We promised that the launch of the new app/site would be just the beginning, and here we are just a couple weeks later with a whole new model.
No, really, just yesterday afternoon, our developers put out significant updates to both the Apple and Android apps, as well as the website. For the latter two, they'll update automatically. For Apple, unless you've set up auto-downloads, you'll have to go to the App Store to get the update. But they're all up and running across all platforms, and we're excited about that.
In this version:
• Landscape mode for iPad!
This was by far the most vocal request we had, and never let it be said we ignore the most vocal requests. Maybe it's because I only use a tablet to read online comic books, but I hadn't anticipated this being the issue it was. Whatever the case, we've served it up.
• Lots of commenting stuff.
We've always made our forums and particularly our live files a priority, so this won't surprise anyone. We've added multiple refresh mechanisms to the comments and the staff's live feed, so you can easily keep up with the action and discussion up to the second. You'll find a refresh button atop the commenting slide-out, as well as a new one to the bottom left of the live feed. And if you're the patient type, you'll see that, if you just sit back, they'll gradually refresh on their own. (Our developers are big on that.)
Oh, and the comments are now back to being ordered the way they've always been, meaning relative to the parent comment rather than replies.
• Set the stage for ads.
I know, no one will cheer this ... except our accountants. We've been forgoing a big chunk of change every day since launch while working hard to implement the ads, and you'll start to see some show up here over the weekend.
One thing you won't see is the autoplay video box we used to have on desktop. Complaints weren't excessive about it, but we felt it hindered the overall look and feel of the place, including other ads.
These are a big part of what we do. Hope that's understood.
• Behind the scenes.
Anytime there's an update like this, there are lots of performance enhancements and corrections made in areas that aren't easily seen but, if they aren't made, everyone notices. There were a ton of these, too, notably addressing some of the weirdness where comments would change names or outright disappear. We tested this through the Pirates' doubleheader yesterday and had encouraging results.
There's still a long way to go, of course, and you can see that for yourself. But the launch and the follow-through have gone more smoothly than we ever could've hoped, and your patience -- and advice -- has been part of that.
Final note on this: Apple just updated its operating system to iOS 14 less than 48 hours ago. We're built to serve anything from iOS 12 and newer. That's by design. We as a business want and need this platform to serve us for many years to come, so we needed to look forward rather than backward. Our research shows that fewer than 2% of Apple users still have operating systems older than iOS 13.
We'll still try, eventually, to fix a common scrolling issue seen only on those older systems, but we've got to take care of the 98% first. We don't have the luxury of the extra money or the manpower to do it all at once.
As ever, if there are questions about your specific situation, email us here: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
PENN STATE?
Jarrod Prugar, our longtime Altoona-based correspondent with a specialty in Penn State football, has written up a couple pieces for us in the past week on the Nittany Lions, now that the Big 10's cleared itself to play this fall beginning in mid-October.
If you're interested in seeing Penn State coverage return to the site, much the same way the Pitt coverage did a year ago -- through a significant sale of gift subscriptions -- let's hear from you in comments.
(And on this subject, please, Penn State fans only. I'm sure no one wants any of the standard college back-and-forth.)
NEW MEDIA KIT!
We've got partnership opportunities all over the place and, to that end, we've updated our Media Kit to reflect all our latest information related to how we can help boost your business. You can download it by tapping/clicking the link in the previous sentence and, please, when you do that, bear in mind that we aren't one-size-fits-all in any way.
We've forged equally great relationships with huge corporations and ... well, my dude Erich Cushey down at Curtis Pharmacy, sponsor of this very feature!
Reach out to She Who Is Boss directly: Dali@DKPittsburghSports.com
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our daily page views, averaged out over the past week, were ... we have no idea. We still haven't fully reconnected to Google Analytics. Hoping to do that soon.
• Our podcast downloads, which are housed and tracked on an outside entity, were 52,363, our best yet. That included two record-setting download outputs on back-to-back days, topped by 10,842 on Wednesday. Our immediate goal is to top 50,000 per week, and we've achieved that now twice in three weeks.
• We're at 37,178 (+90) followers on Twitter, we're at 36,771 (+4) followers on Facebook, we're at 14,732 (+61) followers on Instagram. These figures are just for our official company account on each platform, not for us as individuals.
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