Helpful tip on adding titles to photos

Buffalo.com photo by Bill Parker.

We've been kind of harping on the importance of adding titles to photos at MyBuffalo.com - it's a lot easier to find a photo if it's titled "Elks Club Street Dance" rather than "DSC445589.jpg" - and Darleen came up with a quick-and-easy way to do this if you're not crazy about cutting and pasting from a Notepad file as you upload your five photos at a time (sigh).

Here's her method:

If you open your images in batch process in Photoshop, you should get about however many to process at once.

Then, when you go to save, you get a different screen called Save options on that screen. The middle section shows File naming. There are 4 different boxes that you can string together if desired.

This is the process I used for my Glenn Colton images. I typed Glenn Colton in the first box then the second box chose 2 digit auto numbering, then let her run.

Yes, it doesn't look as neat and tidy as naming each one seperately because you get the .jpg at the end - however it's a whole lote better than img290.jpg.

NOTE: They will have to change their choices next time they save images as a batch again otherwise it will just continue with that numbering system. For example I didn't know that and my original titles for my macro flowers was glenn colton08. Strange name for a Black-eyed Susy.

Thanks, Darleen!

Branching out

Buffalo.com photo by Don Nieman.

Right now, we are recruiting college students to serve as campus interns - on-the-scene reporters and photographers who will essentially cover the doings at their schools. We want to attract a college-aged audience, and figure this is one way to get them - by offering something that they aren't necessarily getting anywhere else.

We also are not actively recruiting new community contributors. We want to retain and continue working with the people who are in the program, but we're not advertising for new people at the moment. We are pleased with you - the current group - and want to keep you all active, motivated, and involved in the MyBuffalo experience.

You have probably noticed that we're doing more stuff like video and podcasts. I want you to know that you - our talented contributors - are absolutely welcome to get involved in the action. If you have an idea for a podcast, or a video series, or anything along those lines, just talk to me or Deanna - we would love to take a good idea and turn it into a series at the MyBuffalo site. If you have a particular interest, or have always felt like you could host your own show, or simply want to try something new, we are here to help make that a reality.

Writers, you can try your hand at photography.

Photographers, you can try writing stories (as Darleen successfully did yesterday - nice job, Dar).

Anyone can record and post their own podcast. Anyone can pitch an idea for a video series. We will help with the technical end if we think it's feasible.

This is my invitation to you to consider branching out. We have this neat little toy called MyBuffalo...feel free to use it to it's full capacity.

Buffalo.com Podcast: The Mark Valentino (Hit-N-Run) Interview

Buffalo.com photo by Dan Ruggiero.

Our first "official" Buffalo.com podcast - our guest is Mark Valentino of the popular party band Hit-N-Run. The tightest 20 minutes in broadcasting, people! Check it out if you have some time.

Special thanks to Mark, a real Buffalo.com supporter (just ask Dan Ruggiero) and a genuinely good guy.

MyBuffalo Message Boards

Buffalo.com photo by Joseph Moran.

Maybe you haven't been able to take many photos lately. If you're a writer, maybe you haven't had a ton of time to get out and write stories. Hey, it happens - we're all busy. At the same time, you would like to remain active in MyBuffalo.

Here's a great way to get involved - the message boards.

We are always looking for smart and interesting people to share their opinions on our message boards. And frankly, I know you are smart and opinionated, because I've talked to you before.

Got something on your mind? An issue you want to discuss? A point you want to debate? A funny story you want to share? Post to the MyBuffalo message boards.

I should add that starting a discussion also earns you 50 MyBuffalo points...and you are eligible to be a Rack 'Em Up winner, so starting a discussion can help you win prizes, too.

Quick note on "Featured" photos

Buffalo.com photo by Dan Ruggiero.

Hey, you may occasionally get messages in MyBuffalo that your photos have been changed. You may be thinking, "What the heck? I didn't change anything..."

When I feature photos on the Buffalo.com home page, I change the title of the photo to "Featured from MyBuffalo." This helps tie the pic back to the MyBuffalo site, and it prevents having ugly names like "DSC 0017.jpg" appear in the title bar on our home page.

Just wanted to let you know!

