5,000 Correspondents Can't Be Wrong

Congratulations to Orato.com’s 5,000th registered correspondent, who, as far as I can tell, is “Millionholder”, who registered Friday, September 12th at 11:01 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

Although our sincere best wishes are all you can expect for becoming our 5,000th correspondent, please be assured that we think this is one of those gratifying milestones that add up to the success of Orato.com and citizen journalism.

Because when you think about it, that’s quite a team we’re fielding every day. Five thousand people, well 5,017 as I write, chronicling the world in their own words. We’ve come a long way from writing letters to the editor.

Millionholder, I’m not sure why you registered. I hope it’s because you decided to pitch or write a story for Orato.com or comment on a story somewhere on the site. Maybe it’s because you want to be a member of our global village…or maybe you just like registering. If you read this, leave me a comment and let me know.

There is no doubt in my mind that you and your 5016 fellow Orato.com villagers are the future of journalism. Now that the technology of the media and a global audience are in everyone’s reach, information is no longer the property of a few elite news barons and their employees.

If you published your story on Orato.com last month, your piece had the opportunity to be seen by the 300,000 visitors who viewed more than a million pages (1,076,652 to be precise, according to WebTrends). While we’re not the New York Times, Orato.com is a powerful showcase of human life, and you’re part of it.

Your Orato.com stories have been picked up by AP, featured on CNN and debated on national radio. In the last six months, Orato.com has been cited by the Webbies as one of the top 15 news sites in the world and just recently was named one of PC Magazine’s 100 sites of 2008. You did that. That’s you.

Meanwhile, the newspaper business continues to ride off into the sunset. Newspaper circulation continues to fall at a year-to-year rate of 2.5%; advertising was down 7% in 2007 and newspaper stock has taken a beating: McClatchy was off 70%, and Gannett 35%. Cutbacks and layoffs are more common than paper cuts.

Here at Orato.com world HQ, we have a paid staff of three which is a net increase of 33% in the last year. Big expansion underway!

We have a small footprint but a big reach precisely because of you, our correspondents. And we keep looking for ways to give back. As we have often promised, we’re now paying for stories that are pitched by you and accepted. If you haven’t already pitched a story, why not get swept up in the spirit of the 5,000 and pitch your piece by clicking here. We look forward to adding your story to the 2700 already on the site. And although they come and go off the home page, they live permanently in the archive…Heather, Jessie and Mike will often the best ones back in the spotlight when the timing is right. You and your voice have a home…as long as we’re online. Ten thousand…here we come.