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Magazine finds new way to say "Microsoft"

By Brier Dudley
Seattle Times technology reporter

A new magazine called Redmond is due out in October.

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The publication is aimed at technology experts who use Microsoft products, and it doesn't even have an office in the software giant's hometown.

Redmond magazine has its publishing offices in Irvine, Calif., and most of its editors work in Framingham, Mass.

"We're calling ourselves Redmond. To people in the IT (information technology) industry, that only means one thing," said Keith Ward, its Maryland-based managing editor.

Redmond magazine is a makeover of Microsoft Certified Professional magazine, a 10-year-old trade publication for tech administrators certified to use Microsoft products, with about 114,000 readers. It's published by Chatsworth, Calif.-based 101 Communications.

Using "Microsoft" in its title required a special arrangement with the company. The magazine wants to end that tie, stress its independence and reach a broader audience, including company managers who buy technology, Ward said.

A sample cover of the first edition flags stories such as "Eight Intrusion Prevention Tools Put to the Test" and "Microsoft Sales: 10 Tips for a Better Deal."

Redmond magazine is another reminder of the odd relationship between the city of Redmond and the software company that raised the profile of the formerly sleepy logging and farm town since it arrived in 1986.

Microsoft brought the city prestige, prosperity and bright people from around the world. It also contributed to rapid growth in the 1990s that overwhelmed roads, increased housing costs and strained city coffers.

Adding tension is Mayor Rosemarie Ives' ongoing crusade against state tax breaks that exempt much of Microsoft's equipment spending, cutting off a potential source of city revenue.

Ives said relations with Microsoft have improved in recent years, especially since former city building official Jim Stanton joined the company. The company and city are also working closer to address traffic problems.
 
Yet Ives is still sensitive about the company's presence. Just a few weeks ago she saw a Microsoft press release sent out with a Seattle dateline, instead of Redmond. "I said, 'Let's call Microsoft and get it right,' " she said.

Under Ives' leadership the city also publishes its own magazine, Focus On Redmond, to update residents on city business. It has features such as "Savvy Seniors" and "Good Neighbor Honor Roll."

Ives said she has no problem with the new Redmond magazine.

"Microsoft certainly is part of Redmond," she said, "and as long as people are clear that Microsoft is not Redmond, Microsoft is part of Redmond, we're proud to have such an innovative company."

Doug Barney, editor of Redmond magazine, said he has been teased a bit about the title.

"We've had more than one comment — 'You guys sound like a chamber of commerce magazine.' But I don't know that we're going to do anything specific on the town," he said. "Mainly we wanted a title that people would connect with Microsoft right away but didn't use Microsoft or Windows in the name."

Barney said it's undecided whether Redmond magazine will be sold on newsstands in Redmond or elsewhere. Free subscriptions are offered to certified tech professionals and others in the industry. It also has a publicly available Web page, www.redmondmag.com.

"I wonder if they'll send me a copy," Ives said.

Brier Dudley: 206-515-5687 or bdudley@seattletimes.com