BPN 1423 Our company EMR celebrates 20 years of existence

Today it is 20 years ago that Electronic Media Reporting, often shortened to EMR, was registered in the Chambers of Commerce database as a company. Having worked for publishing companies like VNU and Kluwer, I had joined a Dutch software group MID, a spin-off of the VNU computer department. This company was going to be a leader in publishing software, introducing the make-up language SGML (Standard Generalised Mark-up language), a precursor of HTML and producing CD-ROMs with textual databases. However the publishing arm of the company failed and in 1990 people were asked to leave the company. So was I.


As I had been building up a trade in writing articles and had been a consultant in electronic publishing, I saw opportunities to start a business with my partner. So I had to find a name and make a profile. Eventually the name Electronic Media Reporting was selected, indicating the core business of the company: reporting about electronic media in consultancy and in publications (these days electronic media reporting is used in the US in order to indicate the process of reporting data electronically). A profile was written, but it projected basically the most ideal business. However over the years the business grew into four areas:
a. strategic advice: positioning content firms, development of content strategies;
b. studies: market studies, forecasting and scenario studies;
c. evaluation and auditing: evaluating proposals and auditing projects on maters of technology, organisation and finances;
d. publicity: editing newsletters, setting up conferences, writing books, blogs.

Over the years the services of Electronic Media Reporting have been requested by:
- The Dutch magazine publisher Broadcast Press Hilversum to be editor in chief of a biweekly newsletter on new media;
- Dutch the news agency ANP and a Dutch consortium of newspaper publishers to advise on the business plan for a selective news service, VNU and Wolters Kluwer for developing CD-ROMs and training for Internet;
- GOC for marketing research into the multimedia industry in The Netherlands;
- TNO to assist in the European Commission’s Midas program;
- The Dutch newspaper publisher Wegener to set up digital archives;
- The Dutch branch organisation of graphical entrepreneurs KVGO to assist with a strategic study;
- Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs for a report on the online business;
- European Commission for a monitor report on CD-media and several project reviews;
- Partner in several EU sponsored projects such as Docdel, INFORM, ACTEN, X-Melina, INYOP and lately Scienar.
- Secretariat for the European Academy of Digital Media (EADiM).

Presently also activities in the Middle East in the field of e-government are undertaken, e.g. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

The company has had its ups and downs. But it has three networks; one in the Netherlands, one in Europe and one worldwide. Through these networks the company has been in touch and co-operating with very interesting people over the years.
With the blog Buziaulane, the company has been reporting on electronic media for over 5 years now. Lately the blog has been underused, as a book is being produced about the pre-internet period in the polder, electronic media in The Netherlands from 1967-1997. The book is planned for publication in October 2010. After the publication the reporting on electronic media on the blog will be taken up again. Besides Buziaulane there are specialised blogs:
- Of ebooks and digital papers;
-Weblog museum;
- Fiber to my Almere home (FTMH);
- World Summit Award (WSA).

As for today, we will raise a glass with bubbles and start working on the next 5 years.