Google Certifies Cape Charles Wave as Local News Source

_________________________________________________________________

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

August 4, 2012

The Cape Charles Wave has been accepted by Google News as an authentic source of local information. Google News listings began including the Wave on Friday, as illustrated in the screen shot above.

The above screen shot is not “clickable,” but the actual Google News screen is, meaning that readers can access any of the above news media directly from the Google News screen.

Google News readers who search “Cape Charles” get a listing of online news from local sources such as the Eastern Shore News (also listed as Delmarva Now), the Virginian-Pilot, TV stations with online news such as WAVY-TV (shown above), and many more.

The Google web crawler is automated, and searches for the words “Cape Charles” on the Internet. But the only sources allowed under the “News” category are those that have been reviewed and accepted by a Google official.

To be accepted, the Cape Charles Wave had to demonstrate that it publishes information that would normally be found in a newspaper, such as news reports, feature stories, opinion columns, obituaries, classifieds, and letters to the editor. The Wave was also required to have a public “face” — meaning that its editors and reporters are clearly identified by name.

The Wave also had to show a significant online readership, and for that we thank everyone who has clicked on capecharleswave.com. The number of readers who have visited the Wave at least once now exceeds 2,500 — two-thirds of whom are returning visitors. Of those, 256 have subscribed to the paper, and receive a daily email with links to new stories.

Facebook users are beginning to “like” the Wave as well, resulting in links to new Wave stories appearing on their Facebook page.  The multiplier effect of Facebook is remarkable, because although only 41 users “like” the Wave to date, that’s enough to appear on 447 Facebook pages through the “friends of friends” effect.

The Cape Charles Wave was established in June by two local residents with several decades of journalism experience: Karen Jolly Davis and George Southern. The purpose of the paper is to provide a much-needed outlet for local news, events, and opinions. The editors are well aware that they cannot do this alone, and welcome volunteers from the community.

To contact the Wave, email us at [email protected].