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The Next Level
In My Opinion
By Bob Robinson
First of all… thank you!!!
Your response to County News Online has been absolutely phenomenal.
When I moved my blog over to a legitimate news and information site for
Darke County and other interested readers, we recorded a major increase
in traffic.
Eight short months later, our traffic has increased seven-fold.
I have no idea what the “numbers” mean, but our “trackers” tell us we
should surpass a quarter million page views by the end of the year with
an average of more than 13,000 unique visitors a month. Maybe a web
guru can tell you what that really means, but to my uneducated eyes it
simply means exponential growth every month since the Senior Scribes
took on the unprecedented challenge of using the Internet as an
information service for Darke County readers and a fundraising project
for our kids.
Since January 10, CNO has posted Darke County News, Opinion and
Information, as well as selected opinions and news items from around
the state and nation, seven days a week. No exceptions. This includes a
number of times when my Internet was down and I used the Eagles and
McDonalds hot spots to make sure we published as promised.
CNO has been time consuming and challenging, but it also has been an
exciting adventure. I’ve been told by many of our readers that they
don’t have the time to read everything… how in the heck do we manage to
put it together and post it?
It’s called passion and I have help. As editor, my thanks goes to Kurt
Fritsch, our webmaster who has bailed me out many times when I’ve run
into a glitch or simply needed him to step in, and Al Bliss, who is now
preparing most of our inside pages, saving me considerable time each
day.
County News Online thanks the Senior and Teen Scribes for the many
articles and photos they provide, including terrific coverage of all of
the summer events and activities they covered on our behalf. We
especially would like to thank George Starks, our Sports Editor, for
opening up a new horizon on CNO.
He and his “small army” are doing a heckuva job covering sporting
events for school districts throughout the county.
On the horizon…
As George builds his “army,” he’s talking about a second “front page”
for Sports. Starting with Greenville High School we will soon be
unveiling Digital Waves, providing an indepth look at what our kids are
doing in communications fields. Once established, there will be daily
updates from this and other GHS teens. That’s another “front page.” We
plan to expand on this project to all districts wishing to participate.
This is going to require additional support. To get this support we
need your help.
We have unwavering sponsors who came on board when we only had a few
followers and continue to support us today. You will see them on our
pages. Please thank and support them with your business.
You get our service at no charge and will continue to do so. But your
financial help is needed. Ask how you can make a contribution. We are
also looking for people willing to talk to businesses about helping to
sponsor CNO… and people who are willing to simply talk to their friends
about an annual sponsorship.
The money will be used to help CNO put these and other increased
services together for our readers. And as always, all net proceeds will
be added to the Senior Scribes Scholarship Fund.
Last spring, CNO helped SSSF provide $5,000 in scholarships to
deserving Darke County teens pursuing a higher education in a
communications-related field. Our goal is to do the same this spring
and, if possible, increase the number of teens we can help.
County News Online is moving to the next level, both in services and
service. And we can use your support. Drop me a line at countynewsonline@gmail.com
to ask how YOU can help.
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