The Thanet Star

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In defence of all Thanet bloggers

Written by Matt B · first published 23/01/2009

This Blog is on hold until such time as Kent Council acknowledge my right to comment as I see fit within the law without threats from their paid contractors. writes Tony Flaig of Big News Margate.

Tony may not not the first blogger to be silenced by bully boy builders from Thanet but we all feel the loss as deeply as ever.

A stand has to be made. This aggressive anti-democratic behaviour is endorsed by the official silence that follows it. No More! We are a community and as a community we must stand by each member or fall alone.

Read on to find out how we can do this

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» Continue Reading: In defence of all Thanet bloggers

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Sandy and the caption contest - time to vote.

Written by Matt B · first published 08/01/2009

Well folks it time for an update on the caption contest. You might remember that just under a month ago we challenged you to come up with the best caption for this drawing of Cllr Sandy Ezekiel.

Here are the four suggestions that gave the best chuckle rating to a straw poll of a handfull of people. Now it's up to you to vote for the winner. The winner will have their caption added to the image for all time.

Ramsgate Resident wrote: Makes a change from turkey but where do you put the stuffing??

Rick wrote: Sandy "So dere I woz at da Winter Gardens wiv deze ex Black Watch geezers, all in skirts and sporrans and dat, remembering dere fallen comrades and dat. An all I sez is Wots a cross of St Andrew all abaht den"

Eastcliff Richard wrote: Sandy had quite forgotten how long Roger's tongue was.

Bertie Biggles wrote: The Standards Board of England is glad to announce its new punishment for recalcitrant and recidivist Councillors who fail to learn how to behave in public.

Keep reading to find out how to vote

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» Continue Reading: Sandy and the caption contest - time to vote.

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Local Search: More sites but the same traffic

Written by Matt B · first published 06/01/2009

For Thanet based websites and blogs there is less traffic to go around than four years ago. Thanet related web search was at the same level or lower in 2008 than in 2004 but in during 2007 and 2008 the number of Thanet blogs has exploded.

With the same number of searches being made but a lot more sites available the available traffic for Thanet based business websites has fallen sharply over the last four years.

Using search for "Thanet" as a baseline I asked Google trends for the searches carried out by people in the UK for the terms "Thanet", "Broadstairs", "Margate" and "Ramsgate". The results are quite interesting (once I'd filtered for US searches for Margate which messed up things).

See the latest version of the results here (you will also get to see what the noted news points were).

What does this mean for Thanet Businesses, Blogs and Website Owners? Keep reading to find out.

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» Continue Reading: Local Search: More sites but the same traffic

On holiday, after a fashion

Written by Matt B · first published 05/01/2009

I'm taking a few days off. Maybe a week or more. That means that there will be no best of 2008 for which I apologise. I will attempt to present the finalists for the caption contest on my return.

I'm simply feeling deeply unhappy right now and have no especial desire to inflict this upon the readers of the site. Talking about TDC is depressing enough as it is and one needs a relativity sunny disposition or at least a fighting spirit to cope with it. I'll be back in a short while.

Don't forget me.

Have your say (there are 4 Public Comments) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here

Happy new year.

Written by Matt B · first published 01/01/2009

Happy new thingy to all in Thanet and the surrounding area. Just for your information the last minute of 2008 was 61 seconds lond. You could not make this stuff up.

I hope 2009 proves to be a good year but I doubt our beloved leaders will be helping with that. Oh well, that's what we Internet users are here for.

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