The BMJ was the first general medical journal to launch a website and will celebrate its 20th anniversary on May 28 by reuniting the three digital pioneers who launched their online presence.
Launch editor Tony Delamothe and former editor Richard Smith discuss the website's early days and how the internet transformed doctors reading habits. They are joined by John Sack, founding director of HighWire Press, the scholarly publishing platform which has hosted bmj.com since 1998.
As part of this special anniversary package, there is also an infographic and podcast. These map key milestones in The BMJ's digital history.
The journal pioneered user-generated article responses in 1998, and was the first general medical title to launch an iPad edition. In 2008 it launched a fully online first publishing model. In 2012 and 2013 geo-targeted digital editions launched for the US, UK, and India.
The BMJ's entire back archive dating back to 1840 is now available on the journal's website (more than 400,000 articles), along with more than 100,000 article comments, plus vibrant blogs, video and podcast platforms.