This week's events list and other swell news

Buffalo.com photo by Jeff Noto.

Here is this week's events list. You may notice that it is short - being a holiday week, there is not a ton of organized activity in WNY - but each event is a potential goldmine in terms of popularity. Check the list closely! Also, you are always welcome to suggest your own stuff...in fact, I recommend it.

• I just wanted to take a quick second to thank everyone for the outstanding transition you're making to the new site. I know everything doesn't always work perfectly, and that the learning curve can be a pain in the neck, but by and large you are all getting a hang of everything and powering through. Fantastic work, everyone. And if you haven't been active...get active! There's a few of you I haven't heard from in a while. It would be great to get everyone back into the flow.

• I want to organize some kind of social event so the Buffalo.com team can hang out once again - anyone have any suggestions? The Bisons seem like an idea, but people weren't exactly swiping tickets out of my hand last year to sign up. Want to go to a bar? The beach? The Square? Let me know you suggestions and I will see if we can get something planned.

• I have been a bit of a slacker lately, but I do try to update the blog - http://buffalospotted.blogspot.com/ - make sure you're checking it every day or couple days, new stuff does float in there from time to time...

• Deanna is on vacation this week, so I am your man if you have any questions.

Alright, that's all for now - please let me know about this week's event, some volunteers would be great - and have a terrific week.



Tuesday


· Bisons Baseball: Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Erie County’s 6th Annual Night at the Ballpark. A great event – support our hometown ball club and the hard work of the BB/BS team all at one event. A fun and fulfilling night of professional baseball with one of the hardest-working agencies in town. Plus, you get the experience of roaming the ballpark as an accredited media member. The BB/BS party begins at 6:30 PM, first pitch is 7 PM at Coca-Cola Field, Buffalo.

· Elmwood Village Free Summer Concert Series: Neville Francis & the Riddim Posse. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Neville Francis and his outstanding reggae band perform live in one of the funkiest, coolest parts of the city. Expect a fun, eclectic crowd and some genuinely groovy music from Francis and company. The show is slated to begin at 7 PM in Bidwell Park, which intersects Elmwood Avenue, in Buffalo.

· Summer in the Parks 2009: Maestro Paul Ferington and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Catch a performance by the acclaimed Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra out of doors at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. The concert begins at 7 PM.


Wednesday

· Shakespeare in Delaware Park: The Tempest. One of William Shakespeare’s most beloved plays comes to life in the heart of Delaware Park for a mellow crowd of pleasant outdoor theatre-goers. Expecting a stuffy theater crowd? Think again – Shakespeare in the Park is all about lawn chairs, blankets, and a couple bottles of wine under the warm evening sun. Check it out for Buffalo.com – shows begin at 7:30 PM, and the best way into the area is heading into the park by the Rose Garden behind the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

· Gateway Harbor Park Concert Series: Scott Celani and The Boys of Summer. Two of the area’s favorite local musical acts take the stage in North Tonawanda – singer/songwriter Scott Celani starts off the show at 6 PM, while The Boys of Summer take over at 8 PM. The shows will be at Gateway Harbor Park, Sweeney and Webster Sts., North Tonawanda.


Thursday

· Thursday at the Square: Zappa Playing Zappa. Dweezil Zappa’s project performs the work of his father, Frank, in this high-energy concert that is sure to be packed with thousands of Zappa fans and the usual assortment of party people. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain this week! Deanna is on vacation and I would welcome some help with this show – I’ll be shooting video and will do photo if needed, but it would be great to have a couple photogs and a writer on hand, too. Free concession tickets can be yours! Let me know if you can make it. Meet at Lafayette Square, Buffalo, at 6 PM.

Friday

· Lockport Molson Concert Series: Our Lady Peace. One of the most popular Canadian acts to crossover into the American market in the past 20 years, we here in Western New York were some of the first fans to latch onto OLP – and now they’re coming back with a free concert at the always-popular Molson series in Lockport. Great event for photos, should also be an interesting story opportunity. Gates open at 5 PM, Ulrich City Centre Courtyard, Lockport.


