Site news: Spring cleaning, plus several different ways to get StLJN

If over the next couple of weeks, some things on this site seem broken, or intermittently look or act a bit funny, it's likely because of some long overdue spring cleaning.

As time permits, I'll be pruning some dead links and adding new ones, fixing (I hope) a couple of nagging problems with certain sidebar gadgets, and perhaps rearranging things a bit as well. Please pardon the metaphorical dust, and accept my apologies for any temporary inconvenience.

Meanwhile, this seems like an opportune time for a gentle reminder that there are many ways to keep up with StLJN's content besides going directly to the front page of the blog:

* You can use your browser or newsreader to subscribe to the RSS feed.

* You can sign up for the email digest. You'll get an update only on days that there's at least one new post, containing the full text of all new posts for that day.

* Follow StLJN on Twitter. The feed features all the headlines from StLJN, right after they're posted, plus selected reTweets of other items of interest.

* You can "Like" StLJN's page on Facebook. This page features links to all StLJN stories right after they're published, plus "shares" from other jazz-related Facebook pages. Please note, though, that because of Facebook's restrictions, to get all the updates in your personal news feed, you need to not only "Like" the page, but also select from the accompanying list of options "Show in news feed" and/or "Add To Interest Lists" (if you use that feature).

* You also can access StLJN articles on AllAboutJazz.com, Alltop.com, Feedage, and through several other online news aggregators.

* Lastly, all the YouTube content posted on St. Louis Jazz Notes is available separately on StLJN's YouTube page. 

Site news: A little spring cleaning, and a calendar update

Over the weekend, I had a chance to do some updating and spring cleaning around the site.

The first task was updating the local links sections on the right sidebar, with extensive revisions to the "Bands and Musicians" and "Concerts, Clubs and Festivals" categories. This (finally!) takes care of a big backlog in links to be added, and I also went through and deleted any dead links in those sections.

(If you've sent a link to be added in recent weeks, and it's not up there now, please re-send, as your request may have fallen through the proverbial cracks.)

Next, I got rid of Sphere, a plug-in that, for any given post, was supposed to pull up related stories from the web, but that never really worked all that well.

It's been replaced with LinkWithin, another plug-in that is supposed to serve up links to relevant related posts from within StLJN's own archives. So far, the selections it's pulling up seem to be somewhat random, but the software's authors say that after installation, it takes a while for it to crawl a site's archives and index everything. The plan is give it a couple of weeks, and see if there's any improvement in the relevance of the links.

Also added is what Facebook calls a "like box," which links to and shows how many people "like" StLJN's Facebook page. It also let readers "like" the FB page from the main StLJN site. I've also changed the mix of ads on the site, getting rid of some, adding some others and moving some things around on the page.

There may be some more small changes to the layout as additional tweaks are made, but even if things look a little funny for a short time, basic functionality should still be fine.

UPDATE - 5:30 p.m., 4/3/12: Almost forgot to mention that the old "AddThis" gadget that lets you easily share StLJN posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media has been replaced with a newer version. It appears at the bottom of each post, and also includes icons to let you email and/or print the specific post with one click. To avoid redundancy, the "email a post" function built into Blogger has been disabled.

Lastly, updates of the StLJN calendar for April and beyond are underway, and should be completed in the next day or so. If you're a jazz musician, band, venue or presenter, you can get your gigs on the calendar just by sending your information via email to stljazznotes @ yahoo . com.

Site news: A new mobile version, gig info wanted, and more

It's been a slow news week in St. Louis, and for yr. humble editor, some gigs and deadlines for actual paying work additionally have made for light blogging over the last few days...so this seems as good a time as any to catch up on a few site-related housekeeping items:

* Blogger has added an option to offer a mobile version of the site, which I've enabled for StLJN. (We've been without a mobile version for a few months, since the previous third-party provider shut down their free service.)

The new mobile site should come up automatically when you access StLJN from a smart phone or tablet. It's not fancy - much like the earlier incarnation, it's basically a re-skinning of the RSS feed. However, if you have any feedback on how well it works (or doesn't work), please feel free to let me know in the comments or via email.

* Once again, a reminder to all the musicians reading this site: StLJN wants your gig information for the St. Louis Jazz Notes Calendar! To get a free listing, just send an email to stljazznotes (at) yahoo (dot) com. Your gig will get added to the site calendar, and it also could get featured in a post, mentioned in the "jazz this week" update, or otherwise selected for more extensive coverage.

The minimum information needed for a calendar listing is the name of the band or musician, the date, the place, and the starting time and ending time. Additional information - ticket prices, web addresses, more details on the event, whatever - may be helpful, and will be included in the listing as appropriate, but it's not required.

