''SoGlos'' is an

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...

for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

covering

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

, the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

and

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Riv ...

– with an editorial remit focused on arts, entertainment and leisure.

Overview and ownership

The online magazine is divided into dedicated sections including Gloucestershire food, Gloucestershire theatre, Gloucestershire comedy, Gloucestershire culture, Gloucestershire music and Gloucestershire hotels, for examples – each including editorial event previews, reviews and news, hot lists, plus a directory of Gloucestershire venues. ''SoGlos'' is owned and run by independent Cheltenham-based publishing company So Publishing Ltd. While free for users to access, the online magazine generates revenue through the sale of

display advertising Digital display advertising is online graphic advertising through banners, text, images, video, and audio. The main purpose of digital display advertising is to post company ads on third-party websites. A display ad is usually interactive (i.e. ...

and native advertising.

Background and development

''SoGlos'' was officially launched in July 2007, as reported by publications and websites including ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

Press Gazette ''Press Gazette'', formerly known as ''UK Press Gazette'' (UKPG), is a British media trade magazine dedicated to journalism and the press. First published in 1965, it had a circulation of about 2,500, before becoming online-only in 2013. Publis ...

'', and ''

Webuser ''Web User'', branded as ''WebUser'', was a fortnightly magazine published in the United Kingdom from 2001 until 2020. It covered topics relating to computing. Its sister magazine was ComputerActive. Overview ''Web User'' was founded by IPC Med ...

'' as one of the UK's first regional online magazines written by professional journalists. In 2008 ''SoGlos'' launched a

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

-powered Gloucestershire Interactive Map – a mash-up using the map provider's

API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standa ...

and ''SoGloss own directory of venue listings to plot restaurants, attractions, hotels across the county. This was reported by publications and websites including ''The Guardian'' and Google Maps Mania. In 2009 ''SoGlos'' launched a series of

Web widgets A web widget is a web page or web application that is embedded as an element of a host web page but which is substantially independent of the host page, having limited or no interaction with the host. A web widget commonly provides users of the ...

allowing webmasters to embed a calendar of Gloucestershire events, directly fed from the online magazine's listings, onto their own website. This was reported by publications and websites including journalism.co.uk,

and HoldtheFrontPage.co.uk.

Readership and awards

''SoGlos'' is reported to have a monthly reach of 90,000+ individual readers, in addition to sending a weekly email newsletter to 28,000 subscribers. In both 2010 and 2014, ''SoGlos'' won the title of 'Website of the Year' in the

EDF Energy EDF Energy is a British integrated energy company, wholly owned by the French state-owned EDF (Électricité de France), with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of natural gas and electricity to homes and businesses through ...

South West Media Awards. In 2010, ''SoGlos'' also won the title of 'Best eBusiness' in the Cheltenham Borough Council-run Business Excellence Awards. ''SoGloss

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel is one of the most popular in

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

, with total upload views exceeding 10 million – thanks in part to the popularity of videos of Gloucestershire's annual

cheese rolling The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill, near Gloucester in England. Participants race down the long hill after a round of Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling down it. ...

tradition.

References

{{Reflist

External links

SoGlos.comSoGlos Gloucestershire Interactive Map
Online magazines published in the United Kingdom Local interest magazines published in the United Kingdom Mass media in Gloucestershire Magazines established in 2007