thebatavian

Yes, it's May Day. And it's Law Day. You might also say, it's The Batavian Day.

The Batavian officially launched on May 1, 2008. In our first month, 2,756 people visited the site.

In May 2009, there were 25,553 visitors. The past two months, we've topped 40,000 unique visitors each month.

And, of course, we've gone from zero to 75 local businesses sponsoring the site.

In May 2008, I was an employee of GateHouse Media and launched The Batavian for my employer. Now, Billie and I own The Batavian, LLC and I no longer work for GateHouse and Billie and I live in Batavia.

A lot can change in two years, and Billie and I (and Pachuco) love how things have turned out.

Thank you all for your support.

P.S.: It would be fun to hear in comments how you first heard about The Batavian.

The only reason registration on The Batavian is required is if you want to leave a comment or create a blog post or post a classified.

The majority of people who register never do any of the above, which is fine. I think many people register just because they like being affiliated with the site.

However, because registration is tied to participation, we require people to register using their real names. We expect people making comments and creating blog posts to do so using their real names.

I've got a good deal more sophisticated in how I spot registrations where people do not seem to be using their real names.

As it stands right now, I'm caught up on registration review and approval. If your account didn't get approved, the reason would be that I don't believe you were registering using your real name.

One reason I'm posting this is because I got a nasty e-mail from somebody this morning complaining because his attempts to register never get approved. Of course, the person was using a fake return e-mail address and not his real name to complain ... gee, wonder why his registration never gets approved ...

For all of those who did get approved -- welcome to The Batavian. Thank you for joining us.

The Batavian set new records in the three key Web traffic stats we watch.

• Unique visitors: 42,215
• Visits: 176,152
• Page Views: 301,889

Unique visitors doesn't necessarily translate into X number of people. The tools that measure Web traffic can only count computers. One person may use two different computers to visit the site in a month, or two people may share the same computer.  But it is a close approximation of number of people who visited the site.

Visits accounts for all the times that people visited the site in the month.  One unique visitor can account for several visits.

Page Views are the number of times a page of the site is downloaded into a Web browser window.

The previous records:

• Unique Visitors: 38,057 in August
• Visits: 155,782 in January
• Page Views: 292,176 in August

Thank you all for your support.

Here's the most viewed posts for March:

• High-speed pursuit ends when truck slams into duplex on South Main, Batavia
• What can't you get in Batavia?, by Tiffany Barber
• Today's Poll: Do you think you will be better off with health care reform?
• Vehicle crashes into house on South Main Street, by Billie Owens
• Dancer reported on State Street
• Batavia Police embark on effort to enforce seat belt and mobile phone laws
• Bergen man suspected of DWI dies shortly after arrest
• Stepmother accused of killing baby from Batavia
• Owners of L.B. Grand will fight $247K back-tax bill
• Structure fire at Hanson Aggregates, Pavilion

Since about 10:30 this morning, we've been plagued by site slowness (and a server crash).

We've fine tuned our current Web server as much as we can.

The next step -- which we're taking -- is to spend more money and upgrade our server.

The frustrating part is, The Batavian, while popular locally, doesn't require many resources. Our current server should be able to handle the load just fine. The apparent and probable problem is there are a number of black hat Web crawlers (software programs that visit various Web sites sucking in the content). Black hat crawlers don't obey the ethics of how to crawl a site, they won't let a server administrator block them, and they consume a tremendous amount of resources. 

Based on the usage pattern we're seeing, we believe that doubling our server resources will give us a better ability to handle the load and greatly reduce the number of these periodic site slow downs.

The upgrade should be in place in about 20 minutes from now.

