HOUSTON -- The new feeds are here, the new comments are (starting to get) here and, as always, we're all eager for feedback.
So, hey, let's have it.
But first, before anyone bolts for the comments, I've got a few thoughts of my own on this:
• I'm pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction to date. It's not universal -- nothing is -- but man, there's invariably big resistance to any change in our little world, and even the negative reaction was minimal. Which is cool. To everyone's credit, the introduction of feeds a few months was very well received, and all this represents is an upgraded version.
• It's hilarious that the emojis have generated more of a fuss than anything ... because it's also awesome that they've been used a ton. I definitely didn't expect that. Of course, it's clear a few folks are just pressing buttons to press them, but that'll pass over time. And ultimately, our up-cups and down-cups still offer the strongest tell as to how readers feel. That's why they'll always be here.
• A handful of others -- and no more than that -- were upset that the standard article listing on the old team pages wasn't around. Except that it is. When going to your favorite feed, simply press the button marked ARTICLES that's up near the top. It's all you'll see. The feed itself will vanish.
• It'll take time for our staff to get the feel of these feeds. Meaning as a unit, to present a consistent approach to news, quick observations and, above all, our full articles/analyses. But I've got to say, one glance at Taylor Haase's Penguins feed this week, and you'll have a great idea of how that's ultimately going to behave. You're connected to the team, to our coverage in every way.
• Friendly reminder: Those vertical bars to the left are color-coded for a reason: Yellow's our basic feed content, blue lets you scroll through and easily find our main articles, and red does the same regarding our live game files. And if anyone's searching for podcasts, I'd rather keep those wholly separate from our written content. Cleaner that way. One tap of the omnipresent podcast microphone icon -- atop the app and site -- and all our latest shows are right there.
I'll be in comments, as ever.
HUGE WEEK FOR MILITARY DRIVE!
Our annual Military Drive, aimed at connecting 1,000 veterans of our Armed Forces to a one-year subscription, had an exceptional week, thanks to mega-contributions of 35 and 5 military subscriptions from two separate readers, raising our total to 357. The gentleman contributing the 35 usually makes his annual buy closer to the deadline, but he said he wanted to go early this year to spark a harder push toward getting it done by Veterans Day Nov. 11.
Here's how it works: We sell a military subscription for $20, covering a full year for any veteran. That's one-third of the regular price. However many you'd wish to donate, even if it's just one, email me directly at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com, and Dali will do the processing.
THE STUPID VIDEO BOX
I hate that stupid blank video box that shows up on the app way more than anyone else ever could, and I've had enough: I informed our Vancouver-based ad server that they needed to come up with an answer for this in the coming week -- as well as an equally stupid fake-Google takeover ad -- or they'll lose our business.
It'd cost us a lot of money to switch, but we're not doing all this prideful work here just to have it junked up by user experience.
We'll see how it plays out.
WHERE'S INSIDER?
I had the material. Never had the time.
Over the ongoing 10-day span, I've been to Las Vegas for football, bounced back here for a day, then three in Philadelphia mostly to see my son but also to cover Pirates-Phillies, bounced here for another day, and today I'm flying down to Houston. That left me with good material -- for real -- and good intentions, but nowhere near the time or energy to write it out.
This will happen from time to time. I'm human, and I'm always on fumes during this rare and cursed crossover of all three of our teams.
NEW PAYMENT PLATFORM
If your subscription expired while we were switching platforms -- and we asked many of you to hang on until we were all clear -- this is our new subscribe page. Make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/renew at the monthly or annual level.
We also have our new pages completed for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions. If you're buying/renewing either, make sure you're logged in, tap on the appropriate link, and tap the big SUBSCRIBE button. These are all annual.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 912,315, with 28,418 different users over the most recent full seven-day span. Our most-read original piece was my main column from the Steelers' win in Las Vegas, at 14,717. The Steelers accounted for 27.1% of our views, the Pirates 17.3%, the Penguins 14.6%, Penn State 2.8%, and Pitt 1.8%.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 141,272 and our YouTube video views for the past week were 147,360. Our next high-level goal on both these fronts is be at 200K weekly.
• Our company social media accounts are at 51,078 followers on X, 39,773 on Facebook, 24,890 on YouTube, 14,886 on Instagram ... and already 2,532 on the new Threads app!
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• We're often asked about our HQ/shop merch being available online, and yes, it's right here.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