Saturday


· Buffalo’s 4th of July Celebration. Live music, vendors, fireworks, and thousands of people getting together to celebrate this wild place we call America. The city of Buffalo will begin its celebration at 5:15 PM at the Erie Canal Harbor site, but feel free to get there anytime before dark.

Also – if you are attending 4th of July festivities in your own hometown, but don’t necessarily want to write a comprehensive story or take dozens and dozens of photos – please feel free to a.) compose a blog on your own thoughts of the events and your feelings about the USA as we enter its 233rd year, or b.) bring along your camera and shoot some photos of the event, or even c.) break out the video camera and take a half-minute of fireworks or something along those lines. Relax and enjoy – it’s a holiday – but feel free to share some of your Independence Day with us at MyBuffalo, too.


Sunday


· Kiss 98.5 Beach Party/Beauty & The Beach Bikini Contest. And so begins the hardcore beach season in Western New York – the annual bikini contest and WKSE parties are staples at the Sunset Bay Beach Club. Feel free to head on down for the sun, the sand, and to represent Buffalo.com at what is always a wildly entertaining event. The bikini contest usually begins around 4 PM at Sunset Bay Beach Club in Irving. Oh, and the Malibu Rum Mod Squad and Sue O’Neil from 102.5-FM will be at Cabana Sam’s (right next door) from 6 PM to 8 PM.

Miscellaneous

I don’t specifically endorse this event – I’ve heard mixed reviews – but if you are interested, the Friendship Festival takes place throughout the week. Let me know if you’d like to go…

Creative gala, new cards, uploader update and The Square

Buffalo.com photo by Ben Kirst.

A few quick notes -

1.) We FINALLY have new cards. I'm going to start mailing them out later today. Let me know if you want to pick them up from me directly.

2.) The folks at Camp Good Days have specifically requested a photographer for their Creative Gala at The Hyatt in downtown Buffalo on Saturday night. The theme is Star Wars. Although it is a black-tie event, there will be folks in costume, and you personally will not be required to wear a tux or an evening gown - although if you go, please dress appropriately (business style). This is a great cause, these people are good sports and they like getting their pictures taken...so please feel free to volunteer if this seems interesting or important to you. They'd love the coverage.

3.) An update on the bulk uploader: well, there are a couple things holding it back right now. First of all, we're abler to make it work on our network and some outside networks...but not all outside networks. Obviously, that is a problem.

Second, we want to make sure all of the proper functionality is built into the uploader because it doesn't make much sense to release it to you incomplete.

Anyhow, I believe that is all...just a reminder that we will be at The Square tonight, rain or shine, and all are welcome to come hang out and help us with photos, contests, handing stuff out, etc.

6-16 to 6-21 events and a whole lot of notes

Buffalo.com photo by Tom Kuenzi.

Here is your weekly events list...you will notice that it's a lot shorter than usual. We're going to be focusing on fewer but bigger events in our weekly lists from now on...the old style was getting really unwieldy. HOWEVER you are, as always, welcome to suggest events that may interest you - this list is not the be-all, end-all of activity in WNY - just a starting point, and stuff we'd like to see covered.

Some notes after a wild first week at MyBuffalo.com:

1.) Thanks to everyone for hanging in there through this transition - it's been tricky for all of us, but I feel like the new site is starting to take shape. In the long run, I guarantee you will like MyBuffalo better than the old products - but there is going to be a learning curve. Your comments, suggestions, questions, and ideas are always welcome - help us make a better site for you!

2.) Photographers - the bulk uploader is coming, I swear to you. I don't want it released until it is just right, so we are holding off for another couple days. If the bulk uploader doesn't ultimately make uploading and organizing your photos easier, then what is the point, right? So please be patient while we get the bulk uploader finished...it really is coming soon.

3.) Also - the photos from 2007 and 2008 do, in fact, still exist - they just have not been added to the site yet. More news on this is coming soon...but your pics aren't gone.

4.) Keep checking this blog. I have been updating it a lot lately, and I'd rather have you check stuff out at that blog rather than host one at MyBuffalo.com where everyone can see it...this one is a little more removed from the hustle and bustle. But remember, take a look at it daily!

