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 In just 25 days, the yBenedict website has already passed a half a
million hits and with the second stage of the site to be launched
tomorrow, the first million is expected to be reached within days.
"Since Cardinal Pell launched the site with 50
days till WYD, the hit rate has rapidly increased," comments Bridget
Spinks, the Communications Officer for Towards2008.
"We are absolutely delighted that we have so quickly reached the 1/2 million threshold and we are very grateful to all our faithful contributors and readers across the world."
Statistics - HERE COME THE SPANISH SPEAKERS!
Since the formal launch of yBENEDICT, the
Spanish speaking readership has since joined the English speaking
audience across Australia and overseas.
By the end of May, www.ybenedict.org
had a reported 76 per cent Australian readership, according to site
generated statistics. But by mid-June, the international readership had
doubled from 24% in May to 48% in the mid-June statistics.
In May, Argentina was the top
Spanish-speaking country that 'hit' the site coming in at Number 19 on
the list of top countries accessing the site. These Argentinian
readers were closely followed by Colombia (No 20), Mexico (No 25), and,
Peru (No 26).
But, with the arrival of the Spanish-English interface that loaded
last weekend, there has been a marked increase in the number of
visitors to the site from Latin American countries as well as Spain. In
addition to Mexico & Argentina, the top 30 yBENEDICT countries now
include Spain, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Nicaragua,
and Venezuela with these Spanish speaking countries making up almost 10
per cent of the total readership.
The June statistics show that Mexico is now ranked 6 in the top
countries visiting the site followed by New Zealand (7), Canada (8) and
Italy (9). Australia and the USA still hold the top 2 ranks amongst
countries on YBENEDICT.
Stage 2: COMING TOMORROW!
The second and final stage of the YBENEDICT
website will now be launched tomorrow at the 25 day mark leading up to
WYD. The second stage of the site will include several additional
aspects:
i) Our Top 25 SYDNEY PLACES;
ii) Our Top 25 AUSTRALIAN FACTS;
iii) Daily PILGRIM PROFILES on groups from across the world;
iv) YCATHOLIC: daily apologetics, catechetics and personal testimonies.
Stage 2 of the site will also be the occasion for the launch of the Italian Language Version.
The second stage of the site will be known as
'eBenedict' and will involve an extension of the news site to include
WYD Information on WYD events.
"At 50 days we asked the question Y? Why is
Benedict coming, why is WYD happening, why are hundreds of people
coming to Sydney?" explained Mr McCarthy.
"And at 25 days our focus will shift towards
providing essential event information as to what's on, and where at WYD in
Sydney. With YBenedict we asked the questions - but with eBenedict we
will provide the answers. Stay tuned tomorrow to see what it all looks
like."
To sign up for YDAILY – all your latest pilgrim news in English and Spanish - click here.
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