A little late in the month, but here's the top 10 most viewed posts for February:

• 'Farm Death Bill' to get Senate ag committee hearing
• Landlord who was denied auction property defends his record
• Wheelchair-bound woman dies in State Street fire
• Today's Poll: Is Fox News 'Fair and Balanced'?
• Wanted by the Sheriff's Office: Christopher A. Laird
• Today's Poll: Should the city prevent some landlords from buying foreclosed properties?
• Assemblyman Hawley deems delay of state tax refunds 'unacceptable', by Billie Owens
• Council's auction vote got the attention of landlords, but not necessarily in a good way
• Officials: State Street fire victim involved in previous smoking-related fires
• Council passes $21 million budget, with tax increase, on 7-2 vote

Speaking of supporting locally owned businesses, here's an updated list of the local and regional businesses that support The Batavian.

Without these local sponsors, Billie and I wouldn't be able to bring you the news of Batavia and Genesee County. Please make it a point to patronize these businesses, and let the business owners know you do so because you saw their name on The Batavian.

When you spend your money in local businesses, your dollar goes farther because more of it stays in the community to provide local jobs and support local charities. Make shopping local your first choice.

3 D Wine & Spirits
Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle
Affordable Floor Covering
Alberty Drug Store
Alex's Place
American Home Remodeling
Anglican Community Church
Baker's Frontier Kitchens
Barrett's Batavia Marine and Sporting Supplies
Batavia Downs Casino
Blue Pearl Yoga
Bonarigo & McCutcheon
Bontrager's Auction
Bontrager's Real Estate
Carlson's Studio
Cedar St. Sales and Rentals
Center Street Smokehouse
Charles Men's Shop
Classic Home Improvements
The Color Salon
Country Cottage
Crazy Cheap Cars
D&R Depot Restaurant
Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern
Dog Grooming
The Enchanted Florist
Fastec Automotive
Genesee Dental Group
Glitz and Glamour
Great Kutz
Hair Studio 25
H.E. Turner & Co.
Holland Land Office Museum
House of K
The Insurance Center
Jackson St. Grill/Belladessa's
John's Service Station
Ken Barrett
KleenAll
L.C. Mosman
Lamb Family Medicine
Lawley Genesee
Lewis and Lewis
Main St. Pizza Company
The Mane Attraction
Margarita's 
Mark Lewis Agency
Matteo & Mullen, CPA
Matty's Pizzeria
Max Pies
Movies in Motion
Neptune's Garden
Next Level Fitness
O'Lacy's Irish Pub
Oliver's Candies
Optique
Pauly's Pizza
Pellegrino Auto Sales
Present Tense Books
Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center
Roxy's Music Store
Sallome's Italian Deli
Select Collision
Settler's
Sloat Tire
Small World Realty
South Main Country Store
St. Joseph's School
St. Paul's Pre-School
Southside Deli
T.F. Brown's
Valle Jewelers
WNY Fireplace Outlet
Wortzman Furniture

Dan Fisher at WBTA was kind enough to air a story today about The Batavian, interviewing me and Billie, with Pachuco in the studio.

Ameka Cooper at Carlson's Studio shot the portrait picture.

You can listen to Dan's story here (mp3).

The awards will be handed out Saturday night at the Holiday Inn.

Previously, The Batavian ran the following stories on our fellow award winners:

• Genesee County Business of the Year: Viking Valhalla Restaurant
• Geneseean of the Year: Buddy Brasky
• Kutter's Cheese Factory Store: 2009 Agricultural Business of the Year
• Special Recognition Award: Rochester Community Baseball
• Special Service Recognition Award: The Batavia Area Jaycees

One of the most requested additional features we get for The Batavian is obituaries. But we can only publish obituaries if funeral directors submit the notices.

The H.E. Turner & Company, Inc. family of funeral homes became one of The Batavian's newest sponsors this week and will now post obituaries for people who have passed when one of their homes -- H.E. Turner in Batavia and Bergen, Bohm-Calarco-Smith in Batavia, and Burdett & Sanford in Oakfield -- handle the arrangements.

If you do not find the obituary for your loved one, please notify the funeral director handling arrangements for your friend or family member and ask him to contact The Batavian about posting the obituary on the Web site.

