NSBNEWS.net has grown by leaps and bounds since its launch in April 2008 to the point where the Google search engine is tracking hits and web pages viewed. What was a mere few hundred hits during the better part of our first year has grown into a steady viewership with at least 1,000 hits and several thousand page views daily.
Our biggest week to date was the week leading into the Sept. 22 primary. That's the week we featured a series of videos from the second round of candidate debates that NSBNEWS.net carried out in partnership with the Public Watch Committee.
That week we had 8,089 hits and 12,373 page views. The day of the primary was even more dramatic with more than 10,000 hits, which crashed our Web site for the better part of that night and the next morning, requiring us to expand the server connections.
Our Web site has also expanded through e-mail alerts, for which we now have in excess of 2,500 subscribers (you can sign up on the home page, just click on the icon).
We have made great inroads in establishing NSBNEWS.net as the daily round the clock driving news and public information source for greater New Smyrna Beach. We are not beholden to any special interests nor do we have memberships on public boards such as the Community Redevelopment Agency that could create the appearance of a conflict of interest in advertising and editorial coverage.
And speaking of advertising, we're going to become a lot more aggressive in obtaining community support for the healthy growth of NSBNEWS.net. We were the only medium in Southeast Volusia to receive campaign advertising from all nine candidates for elective office in New Smyrna Beach and from the four remaining candidates for two seats in the November elections -- challenger Adam Barringer and Mayor Sally Mackay and challenger Judy Reiker and Zone 1 City Commissioner Randy Richenberg.
Our political coverage is second to none with more stories, photos and videos than all of the local print media combined and that includes the Daytona Beach News Journal, the Observer, Hometown News and the NSB Shadow Web site.
And speaking of videos, NSBNEWS.net has been a fixture at City Commission meetings and home 'Cudas football games. Our collection of videos is now close to 200.
In the next few weeks, you will see more rotating advertising from local merchants on our home page and inside pages. We are also developing a marketing section and will provide a haven for non-profits.
Our rates are by far the cheapest and have the deepest penetration in Southeast Volusia County.
NSBNEWS.net will continue to develop its editorial conent with our motto: "Where journalism lives," because at the end of the day, that is what most counts. You will see a prime example of this with our major In-Depth series: "Show Me the Money." The series looks at New Smyrna Beach's budget and skyrocketing costs for salaries and benefits.
We also have a new reader forum called "Speak Up," where anonymous postings can be placed on issues that are important to you.
Viewers have also become attached to our array of talented community bloggers, all of whom contribute their writings without compensation.
We look forward to continue our collective dedicated service to this community, which we love and call home. Please e-mail me with your suggestions on how we can further enhance our coverage and be of benefit to readers and advertisers.
We'll write more about our editorial and advertising content, but we wanted to first assure you that our viewership is genuine and that the figures serve as a basis for developing even stronger editorial and advertising content.
One more fact that we are proud of: NSBNEWS.net is the only daily online newspaper in the state of Florida that doesn't rely on a newsprint, which has the added benefit of being environmentally friendly.