User:GloucestershireGuardian/Sandbox

SoGlos.com is an online magazine for Gloucestershire covering Cheltenham, the Cotswolds, the Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury – with an editorial remit focused on arts, entertainment and leisure.

Overview and ownership
The online magazine is divided into dedicated sections including restaurants, theatre & comedy, art & culture, music and accommodation – each including relevant editorial event previews, reviews and news, plus a directory of Gloucestershire venues.

SoGlos.com is owned and run by independent Cheltenham-based publishing company So Publishing Ltd. While free for users to access, the online magazine generates revenue through the sale of display advertising.

Background and development
SoGlos.com was officially launched in July 2007, as reported by publications and websites including The Guardian, Press Gazette , and Webuser as one of the UK’s first regional online magazines written by professional journalists.

In 2008 SoGlos.com launched a Google Maps-powered Gloucestershire Interactive Map – a mash-up using the map provider’s API and SoGlos.com’s own directory of venue listings to plot restaurants, attractions, hotels across the county. This was reported by publications and websites including The Guardian and Google Maps Mania.

In 2009 SoGlos.com launched a series of Web widgets allowing webmasters to embed a calendar of Gloucestershire events, directly fed from the online magazine's listings, onto their own website. This was reported by publications and websites including journalism.co.uk, Press Gazette and HoldtheFrontPage.co.uk.

Readership and awards
SoGlos.com is reported to have a monthly reach of 72,000 individual readers, in addition to sending a weekly email newsletter to 16,500 subscribers.

In June 2010 SoGlos.com won the title of 'Website of the Year' in the EDF Energy South West Media Awards. In May 2010 SoGlos.com won the title of 'Best eBusiness' in the Cheltenham Borough Council-run Business Excellence Awards.

SoGlos.com's YouTube channel is one of the most popular in South West England, with total upload views exceeding 4.5 million - thanks in part to the popularity of videos of Gloucestershire's annual cheese rolling tradition.

Further References

 * News article on holdthefrontpage.co.uk
 * Interview with SoGlos.com founders on Online Journalism Blog
 * YouTube video of Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling 2008
 * News article on journalism.co.uk