On behalf of the entire team at Hospitality Technology, I'm excited to announce the launch of a new sister website, www.nextgenselfservice.com. We've seen a major shift in recent months towards technologies that increase interaction for customers and actually give them power over their experiences; technologies such as kiosks, mobile phone applications, online ordering, digital signage, etc. These types of self-service technologies also have significant potential to help retail and hospitality operators reduce operating costs while streamlining procedures.

It's at the intersection of these two major trends — enhancing customer interactions and streamlining operations — that NextGenSelfService.com sits, delivering its audience daily doses of industry news, new technology coverage, trends and insight articles, case studies, special reports and more.

In the name of improved interaction, we also wanted to give the site's users more control over their experience, and the ability to interact with other self-service professionals. For that reason, we've launched Engage, the social networking community of NextGenSelfService. Engage is a true Web 2.0 business tool that allows members to connect with other professionals, discuss hot self-service topics in forums, and share photos, videos and more.

We've launched NextGenSelfService.com in partnership with our sister publications, RIS News and Vertical Systems Reseller. As its editor-in-chief, I look forward to bringing self-service news and insights to the retail and hospitality communities. And I look forward to connecting with you on Engage. Meet you there!