May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 11:

Lake Tahoe News is looking for paid subscribers. This is so we can become an adjudicated publication. That means we will be able to publish the various legal notices online.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber and some of the details about adjudication. And unlike a subscription to a print publication where it’s normal to have one per household, everyone in the household is encouraged to subscribe to LTN.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 10:

How are people finding your business? What is the return on investment with your advertising?

These are two of the basic questions any person in charge of deciding how to spend a company’s advertising dollars must be able to answer.

Lake Tahoe News can help you answer those questions. We can provide advertisers with monthly stats about impressions and clicks. When it comes to clicks, our stats only register one IP address per day so we can’t inflate those numbers by clicking on ads all day.

Charter Advertising in Meyers, which designs ads for Lake Tahoe News for clients who don’t have someone in house or an agency to do so, has the capability of creating a link for your ad that would provide you with your own data so you don’t have to rely on LTN’s stats. (Their ad creation fees are in addition to the posted ad rates on Lake Tahoe News.)

More businesses are turning to the Internet to get the message out about what they have to sell or what their services are. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, in 2011 Internet ad revenue was a record $31 billion. This is up 22 percent from the $26 billion in 2010.

People use a search engine to find a business. Gone are phonebooks. Gone is the need for any print mode of advertising.

With ads on Lake Tahoe News, it’s always there – 24/7, no matter where people are reading the news site. LTN is ideal for reaching people in the basin and outside the basin. People are reading LTN in more than 2,000 cities and 100 countries.

Ad rates may be accessed from the top of the page by hitting Advertise. If you have questions, email info@LakeTahoeNews.net with “advertise” in the subject line.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 9:

By the end of May, Lake Tahoe News will have two new capabilities.

The first change is LTN will be a mobile site. This means that when you read the news site on your phone or tablet it will be formatted to that device. (This does not impact people reading it on their computer.) It just makes it easier for people who are reading on the go – which is a growing segment of our readership.

While some people have asked when we are getting a mobile app, well, the answer is we have that on hold for now. We believe by making the website mobile this accomplishes what our main objective in having an app would be – to make the site easy to read on an apparatus other than a computer.

The other change coming by the end of this month is on the Events page. Soon people will be able to upload an event onto their calendar on the device they are reading on. This means no more cutting and pasting.

Carolyn and Dee Phillips, formerly of Kizmetech, the same company that developed Lake Tahoe News, are doing these two additions.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 8:

Anne Knowles is Lake Tahoe News’ Nevada correspondent, though she is well versed on matters in California as well.

She has been a reporter for more than a quarter century. She covered the high-tech industry for 15 years in Boston and San Francisco for various technology publications including PC Week and Electronic Business before moving to Nevada.

For Lake Tahoe News, Knowles also fills in as editor when the publisher is taking a day or two or week off.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 7:

Anonymous comments are the one topic we get the most grief about. It’s also a service we receive many compliments about.

We could ask everyone to put his/her full name. But how do we know that is really Kathryn Reed writing a comment? The point of comments is real-time conversations. Verification, like what we do for letter writers and guest columnists, takes time. Time that we don’t have.

People have suggested going to a Facebook format so people have to use their real identity. Well, we are not that naïve. Most people have more than one email account. You can use any name on those accounts. Then you can create a Facebook account. So, really, there is no way to know someone is who she is via Facebook either.

We have in recent weeks taken a stronger stance regarding what comments are published. And even when something gets in, we can take it down. We – like many of you – are tired of the personal attacks. It’s fine to disagree with ideas. But to call someone names because they have a different belief is not necessary and won’t be tolerated. People are starting to be banned because they don’t know how to play nice.

To those who want to attack, we’d like you think twice before posting – Would you say that same thing to the person if she were standing next to you? Would you want your mother to know you wrote that? Why aren’t you using your full name?

People have said they like the comments because it gives them a quick way to say something, ask a question, offer advice, add to the story. People also like reading all of that. We like when the comments add to the story. So, thank you for doing so.

And for those who don’t like the comments. We don’t understand why you read them. Read the story and skip the comments. It’s pretty easy.

While Lake Tahoe News is the only news site in the basin to allow these types of anonymous comments, it is common practice in the industry. We like that it allows our readers to participate in news that is going on in Lake Tahoe. But that doesn’t mean if we keep being distracted from writing stories because of having to referee the comments section that one day it won’t exist. That will be up to you.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 6:

Mandy Kendall writes a weekly column for Lake Tahoe News each Friday about various health topics.

These are more than the average health column. Her tips are pragmatic, easy to follow and take a common-sense approach to life. It’s not about drastic changes or lecturing or doing the impossible.

Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe. She may be reached at healthconnective@gmail.com.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 5:

Losing a loved one is never easy.

There is no reason it should be expensive to tell people this sad news.

Obituaries are free on Lake Tahoe News. It doesn’t matter how long the obit is. Photos to accompany the story are free, too.

Just send what you want published to info@LakeTahoeNews.net.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 4:

Lake Tahoe News is on Facebook and Twitter. Make sure it’s LakeTahoeNews.net you are following because other entities out in the world of social media are saying they are Lake Tahoe News. Look for our logo and you will have found us.

Why bother following LTN on these outlets? Sometimes we re-Tweet things from those we follow – like last weekend we re-Tweeted about Heavenly closing and what Marco Sullivan said about Squaw’s last day.

With Facebook we are a bit more social at times. Sometimes we tease stories about what will be coming up on LakeTahoeNews.net the next day.

Facebook and Twitter have all the locally generated stories from LTN, but not the stories produced elsewhere. This means FB and Twitter followers aren’t getting the full flavor of LTN.

Social media allows a different type of interaction with readers as well.

We’d like you to be part of all components of LTN, but understand if you have your preference – that’s why we try to be where you are.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 3:

What is going on in the area? Find out on Lake Tahoe News’ Events page. A variety of events are on the page – all based on the info that is sent to us.

Having an event? Send LTN an email to info@LakeTahoeNews.net with all the particulars – who, what, where, when, why, cost, contact info. There is no cost to have your event listed.

Just a warning, though – if a key piece of information is missing that a reader would need, we don’t call to get it. We don’t have time to do your job for you. Sorry.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.

May is 31 tidbits about Lake Tahoe News month.

LTN tidbit No. 2:

Susan Wood started her reporting career in 1995 in Southern California.

In 2000, she moved to Lake Tahoe in part to immerse herself in the outdoors and in part to continue her journalistic career. Today she is a freelance writer and one of Lake Tahoe News’ go-to resources for all things related to the South Shore.

Her emphasis is on outdoor-recreation-travel news stories, but her knowledge and ability allow her to cover anything that would be asked of her.

Though her bylines may not be seen every week, she is behind the scenes editing, offering advice, talking to potential advertisers and occasionally posting stories to LTN. She has too many titles to list.

Here is information about becoming a paid subscriber.