I’m not sure what the weather was like on September 2nd, 1998 but if it was a typical Peñasco day it would have likely still been hot and humid and perhaps while sipping on a cold-bevy or two and ‘talking-story’ the good people of the Rocky Point Times must have decided to bring the newspaper and Peñasco to ‘cyberspace’.
That date, about 12 years ago, was when the ‘Times’ first registered their URL (website address) and although I don’t know for certain I can only imagine that perhaps they had great plans and expectations for their newly formed online adventure and how they would be able to also better promote the community.
Sadly, over the ensuing years the printed paper did grow in terms of the number of pages but the mostly paid advertorial formatted editions lacked extensive and current newsworthy content and when it came to the ‘Times’ online edition, well, IMHO, that was treated like the proverbial red-headed stepchild!
In Puerto Peñasco and indeed all of Mexico, sometimes ‘things’ seem to move at a rather slow pace but it is truly hard for me to think of anything that moved any slower than did the online ‘Times’ edition…
And it kills me to think of the revenue the printed edition generated over the years and how they could have dedicated a minuscule bit of all those dollars of ad revenue to develop an online news and information site that could have promoted Peñasco, their clients, etc.
Yet, as far back as I can remember (maybe since ’03), every time I visited the website seeking current and relevant content (aka: news) I was constantly frustrated with broken links, a visually unattractive layout, lack of photographs, etc. And I can’t recall one time over the years that I didn’t read: “…We are updating the website… Please check back soon…”
And so it still goes today. As of this writing, the ‘site’-- now more than a decade ‘old’-- still has broken links, no content, no nada. But their old time tested and trustworthy tag “We are updating…” is still there! Shame on you ‘Times’!
¡Viva México y Puerto Peñasco!
elgitanopenasco@gmail.com