It's an old tradition -- a dollar bill hung on a wall signifying the first dollar earned by a business -- signed and dated by the first customer, usually a friend or a relative.

On our bulletin board, is a dollar bill signed and dated by my former GateHouse Media boss, Bill Blevins. The date: Feb. 27, 2009.

Although this site started before last February, that's when Billie and I became sole proprietors of The Batavian.

One year ago, today.

I know there were people, even in these parts, who predicted we wouldn't last six months. I know one online wag who said I'd be out on the street in three months.

It's that kind of talk that gave me a little extra motivation. Plus, I truly love what we're doing and I don't want to stop.

Billie and I are truly grateful for all of the support and friendship we've received from so many people in Genesee County, from cops to business owners, firefighters and school teachers, politicians and college students. You've been our readers and our sponsors and our friends. Though we're not originally from Batavia, you've made us feel welcome and given us your encouragement. Thank you. We never forget that without our readers and our sponsors, we wouldn't be here.

We do love living in Batavia. We enjoy the people, the surrounding fields and hillsides, great local restaurants, the lack of crowds, affordability and having four distinct seasons. We appreciate the unique character of this sometimes belittled and battered city and the way so many residents continue to take pride in their hometown. There are a lot of good places in America. We're very happy right where we are and have no desire to be anyplace else. Thank you for letting us make Batavia, and Genesee County, our home.

The publication of a security camera photo on The Batavian led to a Batavia man admitting to petit larceny during his arraignment today in City Court.

Robert Douglas, 29, of 48 Buell St., was arrested today by Det. Kevin Czora, after several readers of The Batavian reportedly called police to identify Douglas.

Czora e-mailed us this message:

I arrested Robert Douglas, age 29, from Batavia, today for the theft at Alberty’s. In a bit of a surprise, Douglas pled guilty to the charge of petit larceny at arraignment. Douglas had cooperated once confronted with the fact that he was identified by numerous people after the photos were published. Please thank your viewers for their assistance.

Billie will handle the bulk of the site update duties over the next two days.

I'll be in Washington, D.C.. I'll be participating in a meeting on the future of journalism, where I've been invited to discuss The Batavian. The group hosting the discussion is preparing a White Paper on the topic. The study group is made up of academics and government officials.

I'll be online as often as possible (multitasking as always, except when I'm on a plane or it's my turn to speak).

A 125-year-old newspaper industry trade group announced today a third-place award for The Batavian in the General Excellence category for news Web sites in small circulation markets.

This marks the first time the Inland Press Association -- which counts among its members more than 1,100 newspapers in North America -- has given an award to an online-only news site.

Entrants in the contest were judged by a group of seven academics and industry experts. The judges said of The Batavian:

With many interactive storytelling features including polls and feedback on each story, The Batavian serves its audience with a well-edited community-focused site.

The top winners in the category were the Statesboro Herald, out of Statesboro, Ga., for its Web site, StatesboroHerald.com, and taking second was NVDaily.com, the Web site of the North Virginia Daily, out of Strasburg, Va.

The Batavian entered the contest in the 20,000 or less circulation category after being informed by officials at IPA that its entry would be welcome. Even though The Batavian has no print circulation, the category seemed appropriate given the newspaper in the local market, the Batavia Daily News, has a circulation somewhere in the 10,000 to 11,000 range.

Taking top honors in the over 20,000 category was The News-Gazette, Champaign, Ill. for its Web site, IlliniHQ.com.

The Inland Press Association first gave a General Excellance award for Web site publishing in 2006. Winning that inaugural award was Bakersfield.com, the Web site of the Bakersfield Californian. Howard Owens, publisher of The Batavian, was VP of Interactive for the Californian just prior to IPA honoring the Web site.

Here are the most viewed posts for January, 2010.

