Vermonter.com of Burlington, VT. Announces Changes

PRLog (Press Release) – Aug 31, 2007 – Bill Alexander has owned and managed Vermonter.com since 1995. "Although I was born in Burlington, VT., I lived and worked in the the Newport area for most of my life. Originally, the idea was to create a website that would showcase the Northeast Kingdom and feature local businesses, etc. Vermonter.com started out as the "Vermont Northeast Kingdom Guide". A few years later, other websites sprang up featuring the Northeast Kingdom as local chambers of commerce were quick to catch on to the marketing possibilities."I was brought on board to develop a website for the Vermont North Country Chamber of Commerce."

Alexander explains."It wasn't long before I realized that I was essentially working on two sites that provided nearly the same content."

Something had to change.

"I felt that Vermonter.com had to be something totally unique, while still providing useful information." With that, Vermonter.com took a radical shift towards local history, reader submitted articles and even poking fun at the controversial "Vermonter vs. Flatlander" debate. "At first, it stirred up a bee's nest. My traffic count went way up and I felt like the
host of the Jerry Springer show." Changes were in order once again. "I wanted to get people talking so I put a discussion forum on the site. I tried to tone it down a bit by adding a genealogy section as a free resource. Then the spammers caught on and it was a nightmare weeding out all the Viagra ads." That was the end of the forum.

Thanks to Scott Wheeler, a well known Vermont author, Vermonter.com added some absolutely priceless articles about Vermont history and stories from years gone by. Many of the articles are based on interviews from the Northeast Kingdom area. They
are stories that should be preserved for all to enjoy. "Scott's Vermont historical work is invaluable. As generations pass by and new people come to Vermont, it's important that Vermont history and culture are preserved. These are stories from average, working class Vermonters and people who moved here years ago. You won't find any of this in the history books."
This is now what Vermonter.com is all about and happily so. "There are still a few zingers on Vermonter.com to keep people thinking. I haven't received any complaints, but I hope they realize it's all tongue-in-cheek fun. After all, a real Vermonter is endowed with a certain amount of sarcasm, so it's the nature of the beast."

Articles and photos to Vermonter.com are welcome and encouraged. Please visit http://www.vermonter.com for more information or email info@vermonter.com