The SoGlos.com Blog

Happy New Year from SoGlos.com

With Christmas just around the corner, we'd like to wish all of SoGlos.com's readers, advertisers and partners a very happy new year - and take the opportunity to say a huge thank you for your support in 2009 - before we get carried away with the festivities.

And if you still haven't planned where to see in 2010, don't miss SoGlos.com's fab guide to New Year's Eve in Gloucestershire, which has already attracted around 10,000 readers in the past few weeks.

See you next decade!

SoGlos.com Gloucestershire widgets hit the headlines

Officially launched last week, SoGlos.com’s brand new what’s on in Gloucestershire widgets have gone down a treat with readers from across the county – having already been embedded on around 100 websites, blogs and social networking sites.

It’s also fantastic to see the news of the widgets – a first for regional media in the UK – being covered in some of the industry’s leading titles.

Journalism.co.uk kicked off proceedings with their piece SoGlos tackles copyright infringements with new widgets.

Press Gazette ran a story identifying Online widgets to boost Gloucestershire tourism.

While Hold the Front Page today published an article entitled Online magazine bids to reach wider audience.

And with widget-related queries coming in thick and fast from Gloucestershire webmasters and potential partners galore, we couldn’t have asked for a more successful launch.

Gloucestershire media sales professional wanted

SoGlos.com - The online magazine for Gloucestershire is expanding, and requires a full-time media sales professional to join its dynamic team. See the following link for more information: Join the team.

Gloucestershire Tourist Information Centres now listed

Following several requests in recent months, SoGlos.com's readers can now find Gloucestershire Tourist Information Centres listed in the online magazine's dedicated Gloucestershire Art & Culture section - which are also pinpointed in their geographical on the Gloucestershire Interactive Map.

Enjoy a glorious Gloucestershire Christmas in 2008

The SoGlos.com team would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and what better present could there be than a carefully-selected round-up of Christmas shenanigans, with all articles researched and written by our dedicated team of journos? Okay, maybe a new car would be take the gingerbread man, but be sure to enjoy the finest festive season with SoGlos.com's guide to Christmas in Gloucestershire 2008.

Gloucestershire Halloween 2008

With tens of thousands of readers having checked out SoGlos.com's Halloween editorial this time last year, we thought it was about time we provided Gloucestershire residents and visitors with a guide to the spooky celebrations taking place in 2008... Halloween events in Gloucestershire 2008. And don't forget you can find all of the venues involved pinpointed on the Gloucestershire Interactive Map.

BBC Countryfile feature the Football in the River

While SoGlos.com's 2007 and 2008 videos of the Bourton-on-the-Water Football in the River action have been watched an estimated half a million times on video websites the world over, the now world-famous event was also the subject of attention for BBC's Countyfile programme, when roaming presenter Adam Henson took part in this year shenanigans.

The full Countryfile episode can be seen here, and you'll even see SoGlos.com's editor and deputy editor getting splashed on the sidelines if you look closely, amougnst the scores of other spectators that is. The Countryfile team were also kind enough to link to SoGlos.com from their own website - with thousands of readers having clicked-through to find out more about the annual sporting event, and the fantastic county of Gloucestershire, since the show aired on 21 September 2008.

A new season is upon us

While we may not have been blessed the best summer ever, it's time once again to bid farewell to hopes of sunny skies, outdoor picnics and warm-evening barbecues - and instead welcome a new season in nature, and a new season in Gloucestershire vibrant arts and entertainment calendar.

Some of Gloucestershire's best venues, from Gloucester Guildhall and the Everyman Theatre to the plethora of attractions in Gloucestershire, have already seen their autumn season of events kick off - with a jam-packed line-up of events scheduled right through to Christmas.

The best place, as ever, to keep up to date with what's on in Gloucestershire is by checking the hourly-updated SoGlos.com homepage regularly. as well as bookmarking the fantastic Gloucestershire events calendar and registering for the free weekly newsletter - now sent to almost 10,000 subscribers no less.

Gloucestershire Map launches with a bang

It’s been a busy couple of weeks as news of SoGlos.com’s new Gloucestershire Interactive Map has spread across the county, and indeed the world, like wildfire – garnering some great press coverage along the way.

 

The team at journalism.co.uk provided their readers with a screenshot of SoGlos.com’s snazzy new resource; Google Maps Mania – the world’s leading resource on mashups – described it as a ‘hugely impressive map’; media guru Roy Greenslade revealed on his blog that ‘An impressive online magazine for Gloucestershire, SoGlos.com, has launched an interactive map.’; while leading new media commentator Paul Bradshaw could be heard 'twittering' the news'.

 

Word has it that a handful of other titles also covered the launch, while we’ve yet to dig out the relevant links...

 

While it’s a real honour to receive the industry seal of approval, hearing readers say ‘I never knew that was there!’ while exploring Gloucestershire through the new Google-powered map has made all the hard work worthwhile.

Putting Gloucestershire on the map

While this week marks SoGlos.com's official first birthday, it is with great pleasure that we have a very exciting present indeed for Gloucestershire residents and visitors alike.

The Gloucestershire Interactive Map is a completely innovative geographical resource which is easy to use, free and extremely useful, not to mention absolutely unique to SoGlos.com.

Now you can plan a day trip to a fantastic county attraction before hunting down a nearby café for a spot of lunch; pinpoint the perfect hotel before booking a treat at a sumptuous spa; find that local pub you never knew existed before trying out your dance moves at a new nightclub; or reserve a table at one of Gloucestershire’s finest restaurants just a short walk away from the theatre.

And these are just a few examples of the endless ways in which you will be able to take advantage of all that Gloucestershire has to offer – all showcased in one place, for the very first time.

The Gloucestershire Interactive Map utilises Google Maps technology, and incorporates all of SoGlos.com’s 3,000+ leisure, arts and entertainment listings – with featured businesses and organisations highlighted with a special ‘So’ pin to show you where you can find out the most information.

The team here at SoGlos.com towers are absolutely chuffed with the new development - with Gloucestershire being the first county in the whole UK to have such a fantastic resource - and we hope you enjoy is as much as we do.