Our New Name, Layouts, Paper, and More
Hello!
You’re reading a magazine that is both old and new. We’ve published since August 2013 (online) and February 2015 (print) but this issue marks a really important milestone for the magazine.
And, no, it’s not going from the world’s longest magazine title name — Kids, Code, and Computer Science Magazine — to possibly the world’s shortest — beanz.
The milestone is that we have enough readers to hire a real life magazine designer to take all the fun stuff we write and turn it into a neat experience to read and hold in your hands. Here are some FAQs to explain the changes.
Can I see the changes?
You can see the new issue in PDF format (it’s a big file).
What changed?
Pretty much everything but the URL. The old magazine was 8.5 by 11 inches (width/height) all glossy paper. The new design is 8 by 10.5 inches and only the covers are glossy paper. The colors, design, logo, and name also changed. The print issue also tags content as suitable for beginner, intermediate, or advanced.
What didn’t change is the content. While there’s fluff we also want to encourage and challenge readers to learn beyond what they already know or can guess.
Why beanz?
Our goal from the start was to create a polished professional looking magazine in addition to good writing on a range of topics, from serious to quirky. We wanted a simple fun title name. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until our designer came along that we were able to come up with a few great ideas.
In software programming, beans are reusable bits of code you put together to create applications. The name also suggests growth in addition to reusability.
Wasn’t the name bitz?
Yes. Or, yes but. We were all ready to go with bitz only to discover a few last moment issues that were impossible to solve. We couldn’t get the bitsmag.com URL, for example, which is important when you use a name with unusual spelling. You want every obvious URL spelled the way readers might think or hear about your magazine. But there also were issues around search engine optimization and a few other boring business issues.
In a few years, it’s unlikely readers will know the magazine had an earlier name, or that one name worked out while another did not. The goal is to create a fun reading and learning experience people enjoy holding in their hands. Hopefully these changes are a big step in that direction.
Please feel free to email us with any ideas or concerns as we migrate from our old name to new name, beanz. You can always reach us with our contact form. And, as always, thank you for reading and for your support!
