May 2010 total hits surpasses 500,000 already... Huge numbers increasing at Substance website, www.substancenews.net
Thanks to the growing resistance to the policies of the Chicago Board of Education and the active participation of thousands of people, the numbers being shown by "Site Stats", one of the two ongoing numerical audits tracking traffic at www.substancenews.net, is now surpassing all previous historic highs and moving into territory that compares favorably with commercial sites. As of May 26, 2010 (the day of the Chicago Board of Education meeting), the total number of "hits" for May 2010 was 527,388. This surpasses every month in Substance's statistical history, with five days of data still to come before the month is closed out.
Since May 21, 2010, there has not been one day when the number of hits at www. substancenews. net has been below 20,000, as the following show:
21 May 2010 — 43,830 Total Hits
22 May 2010 — 61,244 Total Hits
23 May 2010 — 24,027 Total Hits
24 May 2010 — 41,317 Total Hits
25 May 2010 — 41,872 Total Hits
26 May 2010 — 39,192 Total Hits
Every other measure of website impact is also at the highest point in history. The data being compiled by out web host (Network Solutions) shows that there is no period longer than two minutes when there is not someone at www.substancenews.net. Traffic begins hitting the website within a minute after midnight and continues throughout the early morning, day, and into the night.
SubstanceNews is also getting a growing number of "Comments," despite the fact that comments generally require more identification on the part of the user than at blogs. Although SubstanceNews allows pseudonymous commenting, it is discouraged. The reason: Blogs encourage rudeness and lies, and by allowing people to hide behind anonymity, Blogs also pollute the public discourse in a way that discourages accountability. When a person can hide behind a phony name, some people will say anything. This does nothing to further public debate and often hinders it (because people get distracted by lies and personal flames and diverted from the issues).
Substance launched www.substancenews.net fully in January 2009, after the site was redesigned by Daniel Schmidt, a Whitney Young High School graduate (Class of 2007) who is presently studying mathematics and engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. The main reason for the rapid expansion of SubstanceNews, however, is the talent and integrity of the growing number of Substance reporters and photographers. Since January 2008, the number of reporters working at SubstanceNews has tripled, with more joining each month.
By: Jim Vail
Comments
It should also be noted that the original form of commenting on newspaper stories was the ole Letter to the Editor, and papers did not accept letters without a name and address. So keeping it real is keeping it open.