5.) We had new cards to hand out...and now they're gone. What can I say, we had a great weekend. More are on the way - a lot more. I will do a mass mailing when they get in...which will hopefully be within a few days.

I really welcome everyone to be active at the site! MyBuffalo.com is more than just a passive site where you look at stuff and leave. Get involved - friend your fellow users, send messages, make snarky comments, post your pics, etc. it's somewhat addictive once you get rolling. We have some neat personalities on the MyBuffalo.com site, and this is a great chance to connect with a lot of different people in the program, people who work on Buffalo.com, and other people, as well.

I believe that is it for now...but if you ever have questions for me, just let me know.


Wednesday


· Concerts on the Canal Series: The Strangers and The Diva Show. Check out a total of four – that’s right, four – sets from two of Western New York’s favorite party bands. The Strangers play at 6 PM and 8 PM, while The Diva Show hits the stage at 7 PM and 9 PM. Lots of people love these bands – it would be great to get some coverage – photo, video, story, or otherwise. Let me know! The shows are at Gateway Harbor Park on Sweeney Street in North Tonawanda.



· Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. The underground icon from Washington, D.C. has an extremely loyal following in Buffalo, and it would be great to capture some scenes from what is sure to be an upbeat, positive, and rollicking indie rock show. Doors open at 7 PM, Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St., Buffalo.


Thursday


· Thursday at the Square: Better Than Ezra. Another big week at the Square – opportunities for photo, video, and giveaways. We have lots of concert tickets and concession tickets to giveaway – and you are welcome to some of those goodies for helping out, as well. We even have our own home base at the merchandise tent. Whoever wants to help out is welcome! 5 PM to 9 PM (try to get there between 5 PM and 7 PM), Lafayette Square, Buffalo.



· Sir Paul McCartney Birthday Bass Ball Gathering. Celebrate the former Beatle’s birthday with a bunch of Buffalo best bassists! The low-end sound will be rattling the windows of Lancaster as bass players from around Western New York gather for a bone-rattling jam session. Starts at 7 PM at the Ellicott Manor, 16 Ellicott Place, Lancaster.



· Shakespeare in Delaware Park: The Tempest opening night. The first performance of the summer for the always-popular outdoor theatrical production in beautiful Delaware Park. Mingle with the laid-back crowd before and after the show, and enjoy a quality production of one of The Bard’s greatest works. Showtime is 7:30 PM near the Rose Garden/Casino in Delaware Park, Buffalo.



Friday


· The 9th Annual Buffalo River Fest. Opening night of the Valley Community Center’s annual party in the heart of South Buffalo’s Old First Ward. In addition to all of the other fun stuff that comes with a Buffalo festival, Friday night will feature a performance by WNY’s #1 party band, Hit-n-Run, from 8 PM to midnight. The River Fest begins at 6 PM. The event will be held in Father Conway Park, which is located between Louisiana and Ohio Streets in Downtown Buffalo, just one mile south of HSBC Arena.



· Buffalo Beatdown Boxing. Want to be ringside? Want a chance to see what happens behind the scenes at a prizefight? This is your chance. X-Cell Worldwide presents the Buffalo Beatdown at the Buffalo Convention Center. Featured boxers will be “Hands of Gold” Nick Casal, Meacher “Major Pain” Major and Buffalo's Lionel Thompson and Excell Holmes. The event begins at 6:30 PM at the Convention Center, located on Franklin Street in the heart of downtown Buffalo.



· Nylon Magazine Summer Music Tour. Want to see some of the hottest cutting-edge bands in the country? Check out Patrick Wolf, Living Things, The Plasticines, and Jaguar Love live in the heart of downtown Buffalo. You may be asking yourself, “Who the heck are these bands?” – but these are the musicians that you’ll be hearing about next year, and the years after, and the year after…a great opportunity to see some edgy and interesting indie music. Doors open at 8 PM at The Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St., Buffalo.


Saturday


· The 9th Annual Buffalo River Fest. Day Two of the Valley Community Center’s annual party in the heart of South Buffalo’s Old First Ward.

