From the Desk of Katie Paine
Use it well for it will soon be gone,
this gift of time with which we’re born.
I don’t know where it goes.
When we were with young we filled the day
With laughter and we ran and played,
Never thinking it would ever end those carefree days of let’s pretend.
As we grow older we forget
The only true gift that we get.from “The Gift of Time,” by Rick Watson
As I was running this morning, my friend Rick Watson’s song “The Gift of Time” popped up on my playlist. The thing about having cancer (breast in 2004, clear since then) is that you realize you have no idea how much time you have left on the planet, but however long it is, it won’t be enough. Which is why “The Gift of Time” is one of those songs on the soundtrack of my life.
“The Gift of Time” was one of the inspirations that resulted in the birth of Paine Publishing last August. Writing, editing, and teaching have always been my greatest passions, and as one friend put it, “You’ve been talking about it for 20 years, will you please get on with it?”
So last August I started Paine Publishing. My dream was of a measurement community, built around a subscription-based newsletter that incorporated monthly conversations as well as educational packages. Its mission would be to help organizations establish effective, meaningful communications measurement programs that would be in compliance with published industry standards.
A year ago this week, The Measurement Advisor was nothing more than some notes jotted down after brainstorming. Today we’re putting the finishing touches on our 12th issue. Our subscriber base grows every week and we’ve already launched a sister publication, Destination Measurement, for communications professionals in the travel and tourism industry. We’ve published two educational packages and are just about to launch our Measurement 101 series, a multimedia course-in-a-box that will teach measurement newbies the basics of how to do measurement right.
In this issue we’re taking a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come. (And yes, it is a holiday weekend, but I figure if “Wait Wait Don’t Tell” me can take a week off, so can we.) We’ve assembled a combination of our best and most popular stories that you might have missed in the hustle and bustle of your daily lives. We also want to take a moment to thank our community of Measurati and Measurement Masters for all of your support, feedback and encouragement. We believe we’re building something great and you’re helping us do it. As Rick Watson would tell you: “..use it well for it will soon be gone, this gift of time with which we’re born.” ∞
