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Pushing boundaries

We’re making the magazine more timely and customizable, while still offering the same dependable and clear coverage of particle physics.

Kelen Tuttle
Since our very first issue, symmetry has aimed to be at the forefront of science reporting, outreach and design. I think we’ve done quite well, and the results of a recent survey suggest that our readers agree. To keep things that way, we’re making a few changes—not to the type or quality of our articles, but to how we deliver them.

As you know, we now publish almost exclusively online. This allows us to react more quickly, getting time-sensitive stories to you, and saves money in the process. It also allows us to do things we never could do in print. Have you seen our animation of how LHC data moves around the globe, our Standard Model silent film or our find-the-Higgs-boson contest?

This month, we’ve made additional improvements to how we share articles with you:
 

  • Single homepage: We’ve folded the symmetry breaking blog into the main symmetry homepage, so you now need to visit only one page to read every new article. You’ll get the same high-quality, creative, intriguing content you expect from symmetry, in one location, nearly every workday.
     

  • Image bank: We’ve added an image bank to the website, allowing our readers to download and reuse symmetry images in your presentations, reports, even craft projects… almost anywhere you like.
     

  • Archives: We’ve built out our archives, adding “tags” to make them easier to search. Say you’re looking for feature articles about neutrino detector research at Fermilab. Just go to the archives, select those four tags (feature, neutrinos, detectors, Fermilab) in the dropdown menus and click “apply.” 
     

  • Mobile: In addition, we’ve added a mobile version of the website—in fact, if you’re reading this on a laptop or desktop computer, you can try it out right now by dragging the corner of your browser window to make it thinner. You’ll see that the symmetry page is now responsive, readjusting to fit your window. It looks just as good on your smartphone.
     

  • New subscription options: Beginning today we will offer subscribers the freedom to determine how frequently they want to hear from us. Would you like a notification every time there’s new content? Would you prefer an issue once a week? Twice a month? Every month? No problem: Just let us know which cadence you like best. If you’ve been a subscriber in the past, by default you will continue to receive an electronic issue of symmetry once a month. If you would prefer to receive symmetry more frequently, just click the link at the bottom of the next issue you receive. That will take you to your subscription page, where you can customize what an issue means to you.

With these changes, we seek to make the magazine more timely and customizable—while still offering the same in-depth, dependable, lighthearted and clear coverage of particle physics and its intersection with life and culture.

We’re working to push the boundaries of what a magazine can be. Are we succeeding?

Send us your thoughts at letters@symmetrymagazine.org