Tons of interesting stuff happens today – the Rigidized Metals River Regatta with canoes, kayaks, and homemade boats begins at 11 AM (head over to the DEC Canoe Launch on Ohio St. to catch the end); live bands will be playing from noon to midnight; there will be a neighborhood reunion at 6 PM; and an 8-team slo-pitch softball tournament will be on the diamonds all day long.

Head over any time from 11 AM to midnight, and you’ll get a good story or great photos. The event will be held in Father Conway Park, which is located between Louisiana and Ohio Streets in Downtown Buffalo, just one mile south of HSBC Arena.


· Creative Black Tie Gala. A huge party featuring cool costumes and swanky outfits to benefit Camp Good Days. The theme this year – “A New Hope,” taking a page out of Star Wars. A very photo-friendly event – and they like having our people out at this event. Begins at 5 PM and goes until midnight at the Hyatt Regency, 2 Fountain Plaza, Buffalo.


Sunday

· Go to the Beach! There’s no specific event scheduled, but Sunday is a popular beach day at Sunset Bay and Angola on the Lake. Go to the beach…bring your camera…I guarantee you’ll end up with a wildly popular gallery. Or writers – head down to the seaside and report back on what music, fashion, and fun is in vogue on the sunny shores of Lake Erie this summer. Let me know if you’re interested!

Archive updates

Two issues of note:

1.) All of our old Spotted videos are now online at MyBuffalo. Thing is, they are currently posted "last to first..." The oldest videos are showing up as the most recent.

This will change...our vendor is going to re-map the videos to account for original date of posting. But, bottom line, your old videos are now on the site and should be associated with your account.

2.) I said that we had 50K photos at MyBuffalo...well, that accounts only for 2009. Oops.

We have A LOT more photos from 2008 and 2007 that have not even been added to the system yet. I had no idea! I undershot how many photos we had by, well, a few hundred thousand.

Good thing our programmers are a little more conscientious than I am. The guys are working on how they're going to add all these pics...so I will let you know.

The good news, though, is that your old photos are still alive.

Tonight at The Square

If you're going to help out at The Square tonight for the Robert Randolph Band concert, please send me a confirmation email...all are welcome! We have Joan Osborne concert tickets and concession tickets to hand out (and for you to enjoy), so that should make the whole "smile for the camera" process a little easier...so come on down.

Here are the instructions for this evening:

1.) Meet me at the merchandise tent by 6 PM. I will give you your cards and giveaway items there, and you can go take photos from there. This will also be our staging area throughout the night.

2.) If the weather is bad, you can skip the event...although I will note that they will hold the concert, rain or shine, unless it is a lightning storm. We'll tough it out as best as we can for as long as we can if there is going to be a concert - but I certainly do not expect you to put your camera (or health) at risk by traipsing through the rain!

3.) I usually park on Broadway on the east side of Michigan Street. It's tough to find close parking, to be honest, unless you want to pay to be in one of the lots on Washington or Ellicott - and I hate to pay to park, personally.

I'm heading over there around 4:45 - 5 PM, so if you have any questions, call me on my cell at 244 2557.

Thanks everybody! I hope to see you tonight!

Where did all my photos go?

You may notice that not all of your photos - particularly your old photos - are associated with your account at MyBuffalo.

We are working on this.

The photos were migrated - but for some reason, the site is only displaying the last 10K to be posted. That leaves approximately 40K photos in the system but unable to display.

We should be kind of proud - we migrated such a huge volume of photos to MyBuffalo that the site isn't sure how to handle it...

...but please be aware that we will get this sorted out. I personally am down about two years' (and 200 events) worth of photos, and I definitely want mine back, too.

Bulk uploader is almost done...

...I just finished writing some instructional text for the bulk uploader...it's thisclose to being finished. Keep your fingers crossed, maybe it will even be done today...

Hey, by the way, thanks to everyone who has been posting at the site. My challenge to you - get active! Friend each other, post to the discussion forums, comment on other people's stuff. It's like a snowball...the more we do it, the more other people will, too.

And remember - tomorrow night - we will be out at Thursday at the Square taking photos and giving out free Joan Osborne concert tickets and concession tickets...so even if you aren't volunteering to write or take photos, track one of us down and we'll hook you up!

