From the Editor: What We're Doing Online
Photograph by Matthew O'Shea
Last month on this page I introduced, among other stories, Kyle Beachy’s “A Cardinals Fan in Cubs Land,” an expat’s essay about baseball and schadenfreude. The piece elicited 2,000 words of feedback—none of it in official letters to the editor, all of it left as comments on the online version of the essay at stlmag.com. Though we always wish we received more official letters to the editor, we were pleased with this feedback; as barbed as some of the language was, it was mostly civil and contained some interesting points. (If you’ve dipped a toe into other online comments sections, you know this can’t be counted on; that toe can resurface looking green.)
All of this provides a good reason to talk about SLM’s Web presence, either as an introduction or a reminder for those readers whose primary relationship with the magazine is through print. And if that’s you, let me start by saying: You can remain strictly a print reader—with access to articles not immediately available for free to the general public—and we’ll remain great friends. If you’re Web-inclined, though, here are some other ways you can interact with SLM online:
• Take in Web-only content related to magazine stories. Last issue, for instance, that meant viewing behind-the-scenes videos and photos of our spring fashion shoot. This month: Listen to Culture Editor Stefene Russell talk about writing her in-depth profile of internationally recognized blogger Shark-Fu (“Carpe Bitchdom,” p. 82).
• Read our daily blog posts. We have five well-curated, smartly edited blogs that you can read at stlmag.com, including our two most popular, Feast, covering food and drink, and Look/Listen, covering the arts. Readers of all five find daily content that’s sometimes short and sweet (a capsule review of a compelling new novel) and sometimes reported and revealing (a look at one restaurant’s massive, potentially risky participation in the Groupon frenzy).
• Connect with us on social media. I’m not here to encourage you to join Twitter or Facebook—many lives are lived happily without either. If that’s your thing, though, know that we’re there, too. At twitter.com/stlmag, 2,300 followers often take part in quick polls we post and receive St. Louis–related articles we share (and they also share some with us). And at facebook.com/stlouismag, our 3,000 Facebook friends get early access to party announcements, share and post photos of SLM events, and receive the occasional subscription offer or promotion.
With that brief tour of our online world—which will improve even more with a midsummer relaunch—I’ll get you back to this print copy. There’s some great stuff this month, including our fun-in-the-sun cover story (“13 Weekends of Summer,” p. 67). When you’re through, feel free to drop in on us at stlmag.com. Perhaps even leave a comment or two.
Stephen Schenkenberg
