Dear Lincoln Squirrel readers,
I wanted to let you know about a bunch of new features in the Squirrel and how you can help make the site even more useful to the Lincoln community.
New email address
If you find “lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com” a bit tricky to type or remember, you can now send news, events, questions, corrections, etc., to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Don’t worry, though—the old email address will continue to work as well.
Classified ads
Starting this week, you can place free classified ads in the Squirrel. There are three ad categories to choose from: things you want, things you’re looking for, and a bulletin board for general notices like yard sales or lost pets.
Donations
The Lincoln Squirrel is free to everyone who wants to visit the website, subscribe via email or “like” its Facebook page. I do it because I want to and not because I expect to earn lots of money. That being said, I sometimes I have to pay a developer to add a new feature like classified ads, or to fix something in the code that’s beyond my abilities—not to mention marketing expenses such as direct mail and a Squirrel costume 🙂
If you find the Squirrel useful and maybe even prefer it to paying for a weekly newspaper, I invite you to contribute whatever you think is fair by clicking the yellow “Donate” button in the right-hand column. This allows you to donate securely via PayPal from your checking account or credit card. (Note: when you click the button, you’ll get to a PayPal page that says “Watusi Words,” which is the financial home of both the Lincoln Squirrel and whatever freelance work I get.)
Disclaimer: If you make a donation, you will not receive preferential coverage in the Squirrel, either by inclusion or omission. This means that you’re not buying an ad for yourself or your business (though you’re certainly welcome to do that separately), nor will it affect coverage of donors’ public remarks and actions, including public records of any alleged civil or criminal activity.
Navigation update
The row of navigation tabs along the top of every page has been updated. You’ll now find the link to the Town of Lincoln municipal calendar under “Coming Up.” There are also several new tabs: Advertising, Classified Ads, Lincoln Through the Lens, and Donations.
Take our reader survey
What do you like or not like about the Squirrel? How can we make it better? Please take a moment to answer a short reader survey here. We’ll post an article summarizing the responses in a few weeks.
Lincoln Through the Lens
In September, we started periodically featuring photos of Lincoln scenes taken by readers. If you’d like to the photo archive or submit one of your own, see the Lincoln Through the Lens page.
Want to write or take pictures?
The Squirrel is always looking for writers and news photographers. Maybe you’re a high school or college student who wants to get some published articles under your belt, or someone who has some spare time and simply wants to write or take photos. If so, let’s talk! The mission of the Squirrel is to cover news feature stories about Lincoln and its residents, but you don’t have to be a Lincoln resident to write for us. We can’t publish creative writing or stories on non-local topics, but if your idea has anything to do with a person, place or thing in Lincoln, email news@lincolnsquirrel.com or call 617-710-5542 and we can discuss what you want to write about, what kind of research or editing help you might need, and so forth.
If you like the Squirrel, be sure to tell all your Lincoln friends and neighbors, and as always, call or email with comments or suggestions. Thanks for reading!
Alice Waugh
Editor, The Lincoln Squirrel
781-259-0526 (h) ~ 617-710-5542 (m)
news@lincolnsquirrel.com