[Ohio-talk] Fw: NFB-NEWSLINE® Monthly Sponsor Newsletter for October, 2009
Dr. Smith
jwsmithnfb at verizon.net
Mon Nov 2 00:24:04 UTC 2009
fyi
jw
Dr. J. Webster Smith
President National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
P.O.BOX 458 Athens, Ohio, 45701-0458
Phone Number - 740-592-6326
"Changing What it Means to be Blind"
----- Original Message -----
From: NFB-NEWSLINE®
To: jwsmithnfb at verizon.net
Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 8:58 AM
Subject: NFB-NEWSLINE® Monthly Sponsor Newsletter for October, 2009
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NFB-NEWSLINE Newsletter
The Newsletter for Sponsors October, 2009
In This Issue
Your Monthly Helpful Hint
Main Menu
Channel Chat
Statistics
Subscriber's Corner
Your Monthly
Helpful Hint
Don't forget that we are now able to offer our subscribers choice in how they receive their e-mails. Subscribers can now choose whether they receive the initial publication each day along with periodic updates, or just the first delivery of their publications. To alter how a subscriber receives his or her e-mails, you'll need to enter his or her subscriber account, locate the "E-mail Papers?" section, and select the option requested by the subscriber ("Yes, with updates" or "Yes, no updates," depending). If you haven't done so already, creating an entry in your agency or organizational newsletter on this topic could be useful.
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NFB-NEWSLINE is a service of the National Federation of the Blind
:: 410-659-9314
Dear J.W.,
Welcome, Sponsors, to the October, 2009 NFB-NEWSLINE Happenings! Should you have any questions about this newsletter, please e-mail me at rwest at nfb.org. Thank you, and enjoy your Halloween!
Main Menu
Let's start this newsletter off with some exciting news: NFB-NEWSLINE® is now available in Arkansas! Residents of "The Natural State" are thrilled to see the service, which hasn't been available for over five years, now offered to them; perhaps they'll read their favorite publications on Magazine Mountain? We will soon offer two Arkansas newspapers on NFB-NEWSLINE® to serve our new subscribers. In any case, let's give a big welcome to our new sponsor, Arkansas Division of Services for the Blind!
We are making some changes to the statistics to reflect the availability of new factors such as online usage. Other reports should help you to best serve your state's subscribers, such as one that enables you to easily determine who your new subscribers are; this should be of benefit to those of you who want to contact new subscribers shortly after they have been sent their welcome letter.
Also, a quick note about deleting subscribers: unless a subscriber has passed away or has deliberately requested account termination, it is best not to delete subscriber accounts. One main reason for maintaining subscribers' active status is that they could be using online initiatives (such as Web News on Demand) and as we have not been capturing that usage, we would have no way of quantifying their use as can be done with telephone usage. Should you have any questions about this, please e-mail Scott White at swhite at nfb.org.
The NFB of Georgia has been creating some really great videos, which they are placing on YouTube. One video in particular is of interest: it shows an individual who uses NFB-NEWSLINE® and portrays ways in which he benefits from using the service, such as learning about stock market fluctuations as well as scores and commentary about his favorite sports team. It is very well done and well recommended; the Web site address is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vygr3SuF6E.
Finally, we have good news for you! We have designed new posters that reflect the availability of our new initiatives and have just received several thousands of these new posters. While we love having a nice supply of posters here, we certainly don't mind parting with them, so if you would like to receive some posters, please e-mail Renee West at rwest at nfb.org. These posters are great to use in the offices of rehabilitation counselors and technology trainers, Centers for Independent Living, libraries (both for the print-disabled and general population), and many other places.
Channel Chat
Since I've held this position (over a year now!), I've provided to you each month ideas for expanding and improving your channel so as to make the best use of this venue and serve your community. I have compiled a compendium of these "chats" and would be happy to send them, along with other ideas, to you should you request. In this chat I just wanted to remind you that it is important to delete old announcements so as to keep content current and pertinent. Also, remember to highlight in your general greeting when you have added new, important updates so that subscribers know where to go to get statewide agency/organizational news. If you need help in setting up your channel, or to get ideas for channel content, please e-mail Renee West at rwest at nfb.org.
Statistically Speaking
The statistics for September are so good they're spooky! During that month, a total of 151,363 calls were received; how ghoul, er, cool is that! Taking a look at this statistic over the past few years, I see a most definite increase in usage. In September 2007, the total number of calls was 132,247, and in September of 2008 we received 143,387 calls. Even with the new (non-telephone) means of access, it's clear that usage is continually creeping upward! We've also scared up 1,506 new subscribers last month; this is an additional 354 more than were added in August.
