• by OMMA Editors , December 1, 2009

On the heels of last year's econapocalypse we released our previous survival guide. And, well, here's the thing: We can't help thinking it came up a little short. Maybe it had been too much. Like Tom Waits' William the Pleaser, we sold opium and fireworks in that issue. And as a result, things just got worse.

You'll remember the cover, a blood-splattered emergency box with mushroom cloud reflected in the distance. A chain hung limply alongside the unbroken BREAK GLASS covering the magazine. We had imagined things getting about as bad as they could. But it seems this year everyone is still lost in that barren wasteland, traveling the road alongside Viggo Mortensen and his son.

Rather than sleep in a ditch wishing we had some whiskey and a gun, we went back to the drawing board. We said to ourselves, EdBlog, you are going to have to do something more this year. These people are adrift. Doomsday scenarios will help no one. What's needed is a way out.

This year's edition should tell you, if not everything you need to know to make it to 2011 alive, well, it'll give you a head start. This year our guide is not just one guide but many -- with different sections aimed at agencies, CMOS, performance marketers, publishers, regulators, investors and even consumers, covering all the mobile, social, search, regulation and tech pitfalls and opportunities. Each should tell you a little about what you need to know, and then of course, you'll want to know what the other guy knows. That or, EdBlog will be the pennies on your eyes.

We've reached that time. As the man says, "Hell's boiling over and heaven is full; we're chained to the world and we've all got to pull." The year ahead is sure to be one of both glitter and doom -- start it with our map, and hopefully you'll be dancing in confetti next year, not dirt in the ground.  

The Editors
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