Mountain State Matters 2.0 will be a sort of “one-stop shopping” for people interested in West Virginia culture and current events.
One thing the blog will feature is more of an emphasis on location. Each post will be geo-tagged, so readers will have the ability to pick a location and read all posts related to that area. For those who find tabbed navigation easier, the left-hand column will also feature a list of all West Virginia counties, and clicking on a county name will result in all posts related to that county.
Archived posts will be searchable by keyword or date, but will also exist on two separate pages: one for news items and the other for cultural features. This will allow readers interested in one or the other to read only posts that fit their interests.
In addition to regular highlights of news about West Virginia, MSM 2.0 will have more cultural postings, including art, music, folklore and miscellaneous West Virginia-related posts. These posts will incorporate audio and video to a greater extent, and include original reporting.
Besides incorporating posts by other bloggers, MSM 2.0 will be more interactive. There will be polls to judge reader opinions and readers will be encouraged to rate posts on a scale of 1 to 10. The goal will be increased audience engagement and audience ownership of the blog.
