England 1890s. George Johnstone Stoney coined the word electron. Joseph JohnThomson discovered the particle bearing that name. A new era of electronics dawned. Electronics entered into the very core of our life.

I rang up my colleague professor in Singapore seeking a slot change for my lecture. He told me tospeak to him electronically. I sent an email and promptly he replied.

I am a laggard. When I retired from service I was electronicallyvulnerable. I had a techsaavy PA who did everything for me. His competence nursed my incompetence. Communication by email and use of MS office stared me in my face and made faces at me. I had to make my power point presentations on a daily basis for my lectures. My slides should not be academically anemic in the fiercely competitive private university world. My daughter taught me and I secured my survival kit.

Later with mindboggling advancements in mobile technology, my grandson taught me the nuances of iphone 6 and I leaped forward. I learned to file e-returns, to read e books and to scan e-magazines. I teach supply chain management and I listen toMOOCS from worthier professors than me and reconfigure my lectures. I passed online examinations. I am today aresponsive netizen.

Of all the magazines I get, I like eSkeptic. E magazines and e journals have come of age. There were those who argue that a hard copy is a must for their reading. I too thought so some time before but do not do so now.

Writing an article takes time. You gather the material. Store it in your mind and process it. Write it up. Edit yourself which involves rewriting. You fold the sheets, put them in an envelope and send it to the editor by registered post. Then wait with heightened blood pressure and bated breath for the magazine to come to you by snail mail. That was the traditional supply chain.

Today you word process your stuff. You can have your graphics. You can make it print ready and email to your friendly editor of e magazine.

A word of caution. Time was when originality could be claimed and one could bask in that glory hiding the source. Today you are vulnerable as antiplagiarism software will expose you including your autoplagiarism.

1950s. I was a student in Vaniyamkualam High School in Palakkad district. I was made the editor of the School Manuscript Magazine. Like the new bride sweeping well, I garnered as many inputs as I could. As contributions were few in English, Malayalam Pundit was the teacher in charge. He congratulated me for the quality and quantity of inputs I have managed to arrange.

He pulled out a poem from the manuscript file. I had persuaded a fair friendly girl to compose a poem. He read out:

“അങ്കണതൈമാവിൽനിന്നാദ്യത്തെപഴംവീഴ്കെഅമ്മതൻ നേത്രത്തിൽ നിന്നുതിർന്നൂചുടുകണ്ണീർ”

" Truly great. But, sadly VyloppillySreedhara Menon had already composed it earlier than your friend."

New generation editors are more knowledgeable andmore widely read than me. They are also supported by antiplagiarism software.

I sincerely appreciate this aesthetic endeavour of TTFAC to launch the emagazineAksharam as an early adopter. I trust this will be a path breaker and pacesetter for other social organizations. I wish all success to the beautiful minds behind this e-project.