On posting descriptions with your photos, bulk uploading, and more

Hey photographers:

I originally wrote this in an email, and decided maybe it was something we all could enjoy...

When you post your MyBuffalo photos, you will see that there is a "Description" box where you can post a write-up. It doesn't have to win the Pulitzer! Just three or four sentences about the event - where it was, what it was about, maybe an amusing anecdote. No need to worry too much about it!

It will be a lot easier when the bulk uploader is done - and again, I'm expecting that literally any hour now. It's finished, in theory, but still needs some finishing touches.

As far as finding specific events - if the event was relatively recent, people will be able to go into the "Recent Photos" section and find them, but I think this is where tagging will be really key. You are able to be really specific with your tags in MyBuffalo, which was not the case in Spotted. My advice is to post as many tags as possible whenever you add your photos, because this will increase the power of the search tool.

Bylines for writers

There has been a little confusion regarding the difference between articles and blogs at MyBuffalo.

Here is the delineation:

• Blog: anyone can post a blog. You can blog. I can blog. Joe in Accounting can blog. In fact, I wish he would blog. That guy knows some dirt.
  
  
• Article: although they are written in the blog format, an article is actually a Buffalo.com-contributed piece. Deanna and I have access to administrative tags that allow us to mark certain blogs as "articles." This allows us to push content into the Articles section.

In the very near future, we will have a special interface for the Buffalo.com contributors that will allow you to directly post articles to the Articles section. This interface will also allow our photographers to bulk-upload photos. It's coming very soon! I was actually messing with some of the behind-the-scenes tools on this particular piece yesterday.

One more note for writers:

When you post an article, you obviously will no longer have the whole "Buffalo.com/YourHub John Doe" title anymore...so we need you to add a byline. At the top of each article you post, you should have a heading that looks like this:

John Doe
Buffalo.com Contributor

If you have any questions, please let me know!

...and here's the storm

I have already received some feedback on MyBuffalo - some good, some...constructive (ha ha), and as you may imagine, we are a little overwhelmed with all of the little fixes and details and issues that come out of any Web site launch. If contact is a little spotty today, I apologize in advance.

Anyhow - the most important message I can give you right now is this:

What you see is NOT the finished product.

We will be rolling out new tools and features daily - including the bulk photo uploader that you may have noticed is currently missing.

Hang in there - it's a big change for everyone - and we will make this transition as a team.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, email me or call me - but I'd really like it if you messaged me through the MyBuffalo site! I'll try to get you answers as quickly as possible.

Calm before the storm

Buffalo.com photo by Sean Rudyk.

Well, this is the last day for Spotted and YourHub. I am tempted to get sentimental and think about all the fun stuff and interesting experiences I've had as a result of these two Web sites. Instead, I will refrain from boring you with tales of my drives through eastern Niagara County and visits to Southern Tier high schools and will look to the future, instead.

Here are some things to keep in mind as we transition to MyBuffalo tomorrow:

• There will be a learning curve for everyone. I am still learning all of the ins and outs of the MyBuffalo site, and it will take all of us a few days to really get a feel for the new project. I am humbly requesting your patience while we get the wrinkles ironed out. That being said...
  
  
• Please be active at the site. This is a great opportunity to get to know your fellow contributors a little better. In fact, in some ways, this is a real opportunity to cut out the middleman (me) and really connect with feedback, ideas, meet-ups, and the like. Please don't cut me out too much, though, as I would like to be a part of the action, too!
  
  
• The functionality is definitely different than Spotted and YourHub. Tomorrow, I will discuss some of these differences - doesn't make much sense to do it before it launches - but bear in mind that it is NOT going to look or feel like the tools we are used to using. I again humbly request that you are patient and that you have an open mind about using the site.
  
  
• We'll be a little light on events this week. There is probably a lot going on around Western New York this week - I would wager on it - but we're going to be doing a lot of sitework and not quite as much "booking" for the next few days. If there are events you are interested in attending - and there are some good ones, like the Rev. Horton Heat at Artpark, Thursday at the Square, the Allentown Arts Festival - let me or Deanna know, and we will get you out there...but the list itself will probably be pretty slim.
  

