I’m not sure what’s going on with the server this morning, which is causing DM to load somewhere between INSANELY slowly to sort of slow, but Bluehost assures me they are working on it.

From what I can tell it’s gotten a bit better in the past couple hours and hopefully they’ll have things rectified before too long.

Hang tight!

Decatur Metro continues to evolve.  It can’t be stopped!  A few updates for you…

1.  Target locals without all the Craigslist clutter!  The once pay-to-play classifieds are now FREE.  While we had a bit of momentum on the pay classifieds early on, it became obvious that most residents didn’t want to pay for classifieds (yes, yes, Craigslist, I know), and that most businesses, who might be willing to pay, wanted more than a classified.

So, if you have info to pass along to the Decatur/DeKalb community, be it an Announcement, Available Job, Lost or Found object, a Garage Sale, some Merchandise, Real Estate, Services, Tickets, Vehicles, or Items Wanted, head over to the Classifieds section and post away!

2.  I’ve added an “Events” tab to the top of the page, which will take you to a new page that hosts the “Featured Events Calendar” in a monthly calendar format. Great for making plans in advance!

3.  And finally…Take your DM addiction on the road!  If you use an iPhone, iPod Touch or anything operating Google’s Android OS, viewing DM is now easier than ever.  Seriously, it’s awesome.   (Judd, it’s not an App, but it might just be the next best thing!)

So what is this new “Featured Events Calendar”?

Well, beyond the obvious (uh…it’s a Google Calendar), it’s just the latest step in Decatur Metro’s ongoing evolution.  Just like recent additions like “Free-For-All Friday”, this calendar responds to demand.  Not only from countless readers who have suggested something similar in the past, but also from local businesses and organizations looking for ways to get their events in front of local eyeballs.  (That’s you!)

All of this came to a head a couple months ago after I launched our wonderful “local ads”, and I started hearing from more and more businesses that were interested in getting some local exposure through DM, but also needed a platform to display events on a regular basis.  A physical ad might be a good start, but some businesses also wanted a more topical platform.

So, after brainstorming a bit with a few key local players, this calendar was born.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mandated reflection time!

Anyone want to take a guess at the top 10 DM posts of 2009? (And by “top” I mean, “most clicked on”.)

Hint:  Top posts often times have a lot of comments, because obviously you have to click on a post to see comments, but that isn’t a hard and fast rule.  There are other ways to be #1.

Whatcha got?

As you may have noticed, Decatur Metro now sports a new section in the right sidebar that features local sponsors/advertisers.

That’s right!  Decatur Metro is now offering advertising opportunities to businesses looking to gain exposure to a local Decatur/Atlanta audience.  If you’re a business interested in learning more about advertising on DM, stop by DM’s new “Advertise” page or shoot me an email at decaturite@gmail.com and I will be happy to forward along our ad-rate sheet.

This has been a huge undertaking and I want to thank my first advertisers, the DDA, Little Shop of Stories, Decatur First Bank, Heliotrope and The Wren’s Nest, along with my wife and the great folks at Lampe-Farley Communications, who helped get this months-long effort off the ground.  There is a real desire among many local businesses for an outlet to advertise to their target audience at a reasonable price.  Decatur Metro hopes to fill that niche and develop a sustainable business model for itself in the process.

Now, just a couple of housekeeping items.  With the addition of this new section in the sidebar, I’ve had to make a few adjustments on the site.

Read the rest of this entry »

In what is surely a first in Decatur, if not metro Atlanta, Decatur Metro will host an online debate/forum on this site between the four city commission candidates on Wednesday, October 21st from 8p-9:30p.

DM will use the same live-blog “Cover it Live” program that was employed during the Decatur Book Festival to host an interactive live debate between candidates Fred Boykin, Patti Garrett, James Radford, Kyle Williams and the community.

Here’s how it will work.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m out and about in the world this week, so posting probably won’t be as “clockwork” as usual.   But I will be checking in and posting, so don’t hesitate to send in your news tips!

Maybe we can do a “guess the location” later in the week as well.

…you dream about it.  Paula writes in…

HI DM -

I just had to tell you about this funny dream I had last night. In it, I went outside to discover that both our cars had been stolen, with one being driven off as I walked outside. I went back into the house to try and call the police, and I kept getting transfered, disconnected, put on hold, etc. I was getting really upset with the delay, especially considering that the perpetrators had just driven off, and I said to my husband in the dream: “Just wait till I tell Decatur Metro about this!!”

I’m happy to report that in just one year and 10 months, DM has achieved an inconceivable milestone: one million page views!

Not too shabby for a blog that asks “What’s your favorite park/building?”, “How much trash do you throw out?”, yells at various post-modern buildings, and writes fictional posts about cross-dressing city-lovers and cantaloupe.

Thanks to all the clickers out there, both stoic readers and verbose commenters, who make this site so personally rewarding and endlessly interesting to me.  Without you, I would just be one more crazy yahoo, sitting in my proverbial underwear, posting ignorant observations for everyone (and no one) to read.  Also, continued thanks to all the Decatur/Atlanta bloggers and Creative Loafing journalists who guided me through those first, tough months with support and encouragement and remain dear friends to this day.

And finally, a huge thanks to my wife, who has always been supportive of this crackpot endeavor, but stands alone as the only person that can prevent me from becoming a bit too obsessive about “feeding-the-beast” and monitoring comment threads.  All it takes is a look.  THE look.

OK, so what’s next?  Good question!

Well, for better or worse, I have a few ideas in the works for DM, so keep your eyes and minds open in the coming weeks and months.  Should be interesting to say the least.

Here’s to the next one million!

DHS teacher Chris Billingsley notifies us that he’s been using DM and InDecatur this week to teach a unit on local government!

Just to let you know that DHS students in the 9th grade have been looking at your Decatur Metro blog this week as part of a unit on local government. Many of my students complain that the only thing more boring than local government is yard work. Not true but it can be hard to get students excited about Decatur unless you mention zombies. The students were very interested in the information posted on Indecatur and Decatur Metro blog sites concerning the movies being filmed this week in Decatur. One of my students later told me, “Your class was not too boring today.” Thanks Decatur Bloggers!

What is the world coming to!

But seriously.  Wow.  I’m flattered!  As I’ve discovered for myself over the past year and a half, local activity is just as interesting, if not more so, than anything at the monolith, national level any day.  You just need to know where to look.

Thanks for stopping by DHS students!  Come back tomorrow (and the next day) and amidst the seemingly ENDLESS talk about development, I promise to incorporate more talk of zombies even when its completely unnecessary and inappropriate.

One more photo after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »