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Celebrate the 20th anniversary of SD Times!

Ted Bahr & Alan Zeichick

February 23, 2000 — the debut issue of SD Times hit the stands and changed my world. Launched as a printed semi-monthly newspaper in tabloid size, SD Times grew into the world’s leading publication for software development managers.

Ted Bahr and I formed BZ Media in mid-1999. SD Times was the first of our many publications, conferences, and websites, all B2B for the technology industry. Today, SD Times flourishes as part of D2 Emerge, and we couldn’t be more proud to see our beloved SD Times continue to serve this important audience.

Let’s look back. David Rubinstein — who started out as executive editor of SD Times and is now co-owner of D2 Emerge and editor-in-chief of the magazine — put out a great 20th anniversary issue. (The other D is Dave Lyman.)

The special issue includes essays from me (page 18) and from Ted (page 12). Dave wrote a remembrance column (page 46) and art director Mara Leonardi shares some of her favorite SD Times covers and images (page 20).

Click here to read the anniversary issue or download it as a PDF.

Meanwhile, my favorite part of the special 20th anniversary issues are the old photos.

  • There’s one of Ted and Alan, doing our silly “‘I’m the B’ and ‘I’m the Z’” schtick based on Saturday Night Live’s Hans und Franz.
  • There’s one of the crazy launch crew celebrating the release of the first issue.
  • There’s one of BZ Media employees standing in the water for some unknown reason.
  • There’s a lot of alcohol being consumed. That’s what happens when your offices are next to a bar.

I love those people, and miss working with every single one of them. Thank you, Ted, Dave, Dave, Mara, Erzi, Eddie, Viena, Pat, Rebecca, Erin, Katie, Alex, Whitney, Adam, Stacy, Yvonne, Christina, Jon, Paula, David, Craig, Marilyn, Robin, LuAnn, Julie, Charlie, PJ, Lindsey, Agnes, Victoria, Catherine, Sabrina, Kathy, Jennifer, Jeff, Brenner, Doug, Dan, Lisa, Brian, Michele, Polina, Anne, Suzanne, Ryan, Jeanie, Josette, Debbie, Michelle, Nicole, Greg, Usman, Robert, Robbie, and so many others for making SD Times and BZ Media a success. Those were among the best years of my life.

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Read the top CISO priorities for 2020

David McLeod, CISO, Cox Enterprises
David McLeod, Cox Enterprises

“Training and recovery.” That’s where David McLeod, chief information security officer of Cox Enterprises, says that CISOs should spend their money in 2020.

Training often focuses on making employees less of a security risk. That includes teaching them what not to click on and how to proactively protect the information that is a part of their everyday work. McLeod sees employees as something more powerful.

“Train everyone so you have a wall of passionate people surrounding your business. I’m talking about creating a neighborhood watch,” McLeod says. “I find people who are eager to know what they can do, and they help expand our culture of proactive protection akin to a neighborhood watch. So if I’m going to drive security for the least cost and the highest effectiveness, I’m always increasing my neighborhood watch.”

Recovery isn’t far behind, though, because sooner or later, there will likely be a security incident, such as a breach, ransomware attack, or worse. “Some hacker’s going to get in. It’s all about recovery. It’s all about keeping the business going. You can do a lot of harm to a business if you have to shut down your revenue systems for three days,” McLeod says.

Read more from David McLeod and from other top experts in my story for Forbes, “Chief Information Security Officer Priorities For 2020.”

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My exciting new job: Editor-in-Chief of Java Magazine

Java Magazine home page
Java Magazine home page

I’m back in the saddle again, if by “saddle” you mean editing a magazine. Today, I took over the helm of Oracle’s Java Magazine, one of the world’s leading publications for software developers, with about 260,000 subscribers. The previous e-in-c, Andrew Binstock, moved on after five years to work on other projects; he leaves big shoes to fill.

As Andrew wrote,

This is my last issue of Java Magazine. After five very enjoyable years at the helm, I’m ready to take on other challenges, including getting back to working on my preferred coding projects. I will surely pop up here and there with articles and reviews (likely even in this magazine). If you’ve enjoyed my work, I invite you to follow me on Twitter (@platypusguy) or to reach out to me on LinkedIn, where I accept all invitations. At the moment, I am currently participating in interviewing prospective successors and I’ll make sure that Oracle has a good person in place to carry on. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for being readers; and to many of you, I send additional gratitude for your thoughtful comments and suggestions over the years. It’s been truly an honor.

I am honored to follow in Andrew’s footsteps.