NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- We've had major server issues over the last three days, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we're back to business as usual.
There is a positive to this, however. Headline Surfer, the 24/7 Internet newspaper has seen a tremendous increase in visitors cross Volusia County, especially in Daytona Beach, Port Orange and Deltona.
Then again, we remain the only venue that doesn't require a paid subscription, unlike the print media newspapers in Daytona and Orlando.
It's kind of ironic that when we launched Headline Surfer in April 2008, initially as NSBNews.net, local print media was hurting with the Daytona paper closing its bureaus in New Smyrna Beach, DeLand, Orange City, Bunnell and Tallahassee two months later. The workforce there was cut in half over several years with some 400 jobs lost.
For those of you discovering us for the first time, we took on our new umbrella trademarked name "Headline Surfer" in March, though you can access us via NSBNews.net, VolusiaNews.net and HeadlineSurfer.com.
We have a small operation, enough to take care of one household, though we are competitive with stories, blogs and videos trending in the search engines and in Google News Directories.
We were the first true 24/7 Internet newspaper in Florida. No deliveries, no presses, no subscriptions. The Sentinel, too, has had layoffs due to financial issues with its Chicago-based Tribune operation.
Orlando started charging for online access earlier this year and the Daytona paper did the same Oct. 1 under its new ownership. In a way, it's a double-edged sword for print media, trying to stave off readership losses to the Internet while maintaining their own online presence.
It will be interesting to see how print media adjusts, with The New York Times starting the trend of charging for online access. We wish print media luck and the Daytona paper continued success in its endeavors under the new ownership.
We're just thrilled to be able to provide our brand of journalism online free of charge and thankful for the advertising support we've generated and continue to pursue. Our servers are back up and primed for the increases in visitors. Its time to get back to the news and there is plenty of it on the way.