[il-talk] Great job, Mr. Meyer!

Fri Nov 28 18:25:28 UTC 2008

HI Patti,

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond to your thanks.  I have been
without a computer for nearly four weeks, and I just got up and running
tonight.  Your thank you is the second one I have responded to and I have
yet to see the article, though Scott told me I would be featured.

Now that I have a computer again, we can get the information channel back up
to date.

Thanks for all of your support.

-----Original Message-----
From: il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Patti Gregory-Chang
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 7:21 PM
To: NFB of Illinois Mailing List
Subject: Re: [il-talk] Great job, Mr. Meyer!

Dave you rock.  We are on the map in lots of ways now.    WOW.

I love to see Illinois and Illlinoisians get recognition.

Patti Gregory-Chang
President, National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
pattichang at att.net
www.nfbofillinois.org
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Reif" <billreif at ameritech.net>
To: <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 11:24 PM
Subject: [il-talk] Great job, Mr. Meyer!

> Dave and I are both on the email list for Newsline sponsors; and he often
> forwards the program's monthly newsletter.  I have chosen to "beat him to
> the punch" because it's great to be able to share how well Illinois is
> doing, and that Renee West, the new Marketing and Outreach Manager for
> sponsored technologies, recognizes the great work Dave Meyer is doing in
> managing Illinois's Information Channel.  Who would have believed that Our
> Information channel, non-existent less than a year ago, would be held up 
> as
> exemplary?  Great job, Dave!!  The other Illinois usage and email stats
> aren't too shabby either.
>
> Bill
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "West, Renee" <RWest at nfb.org>
> To: <nfb-newsline-sponsors at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 7:58 AM
> Subject: [Nfb-newsline-sponsors] November 2008 NFB-NEWSLINE® Happenings
> Newsletter
>
>
> NFB-Newsline® Sponsors:
>
> Please find attached and below the November 2008 issue of NFB-Newsline®
> Happenings. Should you have any questions or comments as regards the
> newsletter or contents therein, please don't hesitate to call or email me;
> my contact details are available in my signature block.
>
> Thank you!
>
> Renee West
> Manager, Marketing and Outreach
> Sponsored Technology Programs
> NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
> 1800 Johnson Street
> Baltimore MD 21230
> Phone: (410) 659-9314 ext. 2411
> Fax: (410) 659-5129
> Website: www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org/> ; www.nfbnewsline.org
>
> Plain-text version of newsletter follows:
>
> NFB-NEWSLINE® HAPPENINGS-NOVEMBER 2008
>
> Hellos and Handshakes
>
> Hello, Sponsor!  My name is Renée West, and I have recently assumed the
> position of Manager of Outreach and Marketing for NFB-NEWSLINE®.  I am
> sincerely delighted to work with all of you (as well as our own NFB staff)
> to present, preserve, and promote this priceless service.  I am very 
> nearly
> bursting with enthusiasm and ideas about how we can help the 
> print-disabled
> community discover, employ, and enjoy NFB-NEWSLINE®.  If you have any
> questions (or suggestions!) about marketing this outstanding service, or
> need assistance in helping your state's subscribers in using 
> NFB-NEWSLINE®,
> please don't hesitate to contact me.  My phone number is (410) 659-9314,
> extension 2411, and my e-mail address is rwest at nfb.org.  I would truly 
> love
> to hear from you!
>
> As the new Editor of this newsletter, I feel like shaking things up a bit.
> You'll notice some new regularly appearing content, a monthly helpful 
> hint,
> and likely far too many alliterations and puns.  Additionally, I will also
> be creating a different newsletter for a different audience: subscribers!
> We have seen a dramatic growth in both our subscriber e-mail database (a
> near 35% increase so far this year!) and in requests for e mail delivery 
> (we
> sent nearly 105,000 newspapers via e-mail in September!), so now seems the
> perfect time to open up a line of communication with our users via this
> method.  We hope that such contact will enable subscribers to find 
> increased
> value in, and become aware of new elements to, NFB-NEWSLINE®.  Beginning 
> the
> week of 11/10/08, we will begin sending out periodic communications to all
> subscribers with an e-mail address in our database, providing details 
> about
> current system features, system enhancements, and other needful 
> information.
> This newsletter can be a tool for you as well; should you have any
> suggestions regarding the contents of these e-mails that will be sent to
> subscribers, please contact me so that we can discuss.
>
> Channel Chat
>
> As an NFB-NEWSLINE® sponsor, you have a truly excellent means by which you
> can communicate with your clients, patrons, or members.  With your local
> channel, you can provide subscribers with information pertaining to 
> current
> events, important meetings, and policy and program updates.  If you've 
> been
> searching for a viable avenue to disseminate such crucial information in a
> time-sensitive way, look no longer and look no further; instead, look at
> NFB-NEWSLINE®!
>
> Because I believe so strongly in the positive power of your local channel,

