The guest speaker at St. John Rotary was Shaun Pennington. She is the founder, editor-in-chief, and indefatigable force behind VISource.com, the territory’s 10-year-old (!!!) online news resource.
(Photo courtesy of St. John Rotary.)
Pennington used the St. John forum at the Westin Resort to describe the Source as well as to trumpet its just-completed redesign. She explained, readers can comment on stories, "start forums, find out what's happening here and abroad from the front page with our calendars and our live news feeds, or just see what's playing at the movies.”
Among the latest features on the site, she said, is a St. John restaurant guide which lists 67 eateries. Click here for the Guide. This kind of topic depth is one of the Internet's strong points, she explained where there are no space limits.
The Source 2.0 which launched in the last few weeks is a ‘must click’ for me every day, sometimes several times. She has reporters who cover breaking news on St. John and the other islands. (Linda Lohr is the St. John correspondent. Other reporters cover police, government, business, etc.).
The new Source makes it easy for people to comment, to post their opinions, and even upload audio and video clips. There’s an arts and entertainment calendar, classified and help wanted ads, editorials, and forums.
A disclaimer of sorts … I’ve known Shaun for more than five years. I have always admired her commitment, dedication, and rottweiler-like doggedness. (Walt’s, too, for supporting her.) Any small business has rocky periods, but when you start something nobody’s ever heard of before, and ask advertisers and investors for support, well, it can be really tough.
Shaun is really, really tough.
Once again, Pennington is starting something new, and it’s so big that it’s growth is hard to see. But day by day, there are new ads from, business people, new forum comments by locals and visitors, and new piles of data being shoveled online by researchers. The snowball is headed downhill.