We haven’t written an item like this in a while. More than a few people, however, have suggested we shouldn’t be so shy about sharing good news regarding this trailblazing business of making a living as an independent, journalist-run, community-collaborative, online-only news service. So here’s a little bit about WSB’s July. According to Google Analytics – the gold standard in traffic measurement – WSB pageviews totaled 706,143 for the month of July. 23,000 homes/businesses (unique users) visited at least once a week; more than a third of them visited at least once a day. This is the biggest month we’ve had so far this year, second-biggest to snowbound December 2008, and through the end of July, our pageviews for this year total more than 4.6 million. We thank you SO MUCH for finding value in being part of WSB. But even more than the numbers, we are proud of more big stories this month. The biggest: Myrtle Reservoir neighbors e-mailed WSB, wondering why the reservoir-covering project was being dug up again; we uncovered the fact that the waterproofing material used at Myrtle and Beacon reservoirs had hundreds of leaks and needed to be replaced, in a $4 million “change order”; the story was picked up by almost every major news outlet in the region, with credit to WSB in print and on the airwaves. Speaking of airwaves, we guested on KUOW’s “The Conversation” twice this month to talk about neighborhood news. The WSB Pets page helped reunite more than a dozen lost/found pets with their owners; the WSB Forums’ West Seattle Jobs Offered section helped match jobs and jobseekers (see this recent “thank you” from a recruiter) – employers can post job listings there for free. And last week, for the second consecutive year, Seattle Weekly announced that readers voted WSB the best website of its kind in the city – and this year the competition was tougher than ever, with more great independent news sites appearing almost weekly. Though we don’t all run our operations exactly the same way, there is one guiding principle we all share: Community collaboration. So much of what you see here begins with your e-mails, phone calls, WSB Forum posts, tweets, Facebook posts, and in-person conversations (all contact info here) – we were pleased to meet so many people this spring/summer while tabling at festivals from Gathering of Neighbors to Delridge Day to the Morgan Junction Community Festival to West Seattle Summer Fest. Thanks again for being part of an incredible community, and thanks to everyone who is part of WSB by collaborating with helpfulness and respect for your fellow neighbor. Though some days bring bad news, and it’s part of our job to report that too, together our future as a community is nothing but bright.
West Seattle, Washington
14 Monday
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