The Santa Barbara Independent is purportedly struggling to come to grips with the new media. In 2008, Santa Barbara’s Blog, the extremely popular predecessor to the Santa Barbara View, took home an Independent Reader’s Choice Award for Best SB-Based Website. In 2010, instead of giving a promotional venue to the new media, the category has been removed from “Independent” competition.
And in this week’s issue the Angry Poodle takes a shot at Noozhawk, Goleta’s misspelled E-Paper. Nick Welsh chides that the poorly-named website should “develop a genuine readership that would allow (the staff) to sell ads.” Noozhawk’s founder, the “flamboyant” Bill Mcfayden, purportedly responded by saying, “technology is expanding… fossil media like yours (the Independent) is contracting.”
Piling on… Edhat continues to claim “Santa Barbara’s Number One Website“, even though independent.com delivers three-times the unique visitors, 63,000 a month.
I’ve always figured edhat’s “#1 website” claim was fishy. The unique viewer number really tells the tale. Edhat is your typical Santa Barbara echo chamber where the same 10 people pass the same tired, failed ideas back and forth in blissful ignorance of the opposing viewpoints which are being moderated to oblivion. Even their pretty flower pictures pale in comparison to Bill Heller’s awesome panorama shots here.