PLATTSBURGH -- The Press-Republican will launch a new online business magazine with several interactive features today.
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BizConnect is the creation of Press-Republican Director of Internet Services Roger Black and Online Administrative Assistant Aaron Stanley. Black also serves as BizConnect editor.
"I'm very excited," he said. "I've never seen anything like it on the Internet."
TALKING POINTS
Each morning, Black will come up with "talking points," based on news from the area and surrounding region, including the Quebec-New York Corridor, Tech Valley and even the Watertown area.
One goal of the site is to establish a set of clearly defined issues to encourage discussion of economic development in the North Country.
Black said he will pick the topics, which initially will include economic development in the North Country, Plattsburgh International Airport, the flightline and associated industries, workforce development, the future of downtowns, regional retail growth, the Canadian connection and business and technology.
Those topics will change over time, as new topics become pertinent.
BLOGS
The Press-Republican has enlisted local people with insight on economic development to write blogs to lead the discussions. They can comment on any of the talking points of the day or the topics listed on the site.
Members of the free service can comment on the blogs or any of the issues posted by Black, as each has its own forum.
Black emphasizes that it's important that discussions remain cordial. The terms of use of the site allow Black to remove comments from users who are not cordial and to ban users if they persist in such behavior.
COMMUNICATION
The site also provides an area for members of business groups and clubs to easily communicate with each other.
It features a master calendar to help members stay up to date on business-related events.
The site also provides its members instant-message capability, and online polls will be conducted.
Black said press releases from businesses will be posted after they are checked to ensure suitability.
BUSINESS DIRECTORY
The only fee on the site is to list a business in the BizConnect directory, which has a one-time cost of $25.
The listing will include business details, a map of its location and an area where the business can post text, ads or other content, which can be updated as often as needed at no charge.
POPULAR SUBJECT
Black, who has been in charge of the paper's Web site since it launched at the start of 1999, can track story-readership numbers.
For the most part, there were no surprises over the years -- big stories got big numbers, he said.
"One thing I noticed is that anything related to economic development gets surprisingly heavy readership," Black said, leading him to look for ways to expand on that.
He started discussion with the paper's publisher, Robert Parks, and was given the go-ahead to develop a conceptual design in the last quarter of 2007.
"Aaron Stanley's the one who's done all the technical work," Black said.
He said there's been a positive reaction from everyone he's had look at the site.
"I think this will be of interest to all public officials," Black said.
"This gives people a chance to share their opinion. I think businesses will be eager to present their point of view on a lot of topics. I think it's going to have a lot of impact on the community."
dheath@pressrepublican.com
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