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	Phil's Blogservations Friday, November 04, 2005 Posted by philgomes 2:25 AM Remembering Forbes ASAP Remembering Forbes ASAP In this article, Michael Malone delivers a withering strike on Forbes in the wake of their "Attack of the Blogs" article. I had a different takeaway, though — the need to write this long-overdue post, made timely once again based on this paragraph here: As I've noted in this column many times over the years, I used to run Forbes' technology magazine, Forbes ASAP, which was based in Silicon Valley. ASAP was probably the largest circulation technology-business magazine in the world. I like to think it was because of the good writing and editing, but the truth is that we were respected then (and remembered now) because we understood technology, and we got the big stuff right. This reminded me of the post that started some correspondence with Malone, wherein I asked whether there ever existed any magazines that mixed the high-level, opinion-driven writing of, say, Harper's with a west-coast sensibility. Malone set me straight: I had completely forgotten about Forbes ASAP's quarterly "Big Issue." This was a double-goof on my part because one edition of that series — featuring contributions by Bill Gates, Kurt Vonnegut, Muhammad Ali, and others — was actually on my bookshelf. Some time later, having taken this public stroll down Very-Recent-Memory Lane, Malone made the very thoughtful gift of the complete set of ASAP's "Big Issues." A box of them appeared at my office in Edelman LA. They're on my shelf right now, protected by motion sensors, lasers, and snarling dobermans. If you're nice, I'll let you look at them. A box of sterile latex gloves is nearby, lest the acidic secretions of your grubby digits come in contact with my prize. This kind of periodical really needs to come back — big-thinkers discussing big issues in a publication that's well-considered, well-written, well-edited, and well-designed. Thanks go to Michael Malone for giving it a go back in the go-go dot-com era, and for sending me the excellent results. | HOME | OBSESSIONS | FAQ | HEROES | CAREER | BLOG | CONTACT Note that the views expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of Phil's employer, its business partners, its clients, or anyone or anything that doesn't come from Phil's demented imagination. Hell, to be perfectly honest, even Phil disagrees with what he thinks sometimes. This site has virtually no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Clicking on a link doesn't automatically send a 1/2-cent donation to UNICEF. You can't buy, sell, auction, swap, find a date, win friends, influence people, cross the chasm, or decode the human genome using this site. You won't get free email. You won't win a free video game console. This site will not end world hunger, foster peace in the Middle East, help you smell better, teach you how to swing dance, or move the global economy from petroleum to hydrogen fuels. You'll learn a lot about this site's master, though, which amounts to a haphazard collection of strange and useless facts that pretty much won't help you at all.	ABOUT THIS BLOG This is the blog of Phil Gomes, SVP with Edelman Digital and senior advisor to the Society for New Communications Research. This blog not only discusses PR and media matters, but Phil's everyday observations about a variety of topics. Phil currently resides in Chicago, IL. EMAIL phil[at] philgomes.com View my page on PROpenMic SYNDICATE Feedburner ARCHIVE YAHOO! IM SKYPE WISH LIST PITCH POLICY MY PHOTOS www.flickr.com Photostream RSS Enter your Email Powered by FeedBlitz COMMENT AND TRACKBACK POLICY Comments and trackbacks are unmoderated, though I will delete the patently offensive ones. Any comments and trackbacks are the opinions of the individual writer of those comments and trackbacks, and not those of Phil Gomes, his employer, its clients, or its business partners. If you have a bone to pick, bug the people who wrote the comment or trackback.