Survey says…
Rachel Fowler, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief | TLT Publisher's Pen September 2020
Readers share their thoughts and opinions on TLT.
Survey says that TLT is still relevant to readers and is STLE’s most visible member service.
I used to regularly watch the show “Family Feud” when I was younger, and I even played the board game with my family. I wasn’t very good at coming up with answers, so I always wanted to be the host. It got pretty competitive, but we slowly stopped playing over the years since the questions and results on the cards were getting outdated. Not to mention, the board game we were using was from 1981.
STLE recently asked TLT readers to fill out a survey in hopes of understanding our readership more and hearing opinions and suggestions. This was my first time participating in a TLT survey, so I was looking forward to seeing the results. The previous TLT survey sent out was more than 10 years ago, so the results and questions were pretty outdated at this point.
Here are some takeaways from the survey:
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Lubrication Fundamentals and Best Practices articles have the highest value.
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Most people read 11-12 issues per year.
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Both the print and digital editions are popular ways to read TLT. The results were about even on this.
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Most people read more than half of each issue.
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Most agree there are a good mix of articles.
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TLT is the most valuable technical magazine for most readers.
I was happy to see these overall results. After almost 17 years of publication, TLT is still relevant to readers and is STLE’s most visible member service. And it shows from some testimonials from the survey as well:
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TLT is the premier lubrication technology magazine in the industry!
• Excellent all-round magazine for our industry.
• TLT helps me keep current with the latest industry trends and happenings.
• TLT helps me learn about new products and technologies, which I would not otherwise have an opportunity to learn about.
• Due to its keen focus on tribology, TLT is quite high in value and relevance.
• Good and great information sharing. It helps us to stay ahead on lubricant technology advancement in the global market.
• TLT is a valuable technical resource. In particular, it has helped me grasp the basics of key tribological areas, informed me of new developments in tribology/lubricants and made me aware of broader market/technological developments that impact our industry (e.g., battery developments for EVs, etc.). I read every issue and regularly discuss interesting articles with colleagues.
• TLT is a very good resource for keeping up on developments within the field of tribology, particularly the part of that field that deals with lubricants. It also highlights some of the recent work of colleagues, and that is handy to know.
• TLT keeps me updated on the industry in a way that no other publication does. It helps me keep current with a minimal time investment.
• TLT helps keep me current with the constantly changing world of lubrication.
Thank you to all who participated in our survey. If you were not able to fill out the survey or didn’t have time, please don’t hesitate to contact me with your thoughts and suggestions. It’s your feedback and ideas that help TLT stay relevant. TLT does not want to become outdated like my first “Family Feud” board game. Maybe I’ll buy a more recent version of the board game and start playing with my family again.
You can reach TLT publisher/editor-in-chief Rachel Fowler at rfowler@stle.org.