A new way to get information

The Internet has certainly changed the way journalists gather information, and it’s making huge inroads into the construction world. In all of our quests to find the tools, supplies and information we need in a faster, more efficient and less costly way, the World Wide Web is often our first tool that helps us cut to the chase.

It was no surprise, then, when we asked you in a recent reader survey about your information-gathering methods when you are searching for tools and supplies. We asked you how you use Contractor Tools and Supplies in that search.

More than 94 percent of respondents indicated that Contractor Tools and Supplies helps them select the tools and supplies they need for their construction projects and 98-plus percent say the magazine provides them with helpful information and ideas about their work.

When these readers are looking for more information, more than 80 percent of our survey respondents indicated that they rely on the Internet to help research tools and supplies they are interested in. Half go directly to their local tool and supply distributor for more information and less than a third use reader response cards to gather more information.

That was a clue to us on how we can better serve you. We’ve taken our reader response system for new products mentioned in our stories to an upgraded online system and set it up to give you the information you need quickly and completely.

The first step is to go to www.ctsmag.com, where you’ll find online connections to the information we used to write about that new product. We’ll also post a link to the company’s Web site, so you can easily click over to their site to find out even more.

Each product news story is listed separately, and individual products featured in that story will be listed. Simply click on the product and you’ll get access to more in-depth information and a link to that company’s Web site.

Of course, we still encourage you to contact your commercial construction distributor for more information. While we may have at most a few paragraphs about the product to pique your interest, tool and supply experts at your distributor can talk at great length about the products you’re interested in and help you choose the best one for your jobs.