On Wednesday, we debuted a redesigned version of sbj.net - nicknamed sbj.net 2.0 - complete with champagne toasts and excited applause at our downtown office. It's the third version of our Web site since it came into existence, but 2.0 is a better title for it. That's because we're not referring to the second generation of sbj.net - it's the second generation of the Internet.
The term "Web 2.0" has been tossed around for a few years, but only now is it permeating nearly every Internet platform you come across. It represents changes in the ways Web users utilize the Internet and the ways developers develop it. The Internet is no longer just a place to find information. Users can take ownership of that information, add value to it and participate with others in the experience.
Those core values were exactly what we had in mind when we at SBJ sat down about a year ago to envision what we wanted our Web site to become - a one-stop shop of information, taken a few steps further.
After months of hard work by our entire staff, it's a reality.
One of the first things you'll notice at the new sbj.net is movement. There's the scrolling stock ticker at the top, so you can monitor stocks of local interest while you're there. A substantially sized photo area in the center of the page rotates through several images constantly, allowing us to really play up our best eye-catching art to enhances the news. A blinking RSS feed button reminds you that you can sign up to know the instant we've posted news. Wave your cursor over the red and gray bars spanning the top of the screen, and dozens of options appear, leading you deeper into the site.
Steal your eyes away from the mesmerizing movement, and you'll see a few other added features.
In the center of the home page, we've showcased our new photo galleries. You can browse and buy the photos we take at all SBJ business events in the SBJ Event Photo Gallery. The SBJ Feature Photo Gallery gives you bonus coverage to the printed SBJ by showing extra photos that have been taken for stories in the paper. A third gallery called Your Photos accepts reader-submitted photos of community events.
As you're browsing sbj.net, you'll come across plenty of opportunities to participate. Every article has a commenting area for you to add your two cents, and our weekly poll question now has a forum-style page that keeps an ongoing discussion on why you voted the way you did. And, you also might stumble across our blog, called The Fine Print*, thefineprintsbj.wordpress.com.
Our newsroom staff authors the blog, and we'll frequently post here the footnotes of our business coverage, as Editor Eric Olson calls it. The possibilities are endless, and we're excited to jump in.
Finally, I'd like to point out the conglomerate of news that we're now pulling in to sbj.net, so you can set the site as your home page and never have to stray from it throughout the day. You'll see national business headlines coming in from sources such as Forbes, state business headlines from sources like the St. Louis and Kansas City business journals, and local headlines and weather updates from our media partner, KSPR TV.
We want to make the news-reading experience as convenient as possible for our readers by bringing the items we think interest you and affect your business under one Web address.[[In-content Ad]]
The first southwest Missouri location of EarthWise Pet, a national chain of pet supply stores, opened; Grey Oak Investments LLC relocated; and Hot Bowl by Everyday Thai LLC got its start.