Top Ten Minutes Used:
In September we received a total of 2,980,923 minutes worth of calls into our service; this is an increase of 34,245 over usage in August and is the highest number of calls we have received in one month EVER in our history! Pennsylvania's subscriber numbers gruesome, er, grew some, by 12,578 over the usage in August-that's a 12 percent increase! Illinois and Florida are also goblin, er, gobblin' up the servers, with increases of 8,477 and 7,457, respectively.
1. California 285,177
2. New York 191,092
3. Florida 180,064
4. Massachusetts 178,874
5. Ohio 155,733
6. Illinois 149,814
7. Texas 122,114
8. Maryland 119,915
9. Pennsylvania 111,279
10. Michigan 98,093
Top Ten New Subscribers:
Fangs to you, we're increasing our subscriber numbers ghost-to-ghost, oops, coast-to-coast! And as for individual state statistics, these numbers are a treat as well! Two standout states are New Mexico, whose numbers increased by 33, and Massachusetts, who gained by 24, above the new subscribers gained in August. Boo-tiful! We are also making great progress in getting to the 72,500 mark by the end of the year; keep it up!
1. Florida with 1,021
2. Texaswith 41
3. New Mexico with 36
4. Pennsylvania with 35
5. California with 33
6. Massachusetts & Kentucky with 24 each
7. Illinois with 22
8. Wisconsin with 17
9. New York, Michigan & Alabama with 16
10. Virginia with 14
Online Superstars:
I'm going bats for these stats! Pennsylvania is really pumpkin, er, pumpin' up the online usage numbers; the number of e-mails received is up by 1,137 over the usage in August. Colorado and Massachusetts are also two states witch, oops, which are doing great; up by 587 and 480, respectively, above August's numbers. Trés bone!
1. Texas 13,296
2. New York 10,986
3. Pennsylvania 9,686
4. Florida 8,986
5. California 8,451
6. Colorado 7,587
7. Maryland 7,143
8. Massachusetts 7,048
9. North Carolina 5,661
10. Virginia 5,353
Top Ten Registered Subscribers:
Here's the terr(or)ific ten! Y'all are tomb much!
1. Florida with 13,403
2. California with 6,682
3. Maryland with 3,022
4. Texaswith 2,904
5. Michigan with 2,659
6. North Carolina with 2,609
7. Wisconsin with 2,409
8. New York with 2,366
9. Ohio with 2,282
10. Massachusetts with 1,949
Subscriber's Corner
I recently spoke with Jim McCarthy, a gentleman who before assuming the position of Maryland's accessible textbooks program coordinator served as the government programs specialist with our organization. We spoke about how NFB-NEWSLINE® serves in the work he does, and how it plays a vital role in his non-working life.
Jim says he really benefits from using NFB-NEWSLINE®. In both of his recent roles, he has needed to keep up on news,, especially as it relates to legislative activity. He says: "Both in my previous role as a government programs specialist and my current position, I have relied upon NFB-NEWSLINE® as a critical resource. In the mornings I call in to listen to the Washington Post's A section and the national section in the New York Times for the great, informative reporting on current issues." He also admits to loving Roll Call, in part because it is, as he says, "a bit gossipy" about the goings-on on Capitol Hill.
As much as he finds NFB-NEWSLINE® to be useful in his work, he really appreciates the way the service benefits him as an individual. He says: "NFB-NEWSLINE® benefits me as a whole person, keeping me really informed on issues of the day. For me, it's all about being an informed and engaged citizen, which I couldn't be before NFB-NEWSLINE®." When I asked him what he liked to read for pleasure, he informed me that he often spends his Sundays doing nothing but reading the papers on NFB-NEWSLINE®. He especially loves the Books and Magazine sections of the New York Times, and makes sure to catch up on his favorite Chi-town teams with the Chicago Tribune. He spoke of the value that NFB-NEWSLINE® offers to everybody, saying: "There's so much content that one can read, so that you can read what you want and I can read what I want. The content, because of its diversity, appeals to so many different interests and lifestyles."
When I asked him for a final comment as to why he would recommend NFB-NEWSLINE® to others, he said: "I think it's the largest source of absolutely current information for the blind that is the easiest to use, so easy that it almost teaches itself."
I appreciate Jim for his perspective, his good humor, and his time in speaking with me this month.
We Need Your Help!
Support Braille Literacy and help provide blind children and adults with the tools they need to succeed by purchasing the Louis Braille Coin. Created in honor of the 200th birthday of Louis Braille, this beautiful coin is made of 90 percent silver and is the first US coin ever to feature readable Braille. Visit www.braille.org or call the National Federation of the Blind at (410) 659-9314, extension 2216, to learn how you can make change with a dollar!
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