Buried within our big announcement a couple weeks ago that our content -- though not the commenting platform and other perks -- will be going out for free, we're also switching payment platforms.
Which can be a bear unto itself.
We're making this move because we feel it'll be better for our company, both now and into the future, and because we feel we've found a better fit for our specific and occasionally unusual needs. For example, the new one excels at gift subscriptions whereas we essentially had to craft the existing one from scratch. There's more.
To boot, we'll be bringing the process a little closer to home, in that the new platform's affiliated with a Downtown Pittsburgh corporation. That affords us the option to communicate face to face, which we always welcome. In fact, we can literally walk right across the street.
How does this affect you?
Easy answer: It really doesn't.
More detailed answer: If your subscription was due to expire at any stage of this ongoing month, there's an excellent chance you weren't charged. And as a result, there's a 100% chance you aren't able to access comments, etc.
If so, there's a solution on the way before the Sept. 10 start of the NFL season. Meaning once we've completed all that there is to complete regarding the new platform, which should be within a few days. (Most of the tough stuff's already done.) If you fall into this category, we'll email to let you know, as well as what steps would need to be taken from there. None of it's complex.
No big deal. Just sharing. And the patience is very much appreciated.
THE FOOTBALL BEAT
Not going to lie: I'm enjoying this Steelers thing, maybe even more than I thought I might. And I sure hope it shows.
It's tiring, for sure, flying to Tampa and Atlanta, doing the game by myself, then producing two full columns. But it's also felt very much within the way I've always preferred to operate, in that I've got in my head what I want the coverage for a day/night to look like and, rather than investing time/energy in delegating, I just go and do it all myself. All of the focus then goes to the reporting and writing.
Don't misunderstand: I'll have heavy help all through the season, from both Corey Crisan and Chris Halicke. But I'm having fun with the solo components, as well.
PROGRESS ON FEEDS
We had more back-and-forth on the upgraded feeds, including testing, design work and so forth. Dali and I did some of that ourselves -- we're really into these things, as longtime readers might recall -- particularly as it relates to appearance. We feel like we've developed a distinctive look over the years, and we strive to keep it that way even when expanding. So that took up a lot of it.
The expectation remains that the upgraded feeds will be available before kickoff. The upgraded comments ... we'll see.
MILITARY DRIVE: 311
Kind of a quiet week for our annual Military Drive, aimed at connecting 1,000 veterans of our Armed Forces to a one-year subscription, in that we sold 8 to raise the total to 311. We're still in good shape toward the goal of getting it done by Veterans Day Nov. 11.
Here's how it works: We sell a military subscription for $20, covering a full year for any veteran. That's one-third of the regular price. However many you'd wish to donate, even if it's just one, email me directly at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com, and Dali will do the processing.
WEEKLY FUN APP HINT
Our boxscores are live. Meaning once one of them's opened, if it's left open, it'll keep updating itself, play by play, pitch by pitch, everything. And these will actually be getting a lot more sophisticated in the months to come, based on some BoomPress plans that've been put forth. Same goes for the standings, statistics and schedules. Even player bios.
Here are the Steelers boxes, for instance.
The boxes can be found as part of every live game file, but also on our team pages, along the blue horizontal stripe, by tapping the word SCHEDULE.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 739,096, with 31,240 different users over the most recent full seven-day span. Our most-read original piece was my main column from the Steelers-Bills game, the one on Jaylen Warren's 62-yard run, at 14,338. The Steelers were tagged within 55.7% of our content, the Pirates 51.6%, the Penguins 40.1%, percentages that include overlap elements such as our home page or Friday Insider.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 148,501 and our YouTube video views for the past week were 141,477.
• Our company social media accounts are at 50,519 followers on X, 39,544 on Facebook, 24,052 on YouTube, 14,867 on Instagram ... and already 2,332 after just a month on the new Threads app!
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• We're often asked about our HQ/shop merch being available online, and yes, it's right here.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
