In November 2010, we launched www.eshore.ca and it’s been a weird and wonderful (not to mention steep) learning curve deciphering the gaps and needs of this community. As numerous websites emerge in our area trying to bridge that information storm that envelopes us, we here at Mainstreet have been trying to figure out what is most needed and best provided in a news/information website for visitors and residents alike. Through trial and error, we’ve discovered that less is more. The original website was full of information – too much, it appears. It was also a bit daunting and discouraging to user feedback and regular use. That is the opposite of what we want to see happen. So, with the help of Geoffroy Tremblay (ponnuki.net), a new Mainstreet website is now available! The website URL will remain the same for the time being – perhaps forever. You can still pop the address www.eshore.ca into your favourites or bookmarks (or better yet, make us your homepage), and drop by regularly to see what’s shakin’ on the shore.
The new site is a simplified and more engaging version of the old site. We have a new, easier-to-use Google calendar which viewers can use with ease. It is hoped that you will use the calendar to advertise you events/programs/classes and that we will all be using the calendar to structure our lives in the near future. We have dumped the blogs as well as the paid Classifieds and structured Forums.
We are creating a newsy, pertinent site that will have weekly (or more frequent) news of the week stories that directly pertain to the East Shore or perhaps a bit further afield.
We have a FREE Classifieds location as well as what we hope to see as a super-used Ride Share area.
We offer FREE Buy and Sell and other local Announcements/Opportunities.
Another exciting prospect of the new site is the online subscription component, which will come available soon. We have downloadable pdf’s of past issues as well as a paid subscription option for the current issue. This will be hugely beneficial to subscribers from further away, or even a good way to get your electronic version for those who like to buy a paper copy but may find it lost in the shuffle of life as the month goes on.
This is also a big boom for advertisers! Now your ads will be seen by a substantially greater number of readers. We’ll track the subscribers and viewers as best we can and let you know how many more eyes are seeing your business’ advertisements than before. As always, there will also be the option to advertise online with the new site.
There will be much more to come, but we’re starting slow and easy and hoping the transition is smooth and effortless for all users. Thank you for your patience during this time of change and please always feel free to send in your feedback and ideas regarding the site and the paper itself. Mainstreet is what you make it and your energy is felt and appreciated.
3 Responses
Thanks for using the classifeds and events sections, people!
Would like to subscribe. My family lives in the East Shore area.
Just read your hard copy and enjoyed it very much. Much more newsy and community focused than our local newspaper her in Cranbrook.
Jim Kennedy