We tend to know our departmental colleagues very well since we interact with them every day. However, we also belong to a larger community of colleagues, and the AMA excels at connecting us with this bigger group. We all get together at the Winter and Summer Educators' Conferences, Frontiers in Services, the Marketing and Public Policy Conference, and other events. However, for the rest of the year, marketing academics are spread out around the United States and increasingly across the world. In a sense, we are isolated.

Our isolation from the larger academic marketing community can make exchange difficult. But just as niche retailers use e-tailing to serve thin markets, we can use electronic media for our exchanges. In our case, the market consists of individuals wishing to exchange ideas, collaborate, and share.

In effect, for most of the year, AMA is a virtual organization. Exchanges occur not in person but as electrons and photons flowing through wires and fiber between Chicago, where AMA is headquartered, and our institutions. Given the modest proportion of time that we spend at conferences, I think we could legitimately describe AMA as an e-services provider.

Of course, this does not mean that we want to give up our physical meetings! Face-to-face interaction is rich in bandwidth and interactivity and engages our senses more than looking at our screens or using Skype. But what do we do for the rest of the year?

My goal as Academic Resource Center (ARC) editor is to enhance "the rest of the year." Although it may be impossible to hold a virtual conference 365 days out of 365, it would be great if we could extend the functional duration of our conferences. If you go to the ARC at www.marketingpower.com/arc, you will see under "Community" an entry point for all AMA academic conferences. As a conference approaches, you can view the call for papers, find travel details, register, and see last-minute news and events organized by Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and others. After the conference, you may see photos, proceedings, write-ups, and impressions.

And speaking of impressions, I could really use yours. Did you take some pictures at your SIG reception that you would like to share? After attending a conference, attach any photographs to an e-mail, and let's show them off. Summaries, anecdotes, special-session slides, doctoral student events, and other activities would also make ideal post-conference materials. At the front end, send me a copy of notices, special events, and breakfasts so that I can add them to the ARC.

In the past, online conference materials have been somewhat hard to find and understand. Really, the situation is better now. In fact, the only thing you need to know is how to get to the ARC (www.marketingpower.com/arc). That ARC address gets you all the conference information (under the "Community" menu item)—past, present, and future—that you need to turn a virtual e-service into your physical presence at a conference.