They'll preach in the business world that it's always to build from strengths rather than shortcomings. And as I see it, our strengths from the very beginning have been:
• Our written content
• Our thoroughness
• Our community
We aren't great at everything, and I'll never claim otherwise. But I'd like to think we strive for being great at the first two up there, and I've got zero doubts about that third one up there. There's no match anywhere for the global Pittsburgh sports community we've been blessed to see grow into what it is today, with regular readership now in all 50 states, nearly 150 countries and, of course, in every corner of our own city and region.
And that, my excellent friends, is what's next for this company: Turn that strength into a towering strength.
We have an OK commenting platform. With a couple exceptions, there's currently nothing wrong with it. But my new No. 1 goal for this company will be to launch this part of the platform into the next stratosphere. To make it truly elite. Comparable to the very best platform anywhere.
This is only conceptual, but ... You'll be able to share links, headlines, pics, videos, GIFs, polls and more. You'll be able to express more reactions than a simple up-cup or down-cup (though those would never go anywhere). You'll be notified when another member of the community replies to you. You'll be notified a different way when a staffer replies to you. You'll be able to communicate with each other. You'll be identified with maybe how long you've been with us, maybe in some other way. You'll be able to add a location. You'll have a much, much, much easier time changing your avatar. And above all, you'll also be able to ignore all of this should you choose to keep it as basic as it's always been.
I've had some spirited talks over the past week with our BoomPress developers, and they're as stoked as I am over this, as they'd already begun working on something similar. There'll be meetings in the coming week. This isn't speculative. This isn't pie-in-the-sky. It's already happening, and we'll all do everything in our power to accelerate it.
Between the overwhelming success of the new live team feeds and upgraded commenting, our goal is to have the app become indispensable in your fandom, not just a check-it-once-a-day device. We'll be upgrading our own boxscores, stats, standings. We'll be looking at fantasy content. We'll be weighing everything in sight.
Which is where you come in: If you see commenting platforms and/or other experiences you like, share them. Let us know where we can find them to check them out ourselves. Even if it's just a single specific feature that might have some appeal.
THEY CALL HIM 'TEX'
Those who cover the Steelers refer to our Chris Halicke as 'Tex' for a reason, as he'd spent the past quarter-century living in the Dallas area before spending the past year here with us.
Well, 'Tex' is headed home to be with his wife and two young kids after they made a family decision -- with some help from that state's challenging housing market -- to stay there. As such, he'll still be working for us remotely in capacities that are somewhat behind the scenes but not all that much. When football comes around, he'll be intensely involved again. For now, he'll be a bit more in the background.
He'll be in comments here if anyone has any questions.
I'll continue to lead our Steelers beat, helped by Corey Crisan on the scene, by Chris and, of course, by Matt Williamson, Ramon Foster and ... eh, not yet. Let's just say that I never stop looking when it comes to the NFL.
It won't be a beat type. I'll share that much.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• A major update to our app/site by BoomPress a few days ago threw a lot of existing functions out of whack. I can tell you that Adam Bertram and crew have been committed to fixing each and every issue and that, in fact, most have already been crossed off the list.
• No, not the stupid blank video player. Not yet. This week, I'm told.
• The six buttons at the bottom of your app can be changed to any teams/leagues you like. Just open your profile -- the image at the very top left -- then thumb down to Customize App, tap Edit, and arrange them any which way you prefer. Can change them seasonally, too, as I do. (And yeah, I know these were down with the update, too. Should be OK now.)
• We're often asked about our merch being available online, and yes, it's right here.
• Can't repeat this often enough as well: If your subscription's expiring and you don't think you'll be able to afford it ... you can. I'll make sure of it personally. Just email me directly: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Travel on tap: Taylor Haase will be in Buffalo, N.Y., for the NHL's Scouting Combine June 9-10. Alex Stumpf and I will split the Pirates' June 13-18 trip through Chicago and Milwaukee, with me taking the latter, as usual. ... Alex will then have the Miami trip later in the month.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page views for the past week were 506,458. Our most-read original piece was my Point Park University Friday Insider on the Penguins' previous management, at 10,294. Broken down by team traffic, the Pirates brought 27.5% of our readership, the Penguins 22.8%, the Steelers 14.2%, Penn State 0.8%, and Pitt 0.5%.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 100,176, and our YouTube video views for the past week were 122,159.
• Our company social media accounts are at 49,781 followers on Twitter, 39,264 on Facebook, 22,909 on YouTube, 14,875 on Instagram.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Anything you need, including lost/forgotten passwords, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com