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Hello !
Welcome to 2012!
Well, a lot has happened since the last newsletter and there are some exciting things on the horizon.
One Million Visitors
First, I want to say thank you to everyone for contributing to the success of this website. In late November, we saw our 1 millionth visitor to the site--I thought it was to be on Thanksgiving, but it ended up a few days later. But, with 1 million visitors, we solidify ourselves as a major player in not only the blogosphere, but in Anne Arundel County as well. Our traffic numbers are not anywhere near the ones of The Capital (and I do not expect them to), but we have far surpassed any other regional media with an online presence. And for that, I offer my thanks!
Business Spotlight
We have partnered with Anne Arundel County and will be hosting a weekly (ish) segment on Anne Arundel County Week In Review spotlighting local businesses. So far, we have visited Metropolitan Kitchen & Lounge and Sonic of Edgewater. Despite all the "uhms" and "ahs" it has been a lot of fun and we are all about spotlighting locally owned businesses. If you have a business to suggest, please shoot me an email. The business should be accessible to the public.
SOPA & PIPA
Yesterday, there was not much to read on the site--we went dark to support the protests of the two Internet censorship bills winding their way through Congress. We fully support copyright protections, but the way the bills were written was ill-conceived and did not take into account the unintended consequences. For this site, one of the most significant would be is a commenter (you) used a copyrighted piece of work in a comment--we could be found complicit and penalized monetarily and by being shut down virtually without warning. The good news is that it looks like the bill is losing backing and may be re-written. Thank you for your patience while we offered our small show of support to the cause!
2012 Reader Survey
Many have asked about the reader survey we took the final months of 2011. We use the data to provide an aggregate snapshot of who reads us to our advertisers and sponsors! So, who is the average reader of Eye On Annapolis?
She (72%) is between 46 and 55 years old (28%) with a Bachelor's degree (38%) and earns upwards of $100,000 per year (46%). She probably reads us daily (21%), weekly (22%) or subscribes to a daily RSS feed (22%). 25% of our readers are following our Facebook page and 12% of them follow us on Twitter.
Not a bad demographic if you ask me. Although I am somewhat surprised that the females are so well represented and that our audience is following our RSS feeds. If this sounds like a demographic that you might be interested in tapping, please check out our Advertising page and request a 2012 Media Kit. If you have a 2011 Media Kit and would like an updated one, please send me an email and I will send one out--there is a glitch in the system that will not allow you to get a 2012 one if you already requested the 2011--we're working on that!
A New Look
In the next month, Eye On Annapolis will be going Hollywood and getting a facelift. We have hired a developer to revamp the site for us and the theme and template is almost complete. We are always looking for ways to improve the user experience and I am very excited about out latest iteration and I hope you will be too. Rest assured all of the content will still be here along with the comments and features you have come to love. Expect it to go live (probably with a few glitches here and there) by the middle of February. And when it does, please let us know what you think!
Hot Topics!
Our readership continues to grow and over the past three months, we have seen a monthly average of more than 60,000 unique people reading the site! So, what were they reading? Here are the top five since the last time we spoke!
- Archbishop Spalding Teen Stabbed In Pasadena Home Invasion*
- Police: Spalding Teen's Wounds Self-Inflicted
- Concord Shoes Cause Crowd Problems At Westfield Annapolis And Other Malls
- Annapolis Alderman Kirby's Apartment Raided By Police In Drug Operation
- Armed Home Invasion In Odenton
Have you checked out our new blog called Chowin' Down. We are sending undercover "critics" to restaurants and bars for honest reviews. We are not going to sugar coat it like the local paper or cater to advertisers like the local city magazine. The columns are a recap of of the experience by regular people who happened to be out eating on their own dime! Good, bad, or indifferent. If you are interested in being a critic, shoot me an email.Since last time, the new Mexican restaurant in Edgewater, Plazuelas got a thumbs up but Miss Shirley's Cafe did not fare so well.
Local Flavors!
On the local biz front, we have gained even more sponsors this month. These guys help us pay the bills and help make our County such a special one. Please support local businesses when possible. I encourage you to check these supporters out--give their ads a click and see what it happening in your local community!
The Circulator Trolley. We put the Circulator Trolley first because it will be a great tool to get you around Downtown Annapolis. Plus it is free. Yes, that is right--free! Just flag the trolley down at any point on the route (or wait at one of the marked stops) and you have Annapolis at your disposal! Bonus: park in the Knighton or Park Place garages for reduced fees and take the trolley! Both of them are $5 up to 24 hours!
Wild Willy's is hosting a fantastic pre-Thanksgiving party featuring local (Crofton) artist Dave Teiff. Wild Willysis on Somerville Road across from the Annapolis Towne Centre and features one of the largest televisions on the East Coast along with nightly entertainment and fabulous food. If you are in the mood for a fun night out or a great place to watch the games--head on over to Wild Willy's.
Houle & Associates. Tax time is coming up fast. Are you prepared to deal with all the changes to maximize your financial situation? Don't leave your financial well-being to chance; hire a professional to do it for you. Exclusively through Eye On Annapolis, Houle & Associates will offer a $35 discount off of any tax preparation.
Annapolis Home Show. The Annapolis Home Show will be rolling into the Armory on Hudson Street again in February. This year the expo will feature plenty of hands on seminars and presentations by your favorite home and garden television stars including Billy Derian and Dr. Lori. Tickets are only $6 and well worth it for any homeowner or someone looking to spruce up their home or property.
