March Hare: A very merry unbirthday to me!
Mad Hatter: To who?
March Hare: To me!
Mad Hatter: Oh you!
March Hare: A very merry unbirthday to you!
Mad Hatter: Who me?
March Hare: Yes, you!
Mad Hatter: Oh, me!
March Hare: Let’s all congratulate us with another cup of tea!
A very merry unbirthday to you!

Kane County Connects’ first daily newsletter: April 28, 2014.

We’re singing the “unbirthday song” from the 1951 animated Disney classic Alice in Wonderland because today — April 28, 2015 — is the actual first birthday of the daily edition of the Kane County Connects e-newsletter! (Click here to subscribe!)

Unfortunately, that means most of you probably won’t read this until tomorrow — April 29, 2015 — because a big portion of the traffic for kanecountyconnects.com comes from our e-newsletter subscribers.

Hence, the “unbirthday” celebration, which actually works nicely with the surrealistic, Alice in Wonderland feeling I’m experiencing right now.

It’s hard to believe that this little journey through the looking glass is a year old. It’s been a fun and interesting ride. I think we’ve done some good things in the past year, and from the feedback we get every day, many of you do, too.

Our daily newsletter has a healthy and consistently growing 8,117 subscribers as of today (our unbirthday!), and the weekly e-newsletter has another 693. We also have a substantial audience from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Plus and other social media, as well as the blog itself.

During the past year, we’ve been recognized for “exemplary” (jolly good!) audience engagement, and our December reader survey showed some humbling and wonderful customer-satisfaction numbers (84% read the newsletter “always” or “consistently,” 87 percent “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” and 90 percent said the content was “relevant” or “somewhat relevant.”)

Here’s what I wrote in that first newsletter, under the non sequitur headline, “All the News That’s Print to Fit:”

This is our first swipe at a daily newsletter for Kane County Connects.

The idea, really, is pretty simple. We put together the most interesting posts from Kane County’s myriad departments and elected offices in order to give you a rundown to start your day.

You click the “Read More” links to get the full article or photo gallery or video that’s on our new Kane County Connects web page. If you like what you see, you keep getting the newsletter, once a day. If you don’t, just click to unsubscribe.

But don’t unsubscribe until you’ve given us a chance. We promise this newsletter will evolve and improve. Our goal is to connect more people with what’s happening in Kane County, to showcase some of the services you get for your tax dollar (a justice system, transportation, law enforcement, elections, education, recycling, forest preserve activities, economic development, emergency services, to name a few) and to provide an information resource you find valuable.

Most of that still holds true today. We’ve evolved, for sure. The newsletter looks a little different than it did a year ago, and I think it’s a little more user friendly. As I said on Day One, we’ll continue to evolve and improve, according to the Kane County mission statement: “to be accountable to citizens in providing innovative and high-quality government services in an economical, fair, professional, and courteous manner to enhance and protect the health, welfare, and safety of those who live and work in Kane County.”

Obviously, none of this happens without you. Words cannot express my gratitude for your support, encouragement and well wishes. To all the Kane County people and entities who contribute content, read the blog, newsletters and social media and participate in the Kane County Connects experience, thank you.

So, “let’s all congratulate us with another cup of tea,” and see where the rabbit hole takes us from here.

A very merry unbirthday to you!

Rick Nagel
Outreach Coordinator
April 28, 2015