Utah Publisher Launches Online Magazine Dedicated to State’s Skiing and Snowboarding

July 29, 2007 - PRLog -- SALT LAKE CITY, Utah –First Tracks!! Online Media (FTO), publisher of the Internet’s popular First Tracks!! Online Ski Magazine, earlier this month launched its newest electronic offering dedicated to the plethora of skiing and snowboarding opportunities available across Utah. http://www.UtahSkiAndSnowboard.com/ is now online, offering valuable insight into the state’s snow sports industry to visitors and locals alike.

“Utah has the best skiing and riding in the nation, and probably the world,” says Marc Guido, the site’s editor. “Based here in Salt Lake City, we’re uniquely positioned to help spread the word.”

Mr. Guido relocated FTO to Utah in early 2005 from Albany, N.Y. He explains that Utah snow and the proximity of its ski resorts to the city were the two primary influencing factors in that decision. “I grew tired of flying out here all the time, so I pulled up stakes and moved the business,” he says smiling. “Besides, back East you may drive hours to reach the slopes from major population centers. Here, the Wasatch Mountains are on the city’s doorstep. This proximity of world-class skiing to a major population center is replicated nowhere else in the North America.”

Publishing since 1994, First Tracks!! Online Ski Magazine, available online at http://www.FirstTracksOnline.com, enjoys over 1 million page hits per month, and serves nearly 200,000 readers monthly each winter. Instead of First Tracks!! Online Ski Magazine’s global focus, however, Mr. Guido believes that there’s a snow sports market hungry for http://UtahSkiAndSnowboard.com’s state-specific content.

“Even with less than normal snowfall, Utah’s skier visits eclipsed the 4 million mark for the first time ever last winter,” he says, “propelling Utah ahead of Vermont into the position of third most-visited ski state behind Colorado and California. In fact, it was the fourth consecutive record-setting season. Folks are coming to ski Utah more and more each year. We’ll keep readers informed via daily news from the slopes and foster a vibrant community via our online user forums. Snow conditions reports and real-time weather data will let our readers know precisely when to hit the slopes this winter.”

Like First Tracks!! Online Ski Magazine, UtahSkiAndSnowboard.com will be wholly supported by advertisers. Readers always enjoy its content free of charge. An RSS feed is available to keep readers informed via headlines and article summaries, even without visiting the web site daily.

FTO has fully committed itself to publishing in an electronic format, and eschews publishing a printed version. Mr. Guido believes that in an era of increasing market penetration of laptops, smart phones and other portable devices, electronic periodicals will continue to supplant their printed brethren. He also explains that there are numerous advantages that an electronic format provides.

“We have no publishing or distribution costs other than server expenses,” Mr. Guido says, “and that allows us to provide content to our readers free of charge. Furthermore, a print magazine goes to press days or even weeks before it reaches the reader. If something happens today, our readers will know about it today.”


For media inquiries or interviews, contact:
Marc Guido
First Tracks!! Online Media
801.634.5896
editor@FirstTracksOnline.com

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About First Tracks!! Online Media: We're a full service electronic ski and snowboard media and content provider, providing breaking winter sports news, a vibrant user community, conditions and weather information real-time on the Internet.

Website: www.UtahSkiAndSnowboard.com/