Anyhow, I hope you are having a great weekend, and I look forward to your feedback on the new site.M

MyBuffalo, the internship, and moving forward

The Big Change
As you should know, on Monday, June 8, Buffalo.com will eliminate Spotted and YourHub. We will be replacing those projects with MyBuffalo.com, a social network that will combine the most important functions of the Spotted and YourHub sites (photos, videos, blogs) with a dynamic social network.

You will be able to make more robust profiles, add friends, message users, use better video tools, upload audio tracks (any podcasters out there?), share content directly on Facebook, MySpace and 20 other popular social sites, and much more. It's a powerful tool and it will be a lot of fun to use - and will eventually stretch into every aspect of Buffalo.com.



What about my stuff?
All Spotted, YourHub, and Buffalo.com email users will automatically be given an account on MyBuffalo.com. Behind the scenes, we are currently in the process of transferring all of your Spotted and YourHub content over to the MyBuffalo.com site.

Keep an eye on your email, too - I will be emailing you your new MyBuffalo.com username and password in the near future. When I do so, I will put up a note on the intern blog.

But the bottom line is that your content will not be lost, and you will be able to access it with your own MyBuffalo account.



Is this going to look/feel just like Spotted and YourHub?
No. It will take some getting used-to. We are still hammering out gallery functionality on the photo section, for example. There is no "admin" section, like We Spotted, either. MyBuffalo.com encourages interactivity and connections between users - it's not as much of a "stop, stare, click" site like Spotted and YourHub.

Anyhow, we ask for your patience and open-mindedness as we introduce the new site.



How about the internship program - will that still exist?
Yes. However, we feel that it is time to make some changes.

In the past few months, Deanna and I have grown increasingly concerned with some of the problems we've seen at the site. We have seen an overall increase in apathy - fewer sign-ups, a decrease in the quality of galleries, and - quite frankly - a little bit of attitude directed towards us, our collaborators, and the venues at times.

As we bring in the new site, we are also bringing in new standards. Since we are starting a new project, we also want a fresh start to our internship program.



And how will you change the program?
Glad you asked.

1.) First of all, some of the old standards apply - 2 events a month, 60-40 on "smile for the camera" for photographers, 3 quotes per story for writers.

On the new side: A MAXIMUM of 60 photos per event. Photographers will be required to include a 100-200-word event summary in their blog after an event (written in your own voice; it doesn't have to be "newsy," but a brief summation of the event). Writers will be required to post 5 photos from their events.

2.) A 30-day limit on requesting events. A common complaint has been that the "big" events are claimed up too quickly. We will honor the current requests we have received, but beginning June 8, we will only accept event requests from activities coming in the next 30 days.

3.) The events list will be shorter. You are welcome to find events that are not on the list, but Deanna and I will be selecting the Top 20 events each week that we would recommend considering...no more massive, sprawling, esoteric events lists. I will miss writing them!

4.) "Interns" are now known as "contributors." Semantical, perhaps, but a change nonetheless.

5.) We reserve the right to remove contributors from the program for failing to meet any of the standards above.

6.) I also can not stress enough that a.) contributors must follow media instructions at events and b.) contributors are not to "book" their own events. We will immediately remove a contributor from the program for failure to comply with these particular guidelines.

7.) Term limits. As of the relaunch, all contributors will be 6-month terms. After 6 months, we will perform an joint evaluation with you, and as a group we will determine whether we all want to move forward.



Lot of rules, man!
Well, we are going to be doing more recruiting and we want everyone to be on the same page - the new contributors and veteran contributors will need to use the same playbook.

When we relaunch on Monday, I will send you a formal list of these guidelines. If you do not agree to the guidelines and would like to exit the program, please let me know.



And finally...
I don't want to come off like Johnny Rulebook. I am genuinely pleased with a lot of what I've seen at Spotted and YourHub. But I also think we have a real opportunity to revitalize the program and make MyBuffalo.com one of the biggest Web successes not only in Western new York, but in the entire nation. I'm serious - it could be that big.

I want you to be a part of a site we can all be proud of, and I hope you stay with us during this exciting time.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me immediately.