At some point in the late 1990s, commentators talking about the age of some Internet phenomenon or another began referring to Internet time as being like "dog years" (i.e., as much changes in one year online as changes in seven years offline). Whether you buy into that mathematical canine equivalence or not, I can say that progress is accelerating in terms of the AMA's online offerings.

It seems like only yesterday that we launched the Academic Resource Center, or ARC (www.marketingpower.com/arc), but within several months, the ARC will change, and change for the better, with a totally new version. In fact, we are well into planning for a new version of the entire AMA/MarketingPower.com Web site. And when I say WE are planning, I specifically mean to include the AMA Academic Division, which has been consulted at every turn during this process.

This column is a sneak preview at how the ARC is going to change. The project of redesigning the MarketingPower Web site is code-named "Marketing on Demand." Around the time of my next column, planning will be almost complete and migration to the new system will be on the horizon, so that column will give specific information about what you can expect from the new ARC.

For now, though, I can offer a somewhat blurry but tantalizing vision of what is to come. For one thing, you can expect the visual design of the site to be updated. Navigation will be improved. Content tagging will be much more sophisticated than what we are doing now. The site will be built around enabling users to customize their interaction.

Although much will change, if you already know your way around the ARC, your knowledge will carry over to the new site. The new site will be even easier than before to explore and will "remember" content of special importance to you. Of course, customizing the site in this way will require that you register on the site. If you have already registered at MarketingPower.com, there will be no need to reregister.

We are using the opportunity presented by the site redesign to create a three-level access system for the ARC: casual visitors, visitors registered on the MarketingPower.com site, and AMA members such as yourself. The three-tiered logic will be implemented to encourage marketing academics from around the world to join us as AMA members while nurturing user-generated content from as broad an audience as possible.

In my next column, as the migration draws nearer, I plan to give more specifics about the new ARC and more information on the ultimate destination, that is, where we are heading next. A lot will be going on in the next few years! This is a very exciting time to be an AMA member.