> I
> want to help you make the best use of this resource with regular "chats."
> Let me get started by giving you the Golden Rule: update frequently!
> Material that is several weeks, months, or (gasp!) years old not only 
> risks
> providing false information (such as contact data or meeting location) but
> also, if users know that your channel's contents are not kept up to date,
> they are not at all likely to "tune in" to your channel.  As such it is
> likely that, if your channel is cluttered with old material, any new 
> content
> will not reach its intended audience.  Additionally, it may be wise to add

> a
> short addendum to your state greeting when you've either done a 
> substantive
> update after a period of disuse, or when you've added material you feel is
> extremely important to subscribers.
>
> Perhaps you are aware of the positive potential of your local 
> NFB-NEWSLINE®
> channel, but feel that you don't have the free staff hours to utilize this
> resource; in this case, may we recommend asking for a volunteer to assist
> you in this effort?  Many states are able to fully use this function with
> the help of an extra pair of hands.
>
> The sponsor channel area has the potential to be a key element in
> communicating with the print-disabled community, but you need to ensure 
> that
> content is managed well.  As an example of a well-managed sponsor channel,
> let me tell you about Illinois.  David Meyer has been assisting the state
> sponsor (the Illinois Talking Book and Braille Service) in really taking
> advantage of this unique tool.  Their local channel offers space to 
> several
> statewide agencies and organizations, and also features a section 
> providing
> general news so as to offer a wide variety of information to their 
> patrons.
> On this channel, subscribers can listen to agency newsletters, learn about
> upcoming workshops, find useful contacts, hear monthly listings of new
> books, and learn about the library's recent endeavors.
>
> Lastly, let me mention how successful was our placing of presidential
> candidate's Web site content on NFB-NEWSLINE®!  To those states that so
> graciously agreed to host this content on their local channel, we say 
> thank
> you, and we acknowledge the service that you provided to your 
> print-disabled
> community.  We received many expressions of gratitude for featuring this
> important and timely information.
>
> Remember...this is YOUR space, so get out YOUR message!
>
> JUST THE STATS, MA'AM
>
> Many changes have taken place since the last Sponsor newsletter in May. 
> In
> October alone 144,835 calls were made, a nice increase since May's 
> 138,286.
> Thanks to you, our subscriber base and use keep growing; we had 581 new
> subscribers last month!  Also (and this is very exciting!) October marked
> the third month in a row where we've had over 2.8 million minutes of
> NFB-NEWSLINE® service delivered!  Holy cow!  As for local calls, in 
> October
> the average percentage of calls to local numbers was 68.17, which is
> approximately 4 percent higher than that of May's 67.92 percent average.
> Some standout states are New Hampshire, Connecticut, D.C., New Jersey,
> Alabama, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, all of which had an average local 
> call
> rate above 90 percent.  Excellent!  Here are the state stats for October:
>
> Top Ten Minutes Used:
>
> Since the last newsletter in May, there have been some changes.  Firstly,
> Missouri has replaced Georgia for the tenth spot on this list.  Welcome to
> the club, Mighty MO!  In the intervening months, most top-ten states have
> gained minutes.  The greatest increase belongs to Massachusetts, moving 
> from
> fourth to second with a WHOPPING increase of 19,469 minutes!
>
> 1. California:  265,598 minutes
> 2. Massachusetts:  191,715 minutes
> 3. New York:  190,793 minutes
> 4. Florida:  178,007 minutes
> 5. Ohio:  154,785 minutes
> 6. Illinois:  149,243 minutes
> 7. Maryland:  125,576 minutes
> 8. Texas:  124,174 minutes
> 9. Pennsylvania:  88,314 minutes
> 10.  Missouri:  87,731 minutes
>
> Top Ten New Subscribers:
>
> In the four intervening months since this newsletter was last published,
> state new-subscriber numbers have seen some changes.  Congratulations to