Annapolis Restaurant Week 2012. When we heard that 42 restaurants were participating in this year's event, our jaw dropped. Who knew that Annapolis "proper" had 42 restaurants? Well, now you can sample them all (or some of them) for a fixed price for lunch and dinner. February 20-26 is the week and there are some old favorites and some new and exciting ones to try!
Floyd's Barbershop. Floyd's Barbershop has an interesting local hook to their success. The chain was started by brothers from just across the county line in Bowie. Now with more than 50 stores nationwide, Floyd's is coming home, so to speak, with a rocking shop at Westfield Annapolis.
Chesapeake Bay Trust. You see them all around--the cool license plates depicting the Chesapeake Bay. Why not ditch the boring white plate and do a little bit to help save our most important resource. When you renew your registration,help clean up the Bay--and after the storms we had--the Bay needs some cleaning up! Here is a fun commercial-- take a watch!
Artists 4 Amy. A series of concerts are planned to benefit Artists 4 Amy and the Parole Rotary Foundation. Artists 4 Amy is a foundation set up to help parents with the unexpected expenses of caring for a sick child by Silva and Tom Poore who lost their daughter, Amy, to cancer. The first concert will feature The Rol\lex Band and will be held at Wild WIllys.
Middleton Tavern, O"Brien's Oyster Bar, O'B's Prime, and Annapolis Unplugged. They are your favorite places to dine in Annapolis. For steak, seafood, entertainment and a great piano bar featuring Larry Lay, head to Middleton Tavern. For a more rocking night and some fantastic Oysters Annapolis, O'Brien's Oyster Bar is the place to be. And right upstairs from O'Brien's is O'B's Prime--Annapolis' best kept secret steak house--small and intimate and a perfect place for date night!
Rams Head On Stage. They have been around for more than 20 years. That is quite a run in Annapolis and it is no wonder. Rams Head On Stage is known for bringing world class music to our back door. Check out the schedule and I am sure you will find a favorite--old or new! And to be honest, the venue is one of the best--small, intimate and some awesome acoustics!
Zachary's Jewelers. There is not much that can be said about Zachary's that has not been said before. They are a staple of the Downtown Annapolis scene and now in Severna Park. They are the model for a community involved business. And, they have free monthly kid events on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in addition to their fabulous baubles.
Naptown barBAYq. Oh yeah, it's back! Bigger, badder, and better than last year. The 2nd Annual barBAYq, sponsored by the Parole Rotary will be coming to the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds May 4-5. It will feature 25 bands on 2 stages. Oh, and it will have just a little bit of food as well! The event is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society!
Sonic of Edgewater is HERE. Really it is. The business opened right after Christmas and has been doing a booming business. My family has had their share of Sonic goodness. The drive thru line can be long, so here is your tip--pull into an open drive-in slot, order your food and either stay there and eat it or take it home!And be sure to check out our Business Spotlight with Sonic on Anne Arundel Week In Review.
Annapolis Irish Festival. Last year, it drew more than 10,000 people. This year, the day is longer and there will be a special Friday night show before the event. Expect to see the greatest names in Irish music--traditional and modern including local favorites The Rovers! Vendors galore, activities and plenty of fun stuff for the little leprechauns. Do it now, mark the date in pen on your calendar--July 14th!
Bayside Bride is an awesome new project by local photographer Natalie Franke. This is a one stop resource for any wedding related information in the Chesapeake Bay area. Photographers, venues, caterers, transportation, planners, preparations, clothing, gifts, and more! If you are getting married in the Chesapeake Bay region, Bayside Bride is the one site that must be bookmarked.
Homestead Gardens is gearing up for the spring. If the outside of your home needs some sprucing up, make sure you think of Homestead Gardens. You can do it yourself or have their experts come and craft a backyard oasis just for you--and think how jealous the neighbors will be!
Please take a moment and check out our sponsors and advertisers. Give their ad (on the right) or the link (above) a click and explore what they have to offer! You won't be disappointed!
If you enjoy Eye On Annapolis, please do us a favor and let others know. A word of mouth referral is by far the biggest compliment we canreceive. Let your friends, neighbors, co-workers and enemies know about us! Let the businesses you patronize know about how affordable it is to reach more than 60,000 local people each and every month!
IMPORTANT
If you are reading a post, take the time to leave a comment! We want to get the conversation started. If you enjoyed or want to share a post, we try to make it easy for you if you are on Facebook--just click the little "like" button at the top left of each post and if you are on Twitter, there is a "re-tweet" button there as well and most recently, we added a Google +1 button--just give them a click.
If you are on facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, FourSquare etc.--please follow, fan, subscribe, etc to us there as well. We do a lot of fun stuff and giveaways all the time and it makes it a lot more personal for everyone! All the links are at the bottom of the newsletter!
And last but never least, as always--we're
glad you are here!
All
the best and see you around the County,
John W. Frenaye, Jr
Publisher
PPS--GO RAVENS!
We're socially connected. Are you?
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Local Businesses 
Local business makes the world go around. Well maybe not the world, but certainly Anne Arundel County.Please check out these local businesses and support them when you can!
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Have A Tip, Topic, or Idea? 
This site belongs to the readers! As our shareholders, we want to know what you want. If you have any suggestions for the site or this newsletter, please let us know.
If you have a tip for us, please let us know and we will follow up on it. Do yo have a photo of an event or incident? Please send them in and we will publish them!
And,if you are interested in writing for
us, we are always interested in well reasoned thoughts from guest bloggers!
You can contact us by replying to this email, sending us an email at info@eyeonannapolis.net, or by using the "Contact Us" page on the website.
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January 2012 Newsletter
