Thanks to You -- BlogaBarbara Hits 250,000 Page Views Since February 2005
After a record 5,999 hits this week, BlogaBarbara hit a quarter of a million page views since we made our first post in February of 2005. That's quite an accomplishment and I want to thank all of you for your support over the last two years. The rise of citizen journalism and commentary on the news may not be any more prevalent in our country than it is in Santa Barbara. Our friends at EdHat, Craig Smith's Blog, George's "I'm Not One to Blog, But...", Santa Barbara's Blog, and The Independent Media Blog have all contributed to each other's success and ours here at BlogaBarbara. I am sure they would agree with me that we appreciate you for blogging with us!
What's next? Ironically, a community post came my way as I was writing this piece -- it has to do with the rise in video blogging. Just this week, The Independent began showing video with their news coverage of The Organized demonstrations at DLG Plaza and at Barry Capello's office. EdHat has also had some creative use of video through YouTube. I'm not so sure Sara DLG can provide video and stay anonymous so I don't think you'll see much video content here -- but I applaud those that do.
What's next? Ironically, a community post came my way as I was writing this piece -- it has to do with the rise in video blogging. Just this week, The Independent began showing video with their news coverage of The Organized demonstrations at DLG Plaza and at Barry Capello's office. EdHat has also had some creative use of video through YouTube. I'm not so sure Sara DLG can provide video and stay anonymous so I don't think you'll see much video content here -- but I applaud those that do.
posted by Sara De la Guerra | 2/10/2007 03:47:00 PM
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11 Comments:
Congratulations Sara ! you do a wonderful job here and i am sure the public appreciates the time put in to host this blog.
I second anon. 5:33's comment. Thanks, Sara!
Congrats Sara. We look forward to many more years blogging with you.
Edhat, Craig Smith's Blog, George's "I'm Not One to Blog, But...". Santa Barbara's Blog, the Independent Media Blog, and the many more to come -- all of them -- should get down on their knees each morning and thank Wendy McCaw -- for giving them birth, and for creating the rich onging conditions allowing them to grow and be influential.
Where's Spendy?
TYW -- yes, we were all at the right place at the right time -- especially BlogaBarbara. I would also point out, however, that BlogaBarbara was looking at these issues a good year or more before the News-Press Mess began. There wasn't a Teamster's union at that point or a Vanity Fair article or even widespread knowledge of the Calixe. Ms. McCaw, however, did a great deal for our popularity -- I'd rather, however, have a great daily newspaper.
It would be nice if Spendy would at least make a guest appearance here and use "her" blogger name. Where are you?
Congratulations Sara! That's a significant milestone. My blog hasn't been around as long as Blogabarbara (I started in September 2005) so I still have some catching up to do.) Blogabarbara is an important forum for the community and you have done a great job of moderating it. Keep fighting the good fight and keep up the good work!
Congratulations Sara! I've been reading and commenting here for about a year - without your blog I think the community would have been somewhat lost for informative and timely news.
Glad you didn't shut the site down last year!
dd
Hey TYW, Wendy did not "give them birth"--at least not all of them. I've been enjoying Edhat for over 2 years & Blogabarbara for over a year. And Craig Smith had a blog before. But I agree that the News-Press Mess has been a boon to local blogs (Edhat's addition of Daily News links is wonderful & that feature was added in response to the decline of the N-P) & also to the Daily Sound--have you seen it lately? I picked up a copy yesterday & was pleasantly surprised at how much it's improved.
The Daily Sound last Friday had 4 substantial news articles by Chris Meagher, for a total of 2060 words.
Two of those articles had been topics published elsewhere a few days prior, but not written so well. The other two articles were scoops about the Teamsters filing a complaint because Cappello made illegal threats, and the city Planning Commission going ga-ga to encourage overdevelopment along upper State Street by razing a perfectly good hotel.
The news output by one writer at Daily Sound was more than several cumulative days of the remaining tatters of the Newspress, especially the Sunday non-Newspress today.
Blogs are good to fill in, especially Blogabarbara, but they will not replace a real newspaper or its web equivalent, because the writers and reporters are not full time careers for a blog comment, nor do they have an obligation for standard professional credibility as a blogger. That is why they are bloggers, though, filling that niche.
How much ad revenue could Blogabarbara garner it if tried?
FDS, you made some good points. But just for the record, in Friday's Daily Sound two of the "4 substantial news articles" were actually written by Colby Frazier, a former N-P writer. I think it was Craig Smith who pointed out that currently the N-P & the DS each have the same number of local reporters: 2.
Congrats, Sara. And while what Wendy hath wrought has certainly driven up all our hits as people look for the real Santa Barbara news, all of us have done more and done differently for some time. I mean, I've been blogging since October 2004--it was the election and Bush that got me going.
Here's to the multiplicity of voices and the success of the Sound--I still think someone needs to bankroll it seriously so it can hire the cream of the fired/quit N-P crop and Wendy can waste away into the insignificance she seems to court with her 2 news reporters.
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