It's your internet

New site adds user functionality

As the Internet has matured, so have the reader’s expectations about what they should see on it.

The site you are now looking at represents a quantum leap forwards in terms of what we will be able to offer the reader in terms of functionality of the newspaper Web site.

NewsandSentinel.com first went online six years ago during the summer of 2001. The first few months we averaged around 40,000 visitors. The numbers seemed large then. Today we get that many visitors in a few days. Monthly visitor totals now top 440,000.

The site has undergone several updates since then. What you are looking at now represents the fifth generation of NewsandSentinel.com.

The site adds many new features that hopefully you will find useful. It also adds a lot of features to the  "engine" that drives the site. These advancements will allow us to continue to add things that will improve the web experience for the reader.

New features include:
• The ability to comment on most stories. Users can add to the reader experience of everyone by leaving their opinion on stories.

• Multiple polls. You will now find different polls through out the site.

• Blogs. Blogs on the site have been added to provide a different venue on which to learn and comment on the issues of the day. I plan on writing about how the Internet impacts people living in the Mid Ohio Valley. Several other people are also writing blogs on a variety of topics.

• More calendars. It's important for all of us to know what's going on. We will have a number of topic specific calendars on the site.

• More photos. We can now post multiple photos with individual stories. You will also find links and additional materials with many stories.

• Readers can also sign up for e-mail alerts that will let them know when we put a story on the site that is of a topic they are interested in.

The revamping of the site is the latest in a series of updates that we are doing to our site. The CU photo galleries added earlier this year has been a big hit with reader. I hope you find our new site equally useful.