The Observations of a Simple Bajan

June 29, 2008

News all day, every day??

Filed under: General — simplebajan @ 1:58 am
Tags: ,

I am convinced that technology in Barbados is underused by many companies and a one such company that gives us a glaring example of this is Starcom Network Inc.  VOB 92.9 (owned by Starcom Network) invites listeners to visit their website VOB929.com to obtain the latest news with a catchy tagline “Follow the latest, all day every day. News at your convenience” that is often heard after their newscasts.

As a regular visitor to their website, I am convinced that hardly anyone in a senior position including their CEO, pays regular visits to the website.

Why do I say this do you ask? Have a look for yourself.

Showing a date of June 28th 2008, VOB929.com’s headlines still announce that today is World Environment Day.  A quick Google search, returns the URL http://www.unep.org/wed/ which states that “Every 5th of June is a day used by the United Nations to stimulate worldwide awareness of environmental issues and encourages political action.”

We also see that Barbados Elections 08 (held on January 15th, 2008) still holds the prominent head banner spot some 5 months later.  Are news stories that scarce in Barbados?

Further examination of the site cemented by conclusion that this site is hardly ever updated.

If one clicks on the News link at the top of the page, you are greeted with a search box and clickable months (shown below). Entering the word “oil” (a hot topic these days) and clicking on June results in the page below.

Here are the search results

June 2004?!?  4 years ago???  Come on Starcom, it is time to get your act together. The world wide web is a resource that can bring unlimited benefits to a company.  Any visitor to VOB929 should be able to read the latest news, and I don’t mean your regular the news broadcasts – it should be updated like any international website – “ALL DAY,  EVERY DAY” – sounds familiar?    Why can’t we hear the days or even last 7 days call-in programs and news articles ??

Even the Market Vendor recordings that once seemed to be updated regularly seem to have fallen by the wayside.

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