• County nursing home isn't up for sale, but the option is part of a proposed study
• Teller accused of stealing $45,000 from Bank of Castile in Le Roy
• Batavia Council votes against extra level of life-saving service for city residents
• Batavia mother accused of hurting baby
• Not raising taxes might be tough, council learns in first budget session
• Bus driver from Kid Rock tour pleads not guilty to DWI charges
• Attorney in fatal accident case seeks mobile phone records from other car
• Today's Poll: Should corporations have same political free speech rights as individuals?
• Co-owner of Latina Market location says group actively trying to sell property
• Hawley asks governor not to touch snowmobile fund

Also, we set a record for most visits to the site in January, hitting 155,782. That broke the December record, which broke the August record. August is still the biggest month for unique visitors and page views.

Batavia High coaching legend Myron "Buddy" Brasky has been named Geneseean of the Year for 2009 by the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

Reached just before a basketball game tonight, Brasky didn't have much time to talk, but he said he never expected the award.

"It was a total surprise," Brasky said. "I had no idea I was even being considered. It was a surprise. It's a big honor. I'm surprised and honored."

Rose Garden Bowl/Viking Valhalla Restaurant was named Business of the Year.

The Batavian was named Innovative Enterprise of the Year.

The Agriculture Business of the Year is Kutter’s Cheese Factory in East Pembroke.

Special recognition awards are going to the Batavia Area Jaycees and the Batavia Muckdogs' parent company, Rochester Red Wings Community Baseball.

The annual awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Holiday Inn on March 6.

More than 1.3 million times in 2009, people logged onto The Batavian to find out what was going on in Genesee County.

Here's the Top 10 most viewed posts in 2009:

• Manhunt in progress near Townline and 63
• South Beach owner "was forced to close" restaurant, says sister-in-law, by Philip Anselmo
• Tractor pushes car sideways down Main Street into the city
• Blink 182 show at Darien Lake leads to 16 arrests
• Driver of Kid Rock crew busted for alleged DWI
• Member of County Legislature posting on The Batavian under assumed name
• Former Democrat releases potentially damaging Christian e-mail because 'It's personal'
• City Council officially gets out of the ambulance business, by Philip Anselmo
• Batavia's South Beach restaurant closed abruptly and without warning, by Philip Anselmo

And while we're at it, here at the Top 10 posts for December:

• Unnamed tipster leads investigators to suspected meth lab in Le Roy
• Chain restaurant in Batavia bites the dust
• GCASA director suggests marijuana should be legalized
• Today's Poll: What is your view on Global Warming?
• Bail set at $75K each for five busted at suspected meth house
• Three Batavia stores sold alcohol to a minor, according to Batavia Police
• High-speed chase passes through Batavia this morning
• City exploring program to fund home improvements for lower-income home owners
• DiNapoli predicts hefty property tax increase to support schools
• Hawley votes against so-called deficit reduction plan

People logged into The Batavian in December more than 149,000 times to find out what's going on in Genesee County.

I'm just getting around, finally, to doing a post about the Top 10 most viewed stories for November, and since I never did it for October, those stories are listed below, as well.

November Top 10 Stories

• Jackson Street mother named third suspect in meth ring
• Some feedback - a bakery in Batavia, Chelea Dobson
• Body found outside Blockbuster in Batavia
• Two men suspected of manufacturing meth busted at house in Alabama
• Today's Poll: Do you think the proposed new state license plates are ugly or attractive?
• Child's death confirmed case of H1N1
• Attica police officer accused of trying to drag GCC student into undercover work
• Something meaningful for the Oak Street Roundabout
• Today's Poll: Do you think the GOP should purge liberals/moderates from the party?
• Genesee County election results 2009

Most popular poll for November: Were you surprised to learn about meth labs being found in Genesee?

