Into the 21st century - American Visions Society new online service - From the Publisher - Editorial

American Visions, Feb-March, 1997 by Gary Puckrein

By the time you finish reading this letter, you will have traveled with me into the 21st century.

Fasten up for a brief history: American Visions magazine was born out of the common belief -- yours and ours -- that as we contemplate the 21st century, the predicate must be our culture, our collective experiences, as we define them. And to define them, we need a venue -- whether a cafe, a school, a forum, a publication -- where we can explore and discuss our singular, historic experiences and the creative responses that they have engendered. American Visions has sought to be that venue.

Over the years, the staff of American Visions has been called upon to undertake countless programs that, strictly speaking, have had little to do with publishing a magazine, such as book-signing events, educational supplements and a CompuServe forum. These projects, diverse as they are, have encompassed our core goal -- to promote an understanding of African-American culture. What's needed now is a place where we can centralize and expand upon all of these activities by establishing a much larger national institution, the American Visions Society.

The Society is a membership-based organization that we hope you will join in due course. We will offer members internships, support black cultural institutions, and host an extensive array of events and programs -- and that's the short list. Society members will receive a wide range of benefits, including a free African-American World Wide Web browser and a free Afrocentric screen saver for your computer, a subscription to American Visions magazine, invitations to special events (such as book signings, art shows and conferences), discounts on African-American merchandise, a credit card, and a membership card that offers discounts at museums, clubs and events around the country.

The first major project of the Society is the launching of AVS Online, a virtual city founded with African Americans in mind. AVS Online will revolutionize communication as it relates to black America. Society members will have the power of knowledge at their fingertips. They will be able to summon up and search a breathtaking array of databases that capture the essence of what it is to be black in America -- on such topics as health, finance, news, music, art, travel, cuisine, literature, dance, theater, history and culture. In their homes, in their schools, or in their offices, members of no other community in the country will have immediate access to as much information about themselves and the world around them as will black Americans.

AVS Online will also network the African-American community, making it possible for members to talk in real time to one another, to community leaders and to their government. Through this networking feature, members will be able to attend virtual classrooms or town meetings, or simply gather socially.

There is so much more that I could tell you about AVS Online: about the Careers Center, where members can search databases and attend virtual conferences on career options; about the Automobile Center, where you can price new and used cars or go through a checklist that just might diagnose the funny noise that your car is making; or about the Health Center, where, among other things, you can search for information on prescription and nonprescription drugs. And then there are the Travel Center, the Financial Center, the Science & Technology Center, the Cuisine Center, the Faith House, and much more, plus an on-line newspaper with daily updates from the Associated Press wire service.

If you still do not believe that you have traveled through time, then come to our Web site, http://www.americanvisions.com, and see that the future is now.