SURF'S UP! AT SEMISSOURIAN.COM

Surf's up at SEMissourian.com. Come on in, the water's fine.

You can find the site at: http://www.semissourian.com

After about a month of testing, the Internet site of the Southeast Missourian newspaper is ready for a formal launch.

SEMissourian.com, the site's name and Internet address, combines entertainment with information, said Joni Adams, managing editor and director of the web project.

As part of the kick off, the newspaper has planned three community Internet training sessions over the next few weeks.

Key players in the web site development include Teresa Connell, Darren McGaha, Dennis O'Shields, Peggy Scott and Lou Peukert. Team members brought a variety of backgrounds and skills to development of the site.

"These people really deserve a big pat on the back," said Adams. "Our site is top-notch because of the time, effort and talents put in by these people."

About two years ago, this team recognized the potential for newspapers on the Internet and began an campaign to make it happen at the Southeast Missourian.

"We're in the information business," O'Shields said. "What better place to get information or provide information than the Internet?"

O'Shields and McGaha build print newspaper pages on computers, but both have been computer programming as a hobby since they were youngsters. They are co-webmasters at SEMissourian.com.

O'Shields began programming as a fifth-grader with a Commodore 64 computer. Almost 20 years later, he's still programming, although his "toys" at SEMissourian.com are a little more sophisticated.

"It's a lot of fun," he said. Part of the fun is figuring out the secrets to computer programs that aren't written in training manuals. Technology on the Internet is advancing at incredible pace. "There is no place to learn it except from the Internet itself," O'Shields said. "It's kind of a big joke to keep up with the technology curve."

McGaha started programming on a tiny Timex computer his mother won in a contest. He worked with Apple II computers in high school and then got access to the big computer network at Southeast Missouri State University.

"I was kind of limited on the Gopher text version," he said. The gopher system is a forerunner of the World Wide Web. "But I really enjoyed the newsgroups. People could swap information, sell a car, talk to each other all over the world."

McGaha studied graphic arts and started work at the newspaper. At the newspaper office, he found a CompuServe Internet account and was hooked.

Developing a web presence for the newspaper made sense, McGaha said. "We would have the opportunity to reach more people and it seemed that everyone else was doing it."

Over a matter of months, the Internet team developed a philosophy for the web site. While some other newspapers put all the news stories on a web site, SEMissourian.com features a number of specialty products, including one the most comprehensive Rush Limbaugh sites on the Internet.

"Cape Girardeau is the hometown of Rush Limbaugh and we're proud of that fact," said Adams. "More than 20 million people listen to Rush's radio show each week. That should translate into considerable traffic on our web site."

Visitors can take a Rush hometown tour, view a family photo album, or learn more about Rush's highly successful radio program, books and The Limbaugh Letter.

The site also features a number of interactive components. Visitors can send a Rush hometown postcard, take a "Dittohead" trivia quiz, or listen to Rush's mother, Millie, talk about her son.

Another unique feature of the site is the virtual "Refrigerator Door."

"Typically, people put family photographs, kid's artwork or schedules on their refrigerator doors," said Adams. "We're asking visitors to e-mail us these items so we can post them on our virtual fridge door."

Those without a scanner at home can bring their photos or artwork to the newspaper office. It will be scanned free of charge.

The site also has one of the most extensive Random Acts of Kindness sites on the World Wide Web. There are kind suggestions and all the promotional materials used by the newspaper. There are even coloring book pages that children can use at home.

Other features of the web site include:

-- Kids' Room: Packed with safe links for kids, along with information on Newspaper In Education, Y.E.L.L. and links to local school web sites. Student-built pages will be added in the near future.

-- Images of the Past: Stories included in a Cape Girardeau history book published by the newspaper three years ago, along with daily Out of the Past column and This Day in History.

-- Speak Out: Visitors will be asked to comment on a specific topic that will change every few days. The site will also feature a weekly poll, with results posted every week.

-- Talk Back: A convenient on-site e-mail posting service will provide access to local, state and national officials.

-- Local columnists: Each day the Southeast Missourian's popular local columnists on Page 2 will be promoted on the web site. The weekly Internet column, Click and Double Click, will also be featured, along with hot links to the sites reviewed.

-- Escape to Cape: Cybertourists will learn more about Cape Girardeau, take The Great Mural Tour, and find out about famous people from this area, including Astronaut Linda Godwin.

-- Resource Room: This area features more than a hundred of the hottest links on the Internet. What makes the links' pages different than most other sites is that it includes a paragraph of information about just what you'll find at each site.

The newspaper also features some of its history and current information. A virtual tour of the paper will be up in the very near future.

SEMissourian.com showcases regional advertisers. The site will feature 30 rotating banner ads that appear at the top of each and every page.

The site also offers online coupons that can be printed in people's homes. An online business directory offers convenience to online users by providing names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

Coming soon, the site will launch local and national classifieds.

The Southeast Missourian is linking up with a national company, InfiNet. In addition to searching local classifieds, users will be able to search classifieds of more than 30 Inland Press newspapers across the United States. Internet classified advertisements have proven popular with people looking for real estate, jobs, automobiles and collectibles. Pat Zellmer is in charge of the classified portion of the site.

Already plans are in the works to upgrade the site, add new features and make it better for visitors and newspaper readers. For example, the newspaper's contents could be made available through a password system to subscribers a choice of reading the newspaper online on in the traditional way.

Change is the name of the game on the Internet.

"It's always going to be different and going in different directions," McGaha said. "I think its going to continue growing and changing. Nobody's is going to predict where it will go."