A New Wrinkle in My Blogging World: Athenaeum

Hopefully, today finds a host of new readers finding their way to Stuck Inside of Knoxville. If you are joining us from the online edition of The Athenaeum, or you saw the link in the print edition, welcome. I hope you find reason to linger and become part of the Urban Nation. This blog covers everything downtown from the political to the panhandler, from music and arts to business and general on-the-street happenings.

For my more established readers, here's what I'm rambling about: starting today (around the middle of the day), I'll have a regular column in both the print and online editions of Athenaeum, a new newspaper covering happenings on campus and in the city. The print version is available on the UT campus and around downtown.

I'll use this new avenue to expand readership for the blog as well as to spread the message about the awesome place we have in the center city. My columns there will reflect what you read here, though it may evolve into a different type of approach to the same topic: Downtown Knoxville.

I hope you'll check out the current issue at the link above and like them on Facebook. The editor is Mustapha Moussa who some of you may know as the owner of 11 Cafe on the 100 Block which opened just before the end of the year.

While you (new and old readers) are Facebooking around, be sure to friend Knoxville Urban Guy and then drop by and "like" the Stuck Inside of Knoxville Facebook page, where you'll find over 1100 photographs of Knoxville sights and people.

Changes to Stuck Inside of Knoxville

I think the blog grows up a little bit this month. The first night I decided I was going to take the plunge I had little idea of what a blog was and I had no idea what this journey would be like. 410 posts and about 82,000 page-views later, I have a better idea of what I'm doing and where I want this to go. I'm sure there are also twists and turns ahead that I can't imagine.

So, what is different? For starters, some of you may have noticed the "TN Tunage" link at the top of the page has replaced the "Soundtrack" link. The soundtrack idea was a bad one. About ten minutes after I started it I realized I'd created a monster. The idea was to have a link to every song referenced on this blog so that you could listen to it or purchase it. An absolutely black hole of time-sucking loss if I had maintained it since I reference songs about every other word. So, I've replaced it with lists of songs and musicians related to Knoxville and songs related to Tennessee. It's arbitrary, I know. I'd love to hear your suggestions for additions. I'm da guy, though, so I'll decide.


Dale Mackey making Urban Guy Facebook Functional

Also, you may have noticed that the slide show on the top of the blog had not been updated since May and has now completely disappeared. I've always hated the fact that as the posts get buried, there are interesting pictures which are never seen again. I've fixed this problem and so the slide show is no longer necessary. Which leads to the next announcement: There is now a Stuck Inside of Knoxville Facebook page! Thanks to Dale Mackey (check out her her marvelous blog) who helped me set it up, you can go to that page, "Like It," and view nearly 1000 photographs related to Knoxville. I have various albums devoted to such things as "People Watching," "Knoxville Musicians," "Businesses," "Scenes from the City" and more. Tell your friends, call your grandmother and get the word out. Think of it as a gathering spot for the Urban Nation. I'll add new photographs routinely. Remember to "Like" that bad boy because I'm working hard here and it makes me feel good.

Dale Mackey adding the "Social" to the Network

Also on the Facebook front, Knoxville Urban Guy has a personal page which Ms. Mackey also helped me set up. I post updates there regarding the blog and what I'm doing in the city. It's probably as close to tweeting as this twit will ever get. It's also a place you can leave comments about the blog or send me a little message along the way. Friend me. I'll accept you in a heartbeat, I promise.

Is your head just spinning from all these changes? Mine, too. I thought I'd have one more change to point out: my first sponsor. I had a national hotel chain contact me about posting a link on the blog. Somehow along the way that fell apart, but if your business would like to sponsor a link on a site that has had over 80,000 page-views of people looking for information about downtown Knoxville, well . . .

So what to do? Any of the following that you haven't already done:

• Subscribe to this blog (it's on the right-hand side). You'll get an e-mail every time there is a new post. After you do this you must confirm through an e-mail to start receiving the updates.
• Become a Follower (it's also on the right-hand side). I know there are hundreds of you who read the site, why not become an official member of the Urban Nation? Sixty-nine is an awkward number to be stuck on, so help me out. Beyond the simple joy of seeing your icon on the page, this enables you to read the blog on Google Reader.
• Friend me on Facebook
• Like my Stuck Inside of Knoxville Community Page and start looking through those great photographs.
• Check out the TN Tunage page at the top of the blog and e-mail me your suggestions

So, everyone has their weekend assignments. I'll be checking on your progress and I'll look forward to connecting on Facebook!