The new normal? As our May issue goes to print, we are all still trying to navigate and understand what this pandemic means. What we do know is that COVID-19, the strain of the coronavirus that wreaked havoc with our planet’s population, is also a game changer for our company, and we’re pretty sure it’s a change for the better. Please let us explain.
When the pandemic hit, our team immediately leaned hard into our mission to provide you with trusted, helpful, up-to-the-minute content, which referenced the best local and national resources. Our county mobilized and we did all we could to help.
From makeshift home offices that we shared with spouses — while also juggling education for our kids and sheltering with young adults unhappy to have been called back home so soon after leaving the nest — we learned to Zoom, collaborate online, work faster, more intently and with greater purpose.
You devoured our COVID-19 news and articles that helped you shop, eat, sleep, find spiritual and mental balance, stay fit, improve your home, be entertained, help others and explore the world from your home. Because of this, we increased our frequency and started sending at least three of our Better Letter email newsletters to you weekly. Our subscribers to those Better Letters soared, as did our digital stats. Some of your favorite articles were how to grocery shop while sheltering in place, if going to the beach to surf was the right thing to do and the ultimate guide to COVID-19. We encourage you to visit us online for even more coronavirus-related topics.
As always, our content also celebrated ways that Marin helps or leads the way. For example, San Anselmo’s rockflowerpaper, supported by the Marin Community Foundation, quickly ramped up and made five million — count ’em, five million — face masks. Social media showed images of Marinites howling at the moon. What? Why? To answer that, we introduce you to Mill Valley’s Hugh Kuhn, one of the originators of the howl, and learn how his tribute to health care workers has caught on across the country.
Which brings us back to this publication. Just before the world changed, we were putting together our third annual Celebrating Women issue. Last year’s edition won one of the most prestigious national publishing awards in the country, and we were hoping to repeat that success. Some of our articles still reflect this theme, but we quickly realized that we wanted, and needed, to expand the issue’s focus and send a love note to this amazing community.
We hope you enjoy reading and will be inspired by this issue, which marks our transition to a digital-first model. If you like what you see in print, you will love what you find online at marinmagazine.com, in our Better Letters and through our upcoming online Zoom seminars.
– The Marin Magazine and Make It Better Media Team