> Texas, whose monthly subscriber number is 14 higher than in May!  Yee-haw!
>
> 1. Florida with 58
> 2. Texas with 36
> 3. Oregon with 33
> 4. Nebraska tied with North Carolina at 30 new users
> 5. California with 29
> 6. Wisconsin with 26
> 7. Pennsylvania with 25
> 8. Michigan with 24
> 9. New Jersey with 20
> 10.  Illinois at 19
>
> E-mail Superstars:
>
> The following states represent the top ten for e-mail deliveries.  We've
> had some exciting developments since May!  Total number of e-mails sent 
> has
> zoomed upward; 120,076 e-mails were sent in October (17,088 more than 
> May's
> 102,988).  The top-ten list rolled out the welcome mat for two Midwestern
> states: Illinois and Nebraska-welcome to the club!
>
> 1. California:  9,760
> 2. Texas:  9,742
> 3. Ohio:  7,249
> 4. Maryland:  6,589
> 5. Pennsylvania:  6,085
> 6. North Carolina:  5,850
> 7. Massachusetts:  5,542
> 8. New York:  4,977
> 9. Illinois:  4,724
> 10. Nebraska:  4,428
>
> Top Ten Registered Subscribers:
>
> Most states are pretty much where they were when this list was last 
> brought
> to your attention, and although there have been a few rearrangements in
> number placement on the list all states have seen very good improvement!
> You guys have done a terrific job!
>
> 1. Florida with 9275
> 2. California with 6330
> 3. Maryland with 2924
> 4. Michigan with 2532
> 5. North Carolina with 2451
> 6. Texas with 2416
> 7. Wisconsin with 2327
> 8. New York with 2234
> 9. Ohio with 2219
> 10.  Massachusetts with 2068
>
>
> NFB-NEWSLINE® Innovative Initiatives!
>
> Since July of 1995, blind people have boldly gone where no blind person 
> had
> ever gone before to get their news: the telephone!  With the advent of the
> NFB-NEWSLINE® service, members of the print-disabled community could be as
> thoroughly informed of election results, edamame recipes, and economic
> reports as the next (sighted) guy.  While phone calls and e-mails function
> as the base of our service, we continue to build on our (and your) prior
> efforts-and now we're exploring new and exciting ways that blind folk can
> get the news they need, when they need it.  The following are two
> initiatives that are on the launchpad, very nearly ready for takeoff:
>
> News via the Victor Reader Stream
>
> A companion software program for the PC will be crafted in conjunction 
> with
> a Web site where subscribers can select daily newspapers to be delivered
> directly to their computer each morning.  The software will then
> automatically transfer the selected daily newspapers to the Humanware 
> Victor
> Reader Stream.  The user can then take this portable, pocket-sized device
> and read the selected material at their convenience.  Currently, some
> subscribers who lack technical experience may find the process of
> transferring content from their e-mail to their Victor Reader Stream a bit
> inconvenient.  However, when the automated process is rolled out, getting
> your daily news onto your favorite device will be quick and easy-even for
> those who are less than tech-savvy!
>
> News in Spaaaaaace...Cyberspace, that is!
>
> A secure Web site will be developed where subscribers can login to view
> their daily newspaper or magazine of choice.  This Web site is to be
> optimized for ease of use by persons using adaptive technology such as
> screen readers and enlargement software programs.  Additionally, this Web
> site will be designed to be efficiently used by persons of all levels of
> technical expertise.  One really excellent feature of the
> newspapers-by-Web-site experience is that, in addition to featuring full
> content, subscribers can do an all over search for a key term.  This means
> that one can find every instance of the term "antimatter" within all
> sections of a newspaper, whether it be within the technology or
> entertainment pages.  This amazing functionality sets into orbit a new
> ability for members of the print-disabled community to do research for
> homework or career, and makes getting informed a blast!
>
>
> Subscriber's Corner
>
> This month's featured NFB-NEWSLINE® subscriber is Mrs. Barbara Macpherson
> from Tucson, Arizona.  I learned of her through an editorial piece that 
