Things that need work

Buffalo.com photo by Ben Kirst.

This line of thinking began in the comments section of a previous entry, and I wanted to address this directly.

Here is the list of what I consider the biggest issues that need to be fixed at MyBuffalo:

• Bulk uploader. Uploading five pics at a time is a royal pain in the...neck.
  
  
• "Most Recent Sets." People are legitimately having a difficult time finding their photos. If photos are posted Friday, and you check the site Monday, you may have to flip through 20 pages of pics to find your photo. That can't be helping traffic.
  
  
• Old photos are missing. The 2007-2008 photos are not uploaded yet. When are they going to be added? No one (myself included) wants to lose their old work.

The bulk uploader and the sets are intertwined in my mind - when we provide a bulk uploader, we need to add a way to put bulk photos into sets, or else it doesn't really make life any easier for you - once you bulk-upload your pics, you'd have to go in separately and make sets (well, you wouldn't HAVE to, but if you didn't, we would be back to square one, where no one could find photos).

I think that if we get those three issues addressed, we would go a long way towards solving a lot of contributor discomfort at the site. Deanna and I have a meeting scheduled with our tech team this week to address these specific issues. Hopefully we will have a timeline for solutions soon.

I know some of you may think I am blowing smoke - "Why isn't this stuff done yet? You've promised it for weeks!" - and well, I would have to admit you may have a point. However, it's one of those situations where some other major issues projects have also been taking up a lot of time, and our needs get bumped...not a great excuse, but that's what's happened. BuffaloNews.com is launching article commenting tomorrow, for example - a huge step for the paper - and that has been a big priority.

Anyhow: I can only plead now for patience...Deanna and I are advocating for changes, and we will be successful. Everyone at Buffalo.com wants the project to succeed - and it is doing well - but time and resources are always issues. We will continue the battle for change - hang in there with us!

Catching up for the weekend

Buffalo.com photo by Carey Colella.

I was out of the office today - had to go to Forestville for a funeral on my wife's side of the family. I apologize if I owe anyone an email or a return phone call, I will try to get to it ASAP.

A few notes:

• Please remember that we have a tour of The Buffalo News scheduled for the interns on Monday, Feb. 16 at 10 AM. Sign-ups have been a little light so far. If you can make it, it would be great to have you see the inside of 1 News Plaza.
  
  
• We are going to run some congratulatory advertisements for some of our 2008 intership award winners, so keep an eye on the print edition of The Buffalo News for to see some of your fellow writers and photographers (or yourself, depending on who is reading this). The ad schedule is as follows:
  
  Feb. 10 - Dawn Mongold
  Feb. 13 - Dan Ruggiero
  Feb. 15 - David Jarka
  Feb. 19 - John Kindelan
  Feb. 23 - Les Robinson
  Feb. 27 - Tom Proctor
  March 2 - Bill Parker
  March 6 - Lizz Schumer
  
  Now, there is a possibility that specific ads will be bumped if the paid ad inventory for that particular day's paper is sold out. If that happens, we will get you the new date ASAP. Congratulations again to all of our winners.
  
  
• Buffalo.com photo intern Nick Julian had a great idea a few weeks back - why don't we start a project where we photograph the sites of interest throughout Western New York and post the pics to Spotted? That way, anyone from outside of the community - or in WNY, for that matter - could get a good look at some of the great history and architecture of the region.
  
  Nick has already started with a gallery of photos from the Herschell Carroseul (sp?) Museum. They are kind of buried on the site right now, and I want to create a more prominent place for them...and for the other galleries we hope to get. Some places of interest could be the Central Terminal, the Richardson Towers...or any place you can imagine. I would love to get this rolling. Please let me know if you would like to be part of this project, and I can start working on booking tours for you.
  
  
• I feel like I had a bunch of other notes for you, but I am drawing a blank. If I remember what I was going to say, I'll type it up later.
  

Have a good weekend, everyone.

PS. Upload pet pics to the Puppy Love community gallery!

Buffalo.com Intern Tour: Feb. 16

Buffalo.com photo by Matt Brown.

On Monday, Feb. 16, we are going to host a tour of The Buffalo News for all of the Buffalo.com writers and photographers.

The tour will begin at 10 AM and we will provide refreshments. You will have an opportunity to see the inner workings of The Buffalo News, and talk to a Buffalo News staff reporter and a staff photographer. If you have any questions about "the business," this would be a great time to ask.

We need to keep this tour to a manageable level, so we can only accept 30 or so signees...so if you are interested, please email Deanna or me ASAP.

Thanks!

Get your pet's pics in The Buffalo News with Puppy Love contest

Buffalo.com photo by Ben Kirst

Get your pet's pic in The Buffalo News...how you ask? Just read on:

"We all love our pets, and in February, the Pets Place banner in The Buffalo News Classifieds is getting Puppy Love.

Post your pet photos to our special Puppy Love community gallery, and your furry friend may end up in The Buffalo News! We'll be picking pets to show off in the photo banner in The Buffalo News classified section.

Visit the Puppy Love gallery to post your pet photos, or to check out the area pets we love so much.

Want a new friend? head to The Pets Place at Buffalo.com to get a new pet for your home.

The Puppy Love contest begins on Tuesday, Jan. 27 and will run through Saturday, Feb. 28."