliable information and insight.

We also recognize that it is a changed media landscape. We have decided to launch a very different Industry Standard, one that uniquely meets the needs of today's Internet economy and its participants. We have abandoned the traditional media model based on a large editorial staff in favor of a new paradigm that values the commentary from thought leaders and the perspectives of our community. The endeavor will be guided by an all-star advisory board, which will help shape the online publication as we continue to evolve.

The new Standard will stress several important elements:

First, the Standard will have hard-hitting commentary from thought leaders, technologists, entrepreneurs and other contributors who understand the technologies, deals, and trends that are now shaping the Web world and other technology sectors.

The second element will consist of syndicated news content and thoughtful analysis from trusted partners.

Perhaps the most groundbreaking aspect of the new Standard is the prediction market -- a virtual proving grounds for the ideas discussed in the publication and elsewhere on the ‘Net. Populated by the community at large (which includes our contributors and advisory board members), the prediction market articulates the same emphasis on community knowledge and networking that is perhaps the Web 2.0 era’s most important contribution -- the power of collective intelligence. Prediction markets have proven to be remarkably powerful tools for gauging events and trends, and we think that the addition of this technology to the site will provide a very special type of meaningful interaction.

Finally, the new Standard is online only, and operates under a business model that depends on advertising based sponsorships (special thanks here goes to Intel, who is our launch sponsor). The media business is now in a state of flux, and we believe that our model gives us a few distinct advantages, not the least of which is stability and longevity.

Moving forward, we are eager to hear from you, and we're open to hearing about ways in which the Industry Standard can be improved. Interested in writing for us? Contact us here. Think you have an idea as to what tomorrow might hold? Register, and submit it to the prediction market. Want us to syndicate your content? Drop us a line. Have a story or scoop we should cover? Please let us know.

Expect to see even more from us in the months to come, and thanks from all of us here at The Industry Standard for your time and interest. Enjoy the new site, and we look forward to hearing from you!