by Mick Ryan – UKClimbing.com Today Jack Geldard takes over as Editor of UKClimbing.com. Some background: Since 2004 I (Mick Ryan) have been the editor at UKClimbing.com wearing many hats – often at the same time! Like many new media jobs the role is constantly evolving. Working for an interactive online magazine or whatever you want to label UKClimbing.com requires a broad skill set; from traditional editing skills and photography through to encouraging, motivating, counselling, …..and of paramount importance; it is about establishing and maintaining relationships with the the climbing community. The other main responsibility is advertising. Any media cannot exist without funding. The three way relationship of editorial, readers and advertising are the three cornerstones of any media. Things have happened quickly, we now have an up to date and comprehensive news page visited daily by between 3,000 and 5,000 people. We are more popular than Climbing.com and rockclimbing.com. We had 17 articles in February: interviews, videos, bouldering, significant ascents from the Cerro Torre traverse to Centurion on the Ben, travel guides, photography articles, gear reviews, event showcases. You can take a look yourself HERE Managing the front end of UKC became too much for one person, even with the support of UKC Directors, Andy Hyslop and Alan James, who both have busy outdoor businesses to run, and Nick Smith, UKClimbing.com´s talented website designer. In December 2007 we took on Jack Geldard, our young, charismatic and very capable Assistant Editor to share the editorial load. I´ve waxed lyrical (as is my wont) about Jack here and the last three months he has made a huge difference at UKClimbing.com. You can read a brief Interview with Jack here Jack´s climbing experience is broad and his philosophy fits with our ethos of appealing to all climbers, whatever type of climbing you do and at whatever level you climb at. Jack gets the job done, with much flair and on time and not only can he write, photograph, interrogate and cajole …but importantly he gets on with crusty old me, in fact our synergy is strangely paranormal.As usual, I´ve said too much – but I do like to keep everyone fully informed. I am now Advertising and Editorial Manager, overseeing the big picture, helping Jack with editorial work and making sure the site is funded. If you have any questions for Jack or myself you can ask them here on this forum thread (click below). Or you can contact Jack: jack_at_ukclimbing.com, or myself: mick_at_ukclimbing.com