The SoGlos.com Blog

Weekly newsletter subscribers top 10,000

The SoGlos.com team have been so busy preparing this week's newsletter that we almost didn't notice the subscriber numbers - having just topped a monumental 10,000!

As the only resource of it's kind - with hand-picked event previews written by journalists and delivered direct to inboxes across the county and beyond on a Monday morning - the SoGlos.com newsletter really has become the must-have addition to your inbox for discerning readers.

The team regularly receive emails from readers thanking them for their work - and plenty more from local businesses hoping to get featured in the newsletter - and while 10,000 subscribers is surely cause for celebration, here's to hoping 20,000 is just around the corner.

Oh, and if you're still not subscribed to the weekly newsletter, register here and don't miss out on the fun.

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.

Sudeley Castle Ballooning Grand Prix 2008

As SoGlos.com's modest number of YouTube videos creep ever closer to having been watched two million times - and around five million times on various other video websites around the world - it's time for a fifth instalment in the form of the Sudeley Castle Ballooning Grand Prix 2008, filmed during the weekend event at the popular county attraction...

There surely couldn't be a better setting than Gloucestershire for the Ballooning Grand Prix, and here's to hoping it becomes a regular fixture on the county events calendar. In the meantime, don't miss SoGlos.com's fantastic selection of Gloucestershire attractions to keep you busy through the summer.

SoGlos.com on ITV's This Morning

While SoGlos.com has already been covered by websites, blogs, consumer magazines, trade press, national newspapers and radio stations in the UK and further afield, the SoGlos.com team couldn't have been more proud on Wednesday 4 June 2008 when 'soglos.com' could be seen splashed on TV screen across the nation - when the online magazine's Cheese Rolling 2008 video was shown to hundreds of thousands of viewers watching ITV's This Morning show.

The video was included on the show - which is one of the most popular daytime shows in the UK, no less - as part of podcaster Olly Mann's 'roundup of all the hot videos, trends and virals doing the rounds on the weird world web.' You can find out about all of the videos included in the show on the ITV website.

While presenters Phillip Schofield and Ruth Langsford certainly seemed to enjoy SoGlos.com's action-packed video, judging by the number emails and phone calls which have been flooding in ever since so did everyone else in the country. The exposure is sure to mean even more people flocking to the unbelievable event next year, as well as being great for Gloucestershire and, of course, great for bringing even more readers to Gloucestershire's leading guide to arts, entertainment and going out.

British Shin Kicking Championship 2008

While Gloucestershire has already seen it's fair share of wacky events take to the county in the last couple of weeks (okay, one, but the Cheese Rolling is surely the wackiest of them all...) - the British Shin Kicking Championship 2008, forming part of the Cotswold Olimpick Games 2008, is the latest event to draw in spectators from far and wide, including the SoGlos.com team armed with a video camera.

There's also a full review and picture gallery of the event SoGlos.com. Only time will tell whether Internet audiences from around the world become as fascinated with this annual Gloucestershire spectacular.

SoGlos.com's video goes viral. Again.

While camera crews from around the world flocked to this year's Cheese Rolling event on Cooper's Hill near Gloucester, it's SoGlos.com's web-based video of the wacky festivities that has once again captured the attention of Internet audiences  - spreading like wildfire across the globe.

Hundreds of blogs, a score of European newspaper websites and popular international websites have all chosen to feature SoGlos.com's video - in addition to appearances on websites belonging to UK publications the Daily Mirror and Nuts. But most impressive of all is the video's popularity on YouTube - having garnered a host of 'honours' this week, including being a featured video in Germany, Australia, Canada, the UK, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Spain, Mexico, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Poland, Brazil, Russia, Hong Kong and Taiwan - as well as globally.

With tens of thousands of new readers having been introduced to SoGlos.com from across Gloucestershire, the UK and the world - we're glad we braved the cold, wet and wind after all.

Gloucestershire media sales professional opportunity

SoGlos.com is on the lookout for an experienced media sales professional to join its small but dynamic team. Click here if you're interested in joining an innovative online publication which has set the agenda for media in Gloucestershire.

Coming soon on SoGlos.com

With May just around the corner, the SoGlos.com team can't believe it was almost a year ago the online magazine for Gloucestershire first went live on the world wide web - on Thursday 24 May 2007, to be precise. Little did we know that even the most ambitious of expectations would be surpassed, with SoGlos.com becoming Gloucestershire's leading, and most popular, guide to arts and entertainment by the start of the New Year.

But, as SoGlos.com's official first birthday fast approaches - on Wednesday 16 July 2008 to be exact - excitement in the office is reaching fever pitch as testing has begun on some pioneering new developments.

We'll be updating this blog in due course but, we're sure you will agree, Gloucestershire will never be the same again...

New Gloucestershire events calendars

While readers regularly get in touch to say how much they enjoy the Gloucestershire events calendar, the SoGlos.com team has also been asked to come up with specific calendars for the six main areas of our fine county. Hey presto! Check out the new, dedicated Cheltenham events calendar, Cotswolds events calendar, Forest of Dean events calendar, Gloucester events calendar, Stroud events calendar and, last but not least, the Tewkesbury events calendar. With longer days and the weather brightening up, there's never been a better time to get out there and enjoy everything Gloucestershire has to offer...