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ALS Update The American Love Stories site launched with a bang! attracting over 150,000 visitors thus far. Hundreds of stories have been submitted and more than 1500 folks joined our small group dialogues. The site is expanding day by day -- enriched by new stories, new featured posts in the dialogue section -- and of course, the dialogues themselves, which continue to astound and inspire. If you've been thinking about submitting a story, hurry up! Story submissions will only be accepted until October 18th though the site will remain up (for viewing only) for several years. To submit a story: http://www.pbs.org/weblab/lovestories/stories/share.shtml Web Lab's Audience Reaching New Heights In August, our audience reached new heights. Or should we say breadth? For the first time in Web Lab's history, our sites received over 100,000 visitors over the course of the month. For those unfamiliar with the terms, these are not hits (the number of times a file is requested from a server) but unique IPs (the number of different computers that accessed the site). But it turned out that August was just the beginning of an upturn - September was even more active, with nearly 200,000 visitors. Certainly, things will drop off considerably after the end of American Love Stories at the end of October, but we'd like to look at this as a sign of things to come as we approach the new year. Web Development Fund Partnership Program: How You Can Help http://www.weblab.org/wdf.html Since you've signed up for our newsletter, we presume you're concerned about the future of the Web and are interested in seeing us develop a financially viable model for developing and promoting innovative projects that demonstrate the transformative effect this medium can have in people's lives and in society. As we mentioned last newsletter, we've spent the last several months developing a new Partnership Program for our Web Development Fund that will allow a range of organizations -- from foundations, to corporations, to technology companies, to non-profits -- to work with us to create "tracks" for Web projects that tie into their goals. If you are not familiar with it, the Web Development Fund provides funding and a variety of support services for innovative sites proposed by independent producers. So how can you help? We have just begun our first phase, which is to get the word out. If you know of an individual in a foundation, a corporation, or a non-profit that would be interested in exploring how our unique skills and services could be applied to meet their needs, please pass on their information. Or, if you just need some more information, contact Barry Joseph at bjoseph@weblab.org and we can supply you with what you need. As we move forward with this significant new direction for our organization, your support and advice can play a crucial role. In The News Web Lab projects continue to capture high-profile press attention! A major piece in the Boston Globe called American Love Stories "irresistible...uncensored, honest and raw," and a lengthy Reuters feature (syndicated to Yahoo and Lycos, among other places) called the site "a powerful experience." The Los Angeles Times ran a story on the cover page of its Sunday Living Section calling the online discussion "rare in the anonymous and newish world of the Web." The Christian Science Monitor included the site in two of their stories -- one on the series and the second on the upcoming fall season on public television. The Houston Chronicle highlighted the site in their "What's Online" column, and a Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel story was headlined, "More Than Skin Deep Web Site Takes Off Where An American Love Story Ends." And kudos again to the team that created VAGUEpolitix! In the October Issue of George Magazine -- a tribute to John F. Kennedy Jr. -- VAGUEpolitix is featured as the Web Site of the Month, quite a coup! http://www.weblab.org/press.html Sightings In September, Marc Weiss, executive producer at Web Lab, was invited to Washington to brief the CPB Board of Directors on the ALS site (for which CPB provided significant financial support) The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as you know, is the agency that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars to public television and radio. This was the first time a web producer has ever made a presentation to the CPB Board (but let's hope not the last...) There's just no accounting for taste... While New York City and much of the art world have been caught in the throes of a first amendment debate this past week, we at Web Lab are proud to announce we've sparked a little controversy of our own. (No dung required!) It seems 3 different Web Lab produced sites have been indexed by FreeRepublic.com ("a conservative news forum") under the key words "PBS, Liberal Agenda, Tax Waste". What can we say? We're honored. http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a37d940b565e1.htm Job Opening - Development Director Yes, we're STILL looking. If you (or someone you know) is perfect (or really close), please contact us! This is a senior level position with a lot of responsibilities. Some of the major duties include: coordinating all fundraising activities; initiating contacts with corporations, foundations, and individuals; researching, editing, and writing grant proposals. Candidates must have: 2 -3 years of development experience, superb writing and editing skills and a general knowledge of Internet, communications, and online issues. It's a fun and demanding work environment located in downtown NYC. For more info: http://www.weblab.org/jobs/devdir.html ++++ |
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