Just for the record, I have felt like crap today.
I think it started with a Facebook post, and the responses to it. The post included a link to WTAE's story about the Wheel Mill, the indoor bike park coming to Homewood.
Actually, two of my FB friends posted the link, and in each case, the status was followed by a long string of responses.
Meanwhile, I wrote a story about the bike park TWO WEEKS AGO for Homewood Nation, and only one person has responded.
And that one person's response was more than the vast majority of my Homewood Nation stories get. Most Homewood Nation stories get no responses. None. No indication that anyone, anywhere, is reading.
The people who posted the link to the WTAE story are Facebook friends, so unless they are blocking me (which they have every right to do), my status linking to the Homewood Nation story showed up in their news feeds on April 25. So...I'm doing original reporting, I'm linking to the stories from Facebook, and my Facebook friends are not reading Homewood Nation, and when WTAE reports on something that I wrote about two weeks ago, it's news to them.
That stinks.
(a half-hour or more later, still aching...)
I feel like Homewood Nation doesn't matter.
But I know that it does.
It matters because Homewood matters. Because the people of Homewood matter. And any and every thing that I can do to help the people of Homewood to get accurate information about what is happening in their world, matters.
Neighborhood journalism matters. It matters enough to deserve better promotion that I have ever given it.
It matters enough to deserve a staff.
It matters enough to deserve money.
Right now, it's either quit, or get better. I feel like quitting.
Building a billion-dollar enterprise means, it's time to get better.
I think it started with a Facebook post, and the responses to it. The post included a link to WTAE's story about the Wheel Mill, the indoor bike park coming to Homewood.
Actually, two of my FB friends posted the link, and in each case, the status was followed by a long string of responses.
Meanwhile, I wrote a story about the bike park TWO WEEKS AGO for Homewood Nation, and only one person has responded.
And that one person's response was more than the vast majority of my Homewood Nation stories get. Most Homewood Nation stories get no responses. None. No indication that anyone, anywhere, is reading.
The people who posted the link to the WTAE story are Facebook friends, so unless they are blocking me (which they have every right to do), my status linking to the Homewood Nation story showed up in their news feeds on April 25. So...I'm doing original reporting, I'm linking to the stories from Facebook, and my Facebook friends are not reading Homewood Nation, and when WTAE reports on something that I wrote about two weeks ago, it's news to them.
That stinks.
(a half-hour or more later, still aching...)
I feel like Homewood Nation doesn't matter.
But I know that it does.
It matters because Homewood matters. Because the people of Homewood matter. And any and every thing that I can do to help the people of Homewood to get accurate information about what is happening in their world, matters.
Neighborhood journalism matters. It matters enough to deserve better promotion that I have ever given it.
It matters enough to deserve a staff.
It matters enough to deserve money.
Right now, it's either quit, or get better. I feel like quitting.
Building a billion-dollar enterprise means, it's time to get better.
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