Site news & updates

[Wellesnet]

Nothing like exciting news about The Other Side of the Wind to stir interest in Wellesnet.
There was a flood of visits to the website in the final three days of October 2014.
We experienced our highest-ever number of monthly visits - 49,638.
Of that group, there were 20,222 unique monthly visitors, our second best month ever in the site's 13-year history.
We also set a record for "hits" at 581,779

[RayKelly]

Happy New Year!
The past 12 months have been an exciting time. (Read Mike Teal's excellent recap: http://www.wellesnet.com/2014-the-welle ... in-review/).
Behind the scenes, the site changed web hosts after 13 years. So far, it has been smooth sailing with no outages.
Our audience continues to grow as we near the 100th anniversary of Orson Welles' birth on May 6, 2015.
In December 2014, we set a new record for monthly visits to the website (51,292 visits). It was also our second biggest month for unique monthly visitors (23,978).
Here's to an even bigger and better 2015!

[tonyw]

Congratulations Ray. You and your team are doing a fine job.

[tonyw]

I ran KANE on DVD four times in the last 24 hours, once to check it for class showing, fourth for class tonight and the other times to go over the audio-commentaries since I lost my previous notes. Amazingly, I was not fatigued and even in the class screening found something new as I do each time. My thoughts on the film as a "masterpiece" is that it deserves its place in film history since it creatively utilizes not only past and present cinematic traditions but also incorporates elements of music radio and theatre in new synthetic ways. Further thoughts next week. One student film festival this month seems blissfully unaware of Welles's centenary but a former student has posted something on FB dealing with F FOR FAKE as an essay film, a style that Hong Kong writer-director-critic Evans Chan employs. A book of collected essays on his work will appear this year published by Hong Kong University Press once Evans delivers re-mastered copies of his earlier films on DVD to accompany it.

[Wellesnet]

In March 2015, a record setting 44,691 unique monthly visitors came to Wellesnet, contributing to a total of nearly 71,000 visits and more than 1.1 million hits.
Before the website expansion in 2012, Wellesnet typically attracted 13,000 unique monthly visitors. The audience has grown month after month as we have added new features and the centennial nears.

[Wellesnet]

Interest in Orson Welles skyrocketed in May 2015 with media attention focused on the centennial of his birth.
Traffic at Wellesnet shattered all records in the site's 14-year history.
Here are the numbers: 2.4 million hits; 93,324 visits from 56,356 unique visitors; and 252,965 page views.

[Wellesnet]

Just a centennial overview, the Wellesnet audience has grown far beyond expectations.
After the site redesign and expansion in 2012, the dream was to one day double our audience and welcome 25,000 unique monthly visitors.
Now, 25,000 would be considered a dead month. (We tallied 56,356 unique monthly visitors in May).
Thanks for your comments, support and feedback in 2015.

[tonyw]

As well as congratulations, I was going to say, If only contributions to TOSTW matched this growth." But, then again, a "certain obstacle" would occur even if full funding had materialized!

[RayKelly]

A very (minor) change to the website. The landing page for www.wellesnet.com is our latest news page, rather than the index page.
With most visitors looking for news, the change made sense. The index page still remains and all pages can be easily accessed in the right rail on all pages.

[Wellesnet]

We have made a significant upgrade to the Wellesnet Message Board, which will allow registered members to access the forum using their Facebook login. There are a few steps that must be completed for first time use.
Below are instructions for current members who want to link their Facebook account to the Message Board and a separate set for prospective members. (Board registration in required for all users.

FOR EXISTING MEMBERS

Go to http://wellesnet.com/phpbb2/ucp.php?mode=login
Click FACEBOOK box
A Facebook sign-in window will open
Complete the Facebook info and CONTINUE.
In the new window under "login," fill in your Message Board USERNAME and PASSWORD and click LOGIN
YOUR FACEBOOK SIGN-IN IS NOW ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR WELLESNET MESSAGE BOARD ACCOUNT. YOU CAN SIGN IN EITHER WAY FROM NOW ON.
To confirm:

• Find the drop down menu in the right corner next to your SCREEN NAME
  Click USER CONTROL PANEL
  CLICK the PROFILE TAB
  On the left, click MANAGE EXTERNAL ACCOUNT ASSOCIATIONS to verify

FOR PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS

Go to http://wellesnet.com/phpbb2/ucp.php?mode=login
Click the FACEBOOK box
A Facebook sign-in window will open
Complete the Facebook info and click CONTINUE.
In the new window, click REGISTER, complete the form and submit to Wellesnet
(You will receive an email from Wellesnet within 72 hours that your account has been activated)
After receiving notification by email, log in at http://wellesnet.com/phpbb2/ucp.php?mode=login using your Facebook account
Board window will state: WELLESNET MESSAGE BOARD - Link or register your account on an external service with your board account
Fill in your USERNAME and PASSWORD and click LOG-IN
YOUR FACEBOOK SIGN-IN IS NOW ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR WELLESNET MESSAGE BOARD ACCOUNT. YOU CAN SIGN IN EITHER WAY FROM NOW ON.
To confirm:

• Find the drop down menu in the right corner next to your SCREEN NAME
  Click USER CONTROL PANEL
  CLICK the PROFILE TAB
  On the left, click MANAGE EXTERNAL ACCOUNT ASSOCIATIONS to verify

[RayKelly]

The Wellesnet Message Board can now be accessed with a Facebook login. (Registration is still required).
For details, visit http://wellesnet.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.p ... 774#p23207

Also, the Message Board will be easier to access and use on mobile phones.

[Le Chiffre]

Thanks! The Message Board changes look great.

[Wellesnet]

Wellesnet just ended the second biggest month in its 16-year history, nearly surpassing the audience record set during the May 2015 centennial celebration.

We logged 55,939 unique monthly visitors and tallied more than 200,000 page views and 1M hits from six continents during the month of March 2017. (Outside of the U.S. and Canada, the majority of our audience hailed from France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany.)

Not surprising, it was our extensive coverage of The Other Side of the Wind that drew so many readers to Wellesnet.

News that the footage from the long-unfinished Orson Welles film was now in Los Angeles was first reported on March 14 by Wellesnet and The New York Times. According to Google, Wellesnet was the single most referenced website for those seeking details on The Other Side of the Wind.

Our coverage went beyond in-depth and hinted at symptoms of an untreated obsessive compulsive disorder.

Where else but Wellesnet would you read that the 1,083 reels had been transferred onto modern cores, placed in moisture-proof bags with absorbent paper and packed onto eight pallets for shipment by two trucks and a ferry for a Bluebird Express flight from Heathrow to LAX? (Special thanks to producer Filip Jan Rymsza, who not only answered every question in detail, but provided photos of the camera logs, final inventory, films cans and moving crew at work.)

As The Other Side of the Wind progresses toward its release by Netlfix to subscribers in 190 countries, Wellesnet will continue to provide reliable and detailed information.

[jbrooks]

Well done.

[tonyw]

I didn't know that you had died. this reminds me of that line in John Wayne's BIG JAKE (1970) - "{I thought you were dead."