October Top 10 Stories

• Former Democrat releases potentially damaging Christian e-mail because 'It's personal'
• Police pursue bank robbery suspect in Pavilion area
• County taking down Sour Springs bridge that took snowmobile club 400 hours to build
• Council members say Bialkowski used his own printer to provide copies of complaint
• What is wrong with Batavia?, by Mike Freeman
• Pembroke district informs parents of student who passed away Thursday
• New facility on East Main will give mentally ill a chance to live independently, by Billie Owens
• Graham Corp. cuts payroll, by Billie Owens
• Judge: Christian's Wal-Mart supervisor had habit of letting employees eat damaged items
• Search continues for Pavilion bank robber, by Billie Owens

Most popular poll for October: Today's Poll: Did the county do the right thing removing the volunteer-installed bridge on Sour Springs Road?

More and more I'm working with The Batavian's sponsors in coming up with ad campaigns that feature special information or special deals, and it's been working. The ads on the right that change with unique information on a regular basis get the most reader response. 

Those ads all represent local advertisers. They are businesses that support your community as well as support The Batavian.  It's important to me that I'm giving them the best value for the money, so I work hard to come up with good ideas at attractive ads for them.  I encourage you to be sure to take some time when you visit The Batavian to see if there are any new offers or information that might be useful to you.

This is my regular reminder that without our sponsors, there is no The Batavian.  When you support The Batavian sponsors, you are helping to support an online news site you enjoy, and supporting your local community.

Below is our list of sponsors. Please patronize these businesses and when you do, let them know you saw them on The Batavian.

3 D Wine & Liquor
Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle
Affordable Floor Covering
Alex's Place
Anglican Community Church
Barrett's Batavia Marine and Sporting Supplies
Batavia Downs Casino
Blue Pearl Yoga
Bonarigo & McCutcheon
Bontrager's Auction
Carlson's Studio
Cedar St. Sales and Rentals
Center Street Smokehouse
Charles Men's Shop
Classic Home Improvements
Clor's Meat Market
The Color Salon
Country Cottage
Crazy Cheap Cars
D&R Depot Restaurant
Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern
The Enchanted Florist
Fastec Automotive
Genesee Dental Group
Genesee Feeds
Great Kutz
Herbly Wonderful
Holland Land Office Museum
House of K
The Insurance Center
Jackson St. Grill/Belladessa's
Kravings Kafe
Lamb Family Medicine
Lewis and Lewis
Main St. Pizza Company
The Mane Attraction
The Manor House
Mark Lewis Agency
Matteo & Mullen, CPA
Matty's Pizzeria
Max Pies
Movies in Motion
O'Lacy's Irish Pub
Oliver's Candies
Optique
Pauly's Pizza
Pellegrino Auto Sales
Present Tense Books
Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center
Reeb Family Moving
Roxy's Music Store
Sallome's Italian Deli
Select Collision
Sloat Tire
Small World Realty
South Main Country Store
Southside Deli
Suzanne Interiors
T.F. Brown's
Total Image Hair Salon
T-Shirts Etc.
Valle Jewelers
Vintage & Vogue Inspirations
WNY Fireplace Outlet
Wortzman Furniture

I need to get this sweatshirt order turned in -- two people at Christmas in the City told me they intend to order them, but haven't yet.

I'm going to place our order with T-Shirts Etc. within the next few days. 

Also, I'm not sure I can get hoodies. If you want a hoodie, request it in the PayPal notes box. If I can get a hoodie, I will, but otherwise, please just be happy with a regular sweatshirt!

Also, if you would rather mail a check, send it to: The Batavian, LLC, 200 E. Main St., #5, Batavian, NY 14020.

Joanne Mistler serves me my first The Batavian smoothie -- strawberry, banana with chocolate shavings. Manager Rob Crede tells me it's been a big hit so far.

I'm hanging out at The Daily Grind, Main and Jackson, for a little while this morning.  I'll be doing a couple of posts from there -- including the Deal of the Day -- so if you're in the area, feel free to stop in and say hello.