WW Web site is a big hit
By Leslie Feinberg
Workers World newspaper on the Web is a big hit--1,180,983
hits over the last two weeks of November, to be precise,
according to the workers.org Web site logs.
More than ever, people cruising the information highway are
turning to our Web site.
If you're a frequent visitor, you know why. With the
airwaves and daily newspapers filled with war propaganda,
jingoism and poppycock explanations for the economic downturn,
Workers World offers the relief that only struggle can
bring.
You'll find news about workers in motion here and around the
world struggling in their own class interests, anti-war
organizing and front line battles against racism and other
forms of bigotry.
But you'll also find revolutionary analysis, theory and a
historical perspective to the growth of capitalism, the
evolution of imperialism, and what it will take to usher in
socialism.
We've been publishing Workers World, a Marxist newspaper,
since 1959. We've been on the Web since 1995.
In these tumultuous times of social and economic crisis,
we're seeing a great deal of activity on our Web site.
After Sept. 11, the number of online readers shot up. And in
the following month the WW Web site had over a million
hits.
Since then, workers.org has been averaging about 100,000
readers every month.
But in the last month that number has grown to about 80,000
visitors each day.
Thousands more are getting Workers World articles sent to
them as email every week. And now that the newspaper is
available in the portable document format (PDF), it has enabled
many thousands more to download the digital edition of Workers
World. That means that those who have high-speed connections
like DSL or cable modems can click on the PDF button on the
home page of workers.org and the pages of Workers World emerge
from your own printer looking the same way as the newsprint
edition: headlines, captions, articles, photos--even the page
numbers.
For those who are still using dial-up modems, well, as
technology gallops forward at a dizzying pace it's comforting
to know that Workers World is still available to read free
online or receive as email. You can order a print subscription
for yourself, too. All this is available by visiting
workers.org, which is a very "user-friendly" site, and clicking
on the clearly marked instructions.
And while you're there, consider giving a gift subscription
of Workers World to a family member, co-worker, neighbor or
friend. Another click of your mouse can provide a much-needed
subscription to a prisoner--a newspaper that will most likely
be handed around the tiers until it is tattered.
All this action on our Web site and interest in our
newspaper makes us want to work all the harder. All the
research, writing, editing, copy-editing, graphic and text
design, circulation work and weekly mailing are accomplished
through our volunteer labor.
But no matter how much sweat we put into the labor, it takes
bucks to produce the newspaper. Offering the newspaper online
and as email, and providing research into back issues for free
isn't free.
Your help is very much needed. Voluntary contributions will
not only keep WW newspaper online it will help expand this
important coverage.
Now you can donate and/or subscribe by credit card online at
www.workers.org/orders. No matter how intimidating you may have
found online financial transactions, this is a simple and
secure action.
There's a lot of traffic on the information super highway.
But clearly Workers World newspaper on the Web is a
well-traveled vehicle for change.
Reprinted from the Dec. 12, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe to WW by Email: wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
Donate to
support pro-labor, anti-war news.
Email
this article
Printable
page