We wanted to let you know about some new ways you can stay connected and interact with WOOD TV8 and 24 Hour News 8.

Download the woodtv iPhone app in iTunes

Facebook
Our staff is actively engaged on Facebook in three different locations. Become a fan to interact directly with them. Our Facebook pages: WOOD TV8 – Daybreak – Maranda Park Parties

Twitter
Many of the personalities on 24 Hour News 8 are on Twitter. Connect directly with them on Twitter or see their latest tweets aggregated here.

WOOD TV8 iPhone App
Our free app is designed specifically for the iPhone, so you’ll get crisp radar images, smooth news video and easy navigation between content sections. You can even customize the menu. In the iTunes store search for “woodtv”. Learn more about the iPhone app and download it here.

Live8.com
Our longtime popular wireless site delivers a ton of free info on news, weather, traffic, and much more.
Type www.live8.com into your wireless device or learn more about Live8 here.

News Over Wireless
Another free wireless site we maintain. You can get there by going to woodtv.com on your mobile device. Preview it on your computer here.

For quite some time now we’ve used Topix.net to power our commenting system.  While Topix provided us an easy-to-use platform, it took users away from the story they were talking about.

So after a long search we have decided to make the switch to IntenseDebate.  IntenseDebate is a commenting system that supports WordPress and several other blogs.  It also has many features that makes it easier for us to administer.

The million dollar question is… Do I have to register?

For now, the answer is no.  But we encourage users to register and log in when posting comments.  If you have a WordPress.com account, OpenID or IntenseDebate account, you can use that profile to comment on WOODTV.com.  That way you can include your avatar.  To register, check the register button the first time you post a comment.

In the past month we’ve built out many new content areas for you to find the news stories and weather conditions for Michigan.

On the news front, you’ll see where we’ve categorized the state of Michigan into 15 different areas so you can quickly find the stories that are relevant to you.

You can find the Local News section by using our main navigation of News > Local. On our homepage, you’ll find highlights of these sections for Grand Rapids and Kent County.

Some of the nice features of these new areas include relevant weather conditions, local event listings, and aggregated news content for that area. The Grand Rapids section is a good example, but don’t miss out on Kent County, Ottawa County, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, the Gun Lake region, and others covering the entire state.

In the weather section, we’ve expanded our forecasts and conditions to include five other regions of the state of Michigan. So, when you are travelling to Northern Michigan for the weekend or Detroit for business, you can find the weather conditions at woodtv.com.

Once again, thanks for all your feedback regarding the new site redesign.

Based on your feedback, we’ve made several changes to the home page.

1. We’ve replaced the thumbnails of video stories with the text of the latest 10 local news stories.

2. The day planner graphic has reappeared.

3. A link to Bill’s Blog is directly below the day planner graphic.

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Our new site design is up and running. If you missed the advance notice, you can read about the background of this change here.

Many of you have shared your feedback and it is much appreciated. Your input will help us build a site that’s useful, informative and enlightening to you.

I’ve answered many of your questions personally, but do notice some recurring questions I can answer…

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Back in February of this year, we gave woodtv.com a facelift. Now, just 8 short months later, we’re giving you a whole new site.

For the past decade or so we’ve used WorldNow as the technolgy platform for our website. This Friday, we’re making the switch to Fox Interactive Media (FIM).

WOODTV.com is one of many sites owned by LIN TV that are making this move. You can read about it at Broadcasting & Cable and Media Week.

It’s an enormous change for us. In fact, we’re still very much in the middle of the transition.

Nearly all our main content has been duplicated on the new platform but we still have much more to do. You’ll see many more additions in the next few weeks.

In addition to the content you’ve seen and used before, we’ll begin adding more social networking and mapping features so you can get deeper into a story. One of the neat features of the site is a Flash-based, expandable video player.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll post updates on more new elements.

Come back on Friday and into next week and let us know what you think. Feel free to post below or email us directly at webcentral@woodtv.com.

The following note comes to you from Michael Laemers, Director of Engineering at WOOD TV8 ….

We have received emails and telephone calls from our viewers in Northern Kent, Muskegon, Newaygo and Oceana counties, who have indicated they watch the WOOD TV analog signal but cannot pickup the digital signal when they purchase a converter box or a new TV.
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We’ve now added some “quick-links” to the Webcams Across Michigan page.

At one click you’ll be able to zoom into Grand Rapids, Grand Haven, the Soo Locks, etc. Look for the links at the top and bottom of the map.

I’m hearing that some people are having trouble using the map. Here’s the thing, it’s a good idea to learn how to use it. Why? Because Google maps, and maps like it, are everywhere on the Internet. It’s the way things have moved. Static maps are a thing of the past and this is how it’s done today. (Did you read about the local mapmaker going out of business?)

The new map happened for many reasons …
– The old one was very labor intensive to update, thus didn’t get updated often.
– The high-bandwidth version was just as difficult to update.
– The old map ran out of space to add more cameras.
– We’d get emails almost weekly asking why we haven’t added a newly discovered camera or why we didn’t update the map.
– The new map can be updated quickly and easily.
– Once zoomed in, you can view more cameras more quickly with this version.

Yes, change can be tough. But sometimes it’s needed.

Want to see something super-cool that’s being done with maps today? Check out our building using the bird’s eye view on Live Search Maps from Microsoft.

Regarding this change to a digital lifestyle, here’s a story that comes to my mind.

A relative of mine made the switch to a digital camera about 3 years ago. At that time, she also had a nice laptop and printer from Dell.

Most of us know these things go together very nicely. You take pictures with the camera, hook the camera to the computer, and put the pictures on the computer. Then you can view, print, email, etc.

Despite repeated attempts to explain this to her, she didn’t get the concept. She still doesn’t.

Instead, when her camera card gets full, she buys another card. Actually, she calls them “megapixels”.

In the past three years, I’ve never seen a picture she’s taken. And neither has she.

As we continue to move toward the end of analog broadcast TV, Mike Laemers, our Director of Engineering, wrote the following article to address problems some people have had getting WOOD TV in digital …

“We have received many emails and telephone calls from our viewers who have indicated they watch WOOD TV analog signal but cannot pickup the digital signal when they purchase a converter box or a new TV.
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Shortly after the new year, I applied to the federal government for my DTV coupons. This week, I got them in the mail. They look just like the plastic gift cards you normally get at Best Buy, right down to the magnetic strip on the back.

I’ll certainly buy one converter box because I have a TV in my house that’s not hooked up to cable and it would be a big pain to run cable to it. Not sure if I’d buy two. As I checked out the various converter boxes, I see that some have some cool features like a program guide. If you know any other ways to comparison shop for the boxes, leave them in the comments section.

WOOD TV8 and all the other broadcast stations across the country are beginning to run commercials talking about the transition to DTV. What bothers me the most is that they are focused on the February 17, 2009 change. If you wait until then, you’ll be in trouble.

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