What? Geekly World News is Evolving!

Hello, THWACKsters! As you may or may not have noticed, Geekly World News (GWN) has been on a bit of a hiatus. It has been on a break while we explored and then worked on effectively upgrading it. So, I wanted to take a few moments to explain the original impetus behind the creation of GWN and explain some of the changes you can expect. 

Why GWN? 

I joined SolarWinds a little over three years ago as a Head Geek. I have been a THWACKster for much longer than that. In my time on THWACK, I found that it was easy to miss out on all the things that the Head Geeks were doing but I was always interested when I spoke to them or saw something on THWACK or SolarWinds Lab or somewhere else. I knew there were others out there similarly interested in what they were up to. I was thrilled to join the ranks of Head Geek and thought it was an opportunity to share more. Help the community find things we were up to if they wanted. That’s essentially all I’ve ever wanted to do here. Help the community in whatever way I can. 

Why Change GWN? 

I’ve been toying with the idea of expanding GWN’s purview for some time now. When rounding up what the Head Geeks were up to every month, I found myself also interested in the other things people at SolarWinds were up to. Our executives, for instance, do interviews which are frequently fascinating. A lot of these things easily fly under the radar – especially if you’re not following our social media accounts or eschew social media completely. Either way, I don’t blame you for it. There’ve been some changes that highlighted that now is the perfect opportunity to expand my little newsletter beyond the Head Geeks. 

The Future 

First and foremost, GWN is expanding beyond the Head Geeks which means a name change is called for. It also means it won’t live in Geek Speak blogs anymore. You can expect to see the new newsletter under Community Announcements under its new name, Solar Bytes. What else is changing? Not much, really. The look and feel of it will hopefully be so similar as to make it a seamless transition. The format with my little blurb at the top (which I so enjoy writing) followed by the previous month’s published items then future events won’t change. The amount of content listed in the newsletter should be expanding, though, as more authors and speakers will now be included outside the Head Geeks.  

If you previously enjoyed GWN, thanks so much! If you never knew GWN existed, you can check out the historical issues in the Geek Speak blog right here on THWACK. Either way, I’d love your feedback on Solar Bytes when it launches in October in Community Announcements. Thanks for your time, and I’ll catch you around THWACK! 

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