> she
> wrote and was featured in her local newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star, in
> which she offered strong criticism of the movie Blindness.  Like her 
> fellow
> members of the National Federation of the Blind, Barbara feels that this
> movie does sincere damage to not only the image of blind people, but to 
> the
> real lives of blind people as well.  I was very impressed by the fact 
> that,
> along with her expressions of concern regarding the movie's content, she
> used her protest of the movie as a chance to educate the sighted public 
> and
> to offer a welcome mat to other blind Tucson residents.  Says Barbara, "I
> welcome the opportunity to inform the Tucson public about living with low
> vision.  There are resources and help in Tucson for those...with blindness
> and low vision."  What a great spirit!
>
> It was my pleasure to learn that Mrs. Macpherson, who creates publicity
> materials for the NFB's Tucson chapter, is an active user of the
> NFB-NEWSLINE® service, and I was very happy to have an opportunity to 
> speak
> with her about her usage.  According to Mrs. Macpherson, she uses
> NFB-NEWSLINE® about every other day to keep herself informed.  She
> especially values the Arizona Daily Star for providing her with local news
> and events, especially concerning health, as she was able to find out the
> details for getting her flu shot by reading her newspaper.  In particular,
> she loves to read the opinion column by local reporter Bonnie Henry, who
> provides entertaining stories of local history and places.  Beyond her 
> local
> paper, Barbara enjoys reading USA Today as well as the AARP Bulletin and
> AARP The Magazine.  She truly loves the fact that she can get the news at
> any time, and that it's there for her even if she awakens in the middle of
> the night.
>
> Seeing the value of NFB-NEWSLINE®, Mrs. Macpherson is eager to talk with
> others about the service.  She goes to alumni meetings of the Southern
> Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired to promote the service and
> tells members that "blind people should be informed."  Articulating the 
> idea
> of how easy it is for blind folks to access and use the service, she
> exclaimed, "It's available by phone!"  She expressed her thankfulness to 
> the
> Arizona Braille and Talking Book Library for sponsoring the service, and 
> to
> the Arizona Daily Star for offering their fine paper on NFB-NEWSLINE®.
> Thank you, Barbara, for taking the time to educate the public about this
> delightful service!
>
>
> Your Monthly Helpful Hint
>
> Be sure that your Web site features information on NFB-NEWSLINE® where you
> feature your other quality services.  It's an easy and stress-free way to
> promote the service to your Web site's visitors; just remember to update
> content as needed (for example, note the addition of a new paper, 
> especially
> one in your state).  If you need content, I can provide you with an
> introductory description of the service appropriate for those who may not 
> be
> familiar with NFB-NEWSLINE®.  I can also give you the text of our new 
> Users
> Guide, which is a comprehensive handbook to the service's many features.
> Just ask, and you shall receive!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfb-newsline-sponsors mailing list
> Nfb-newsline-sponsors at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-newsline-sponsors_nfbnet.org
>

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

> _______________________________________________
> il-talk mailing list
> il-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/il-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> il-talk:
>
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/il-talk_nfbnet.org/pattichang%40att.ne
t
> 

_______________________________________________
il-talk mailing list
il-talk at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/il-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
il-talk:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/il-talk_nfbnet.org/datemeyer%40sbcglob
al.net
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com 
Version: 8.0.175 / Virus Database: 270.9.10/1810 - Release Date: 11/24/2008
2:36 PM