Again, this is a completely free service - but to continue to make the calendar as complete as possible, I need your help. After more than six years of publishing, I can usually get reasonably good information on performances put on by the larger jazz presenters, venues and concert series. However, information often is harder to come by for gigs like self-promoted concerts or charity benefits, or at places like neighborhood bars, coffeehouses or churches that may not regularly present jazz. That's where it's very helpful to hear directly from musicians; if you don't tell me about the gig, I may not find out about it all. So, send in those listings!

* StLJN is getting close to 500 "Likes" on Facebook, and near 400 followers on Twitter. If you use either service and don't already like/follow StLJN, please consider doing so, thereby helping us to reach those curiously gratifying round numbers.

* Lastly, if the current lull persists for a bit, there may be some dead-link pruning and minor adjustments to the current layout in store - nothing too dramatic, but if the site looks a bit strange on an upcoming visit, it's because you've stopped by while renovations were in progress, and things should stabilize soon.

I also anticipate launching a couple of new recurring features for StLJN in the not-too-distant future, about which I hope to have more later this week.

Site news: Seven ways to get StLJN

With the start of a new year, it seems like a good time to highlight all the various ways you can get the latest posts from St. Louis Jazz Notes. Several new options have been added in recent months, and you can now get all the news on jazz, creative music and improvisation in St. Louis served up more different ways than a bowl of Cincinnati chili:

1) Read the main site at http://stljazznotes.blogspot.com/. You'll see the latest stories, photos & videos as soon as they're posted, plus ever-changing content from the jazz blog & news aggregator; articles, reviews and a free daily music download from AllAboutJazz.com; and the most comprehensive section of St. Louis jazz-related links anywhere.

2) Subscribe by email. At the end of any day where there's at least one new post, you'll get a single email with all of that day's posts. The signup box is located on the right sidebar.

3) Subscribe by RSS and read StLJN in your favorite news reader or on your homepage. The "subscribe" section on the right sidebar also has buttons to automate the signup process for some of the most common news readers.

4) Read the mobile version at http://stljazznotes.mofuse.mobi/ on your iPhone, Blackberry or other portable device.

5) Follow StLJN on Twitter for the latest headlines and links to full posts.

6) Become a fan of StLJN on Facebook, and get posts as part of your FB News Feed.

7) StLJN content also can be found in the news center at AllAboutJazz.com; in headline form on the website of Jazz St. Louis; and via aggregators such as Topix, Wikio, Technorati, outside.in, Fwix, and blogged.com.

Site news: StLJN goes mobile, plus a map of St. Louis jazz venues, and more

It's a new week in a new month, and with it come some new features on this site:

* If you'd like to read St. Louis Jazz Notes using a iPhone, Blackberry or similar gadget, there's now a version of StLJN formatted especially for mobile devices available at http://stljazznotes.mofuse.mobi/. (I'll also be adding a permanent link for the mobile service over on the right sidebar, below the "Subscribe to StLJN" section.)

Essentially, it takes the RSS feed of the site and formats the text in a way that's optimized for a small screen. Lacking the requisite hardware, yr. humble editor hasn't had a chance yet to test the service, but I'm interested in feedback and comments from anyone who does, so please try it out and then leave a comment or send me an email with your impressions.

* Also finally up and running this week is a long-delayed project: a map of St. Louis jazz clubs and concert venues, which can be found at http://stljazznotesmap.blogspot.com/. (I've also added a permanent link to the map in the "Site Navigation" section.)

It's built on Google's map technology, so you can move the map around with your cursor; use the controls at upper left to zoom in and out; toggle between the map and satellite photos; and click on each "point of interest" for an annotations box with additional information, phone numbers, Web site URLs, and so on.

I imagine it's something that locals will use only occasionally, but it should be particularly handy for visitors and new arrivals. Again, please feel free to offer your suggestions, corrections, additions and observations via email or in the comments for this post.

* Meanwhile, the StLJN calendar of events can now be found at http://stljazznotescalendar.blogspot.com/, where it's gotten a makeover to match the map page, allowing for the addition of an identifying banner up top, plus a sidebar with links, ads and a visitor counter. (If you'd prefer to see the larger, unframed versions of the map and calendar, there are links at the bottom of each page that will let you do that.)

* Finally, just another reminder that you can now follow St. Louis Jazz Notes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes and become a "fan" by signing up on the StLJN Facebook page.

Site news: St. Louis Jazz Notes now on Twitter and Facebook

In keeping with yr. humble editor's ongoing efforts to disseminate this site's content as widely as possible, St. Louis Jazz Notes has set up accounts on both Facebook and Twitter.

For now, both will be used mostly as additional channels for distributing blog posts, but I may find other uses for one or both as we go along.

In the meantime, you can keep up with StLJN-related "tweets" by following the Twitter account at http://twitter.com/StLJazzNotes; or access the most recent posts, check out a version of the site calendar, and/or become a "fan" of StLJN by visiting the Facebook page. (FYI, both pages also now have permanent links on the StLJN sidebar in the "site navigation" section. )