BARKWIRE #001 — Our Accidental World Debut

Well… this wasn't exactly how we planned the launch.

JazzersNews.com is still under construction. We are still building pages, developing stories, introducing characters, organizing the newsroom, and figuring out what this strange little corner of the Internet is going to become.

And then Jazzers checked the website.

212 registered users.

Before the official announcement.

Before the newsroom was finished.

Before Jazzers had even decided she was ready for anybody to be watching.

People actually joined!

Jazzers' first reaction was exactly what you would expect.

Complete and absolute excitement.

People had found JazzersNews.com. People had registered. People apparently wanted to see what we were making.

There was only one problem.

Uncle Ben had questions.

Are they bots… or real people?

Uncle Ben, our resident skeptical investigator, immediately pointed out that registrations and actual readership are not necessarily the same thing.

Some accounts could be automated. Some people may have registered and never returned. Numbers need context.

Jazzers accepted this information thoughtfully for approximately three seconds.

Then she realized something much more alarming:

Some of them might actually be real people.

Wait. We're not ready for people.

The website isn't finished.

There are unfinished pages. There are stories we haven't written yet. There are graphics still being designed, boxes still sitting around the newsroom, cables that definitely need a permanent home, and probably at least one button somewhere that doesn't do what we think it does.

In other words:

The Internet could see our mess.

Uncle Ben considered this.

His conclusion?

Now everyone knows we're authentic journalists.

Did somebody say… stage fright?

Enter Jay J. Bawoogie, Director of Life Sciences, Dance Studies, and Applied Boogie Arts at the Catanapolis School for Sciences and Dancing Arts.

Jay has a somewhat different approach to crisis management than Uncle Ben.

Where Uncle Ben asks for additional data, Jay arrives with theatrical lighting, a disco microphone, and the firm belief that every emotional crisis is merely a performance waiting for its opening number.

His message to Jazzers was simple:

You are already a star. Having an audience is what makes it a show.

That was rehearsal.

Jay reminded Jazzers of all the little news reports she had already created before JazzersNews.com existed.

The homemade news desks. The microphones. The handwritten notes. The interviews. The mistakes. The laughter. The moments where something didn't work and she simply tried again.

None of that was wasted effort.

That was rehearsal.

And apparently, whether Jazzers felt ready or not, the curtain was beginning to go up.

Jay J. Bawoogie's Stage-Fright Survival Guide

Fortunately, the Director of Applied Boogie Arts does not believe in identifying an emotional condition without immediately developing a curriculum for it.

Jay's advice:

• Breathe. Your audience can wait two seconds.
• Talk to one person. Don't imagine “the entire Internet.”
• Don't chase perfection. Concentrate on communicating.
• Remember your rehearsals. You've done this before.
• Find your rhythm. Slow down and tell the story.
• Have fun. Joy is contagious.

And perhaps most importantly:

Find your rhythm, Jasmine. Remember you are wonderful.

Maybe being early is actually useful.

Uncle Ben had another thought.

If people found JazzersNews.com while we're still building it, maybe that isn't something we need to hide.

Maybe those early readers can help.

They can tell us what they like. What doesn't work. What stories they want to see. What is confusing. What makes them laugh. What they want more of.

Instead of hiding the unfinished newsroom, maybe we should invite people inside while we're building it.

We need social media!

At this point Jazzers' stage fright began transforming back into its more familiar form:

enthusiasm.

If people are already finding us, then we should probably start talking to them.

That means development updates, behind-the-scenes stories, character introductions, BARKWIRE posts, and opportunities for readers to tell us what they would like Jazzers' News to cover next.

You can follow Jazzers here:

• Instagram: @JazzersNewsDog
• Facebook: Jazzers NewsDog

And, of course, everything eventually comes home to JazzersNews.com.

What if I mess up?

Then came the moment right before the camera turned on.

Jazzers had practiced. She had a plan. She had friends beside her.

And she was still nervous.

Jay reminded her that making a mistake isn't the end of the show. You smile. You learn something. And tomorrow you give them an even better one.

Uncle Ben's advice was even simpler:

You don't have to impress them, Jazzers. Just tell them the truth.

That seemed like something worth remembering.

Welcome to Jazzers' News.

So here is the truth.

JazzersNews.com is not finished.

We're still building the website.

We're still creating stories.

We're still developing this universe and introducing the critters who live inside it.

There are ideas we haven't thought of yet, pages we haven't built yet, stories we haven't reported yet, and probably more than a few things we are going to change along the way.

But you came anyway.

So thank you.

Whether you were one of those first 212 registrations or you discovered Jazzers later, we're genuinely happy you're here.

Consider yourself invited into the newsroom while we're still building it.

Tell us what makes you laugh. Tell us what you want to see. Tell us what isn't working. Tell us what stories deserve a Jazzers-level investigation.

We'll keep building.

We'll keep learning.

And we might as well start reporting.

Super Love! ❤️🐾

— Jazzers & the Jazzers' News newsroom

JazzersNews.com