How does one celebrate two years online, 3,000+ posts, 11,000 fantastic Twitter pals (thanks for ranking us #1 on Twitter!), and half a million readers we love? With a giveaway, of course! And lots of fun changes.
We’ve been very busy here at EcoSalon HQ recently, adding fresh talent to the fantastic roster of editors and writers bringing you green without the granola daily. We’re also introducing new content channels to better serve you.
Take a quick peek at all the latest and greatest at a glance – new sections, new writers, and giveaway details.
While I’m thrilled about the voices heading up our editorial, these new channels are taking their first baby steps, so your feedback is not only welcome, we will need it. Tell us what works, what doesn’t, what rocks your socks, what leaves you feeling like day-old oatmeal without the agave. Leave a comment, send us a note, or weigh in with a tweet @ecosalon.
New sections: Tech, sex, culture, entertainment, travel, pets, food, and design: We’ve been covering these topics and more at EcoSalon for two years, and considering how popular these subjects are, it only makes sense to dedicate channels to them.
RELISHOUS: Savor fare, foodie. The food lovers among you will be happy to see we’re breaking out our extensive food coverage from Wellness and giving delicious green grub its own vertical. Bring on the restaurant reviews and organic cocktails! To relish means to savor with gusto, and we think that’s what being an eco-friendly foodie is all about.
SHELTER: The way we build our cities, construct our homes, organize our gathering places and decorate our spaces is one of the most fundamental challenges for a society evolving to sustainability – and one of the most exciting. Design is an essential aspect of how humans will change the world for the better, and we’re excited to expand this content so you know not only where to scout that soy foam mattress but which architects are pushing for smarter buildings and how designers create the products you love.
CULTURE BITTEN: You’re a sharp, socially active and influential group, and I’m looking forward to your reaction to our culture coverage (both the high-brow and the just-rolled-out-of-bed-brow.) Expect a mix of insight, news, and discovery. Green as it pertains to our culture isn’t only about Leo’s new hybrid or, at the other end of the spectrum, the latest rally with Greenpeace. Culture is how we express our humanity – how we create, play, plan, act, engage (and enrage) each other. Culture Bitten is about the people at the edge of what’s new, inspiring, challenging, beautiful, intelligent and sometimes strange: artists, thinkers, leaders, musicians, activists and early adopters.
PASSPORT: We’re also breaking out a special travel section, but this is about much more than a carbon offset. Our travel section will help you green your vacations, clue you in to the best spas, hotels, and adventures around the world, and help you navigate the globe sustainably. But our mission is to go radically beyond “travel as consumption,” by including coverage of cause-related events, people making a difference and socially positive exploration.
HINT OF GEEK: What would a modern green lifestyle be without technology? So you aren’t going off the grid any time soon (hey, you’re reading this website). That doesn’t mean you want to buy the iPad and the Kindle, or waste energy around your digs. Hint of Geek will bring you all the best in hacks, gadgets, web news and tech to make your life greener, sleeker and more efficient.
FLORA & FIDO: Everyone needs a little Cute Rx, so Flora & Fido debuts today as our pet and garden content channel. We’ll also be covering the domestic side of life in this section, from organic kiddie products to smart living tips.
FEMME VITALE: Taking up where Wellness leaves off, Femme Vitale expands our health and nutrition coverage to include topics like sex, relationships, psychology…and sex. And while we will never tell you how to lose 10 pounds in three days just like Kim Kardashian or ponder 7 Ways to Change a Man (because we love them as much as we love you), we will be covering topics every woman can relate to – and asking tough questions, too.
FASHION: In the immortal words of Mae West, “Too much of a good thing is wonderful.” The fashionistas among you know our fashion channel for its edgy everywoman, Amy DuFault, and her leadership of our exclusive and original coverage of both famous and fledgling designers, backstage challenges, breakout brands and the truth in everything from manufacture to marketing of fashion. With new contributions from fashion writers on both coasts, we’re excited to bring you more of the thought leadership, provocative questions, style insights and fashion secrets you expect from us.
New writers: Check out this page for vital stats on all our new team members – we’ve more than doubled in size. Follow them on Twitter, check out their new stories and columns this week and in future days (you’re subscribing, right?), and drop them a line with your tips, ideas and suggestions.
From mainstream media and indie press alike, from Daily Candy alum to experts in their fields, we’ve got an exciting lineup of writers working on must-have, must-know content for you. You shouldn’t have to hunt the web for the kind of green goodness you want: the free-of-crunch, fascinating, useful, sexy and fun insider tips, ideas and insights. Our goal is to serve as that essential resource on the web for you in your pursuit of the chic, conscious, green lifestyle.
New writers Jess McCuan, EIC of Verve Magazine, and Heather Brubaker will scout the chicest restaurants and help turn your black thumb green, while Vanessa Barrington will continue her thoughtful reporting on food business and policy with The Green Plate, and Anna Brones will contribute Foodie Underground, a new column tipping you on everything from vegan taco carts to secret organic marts that debuts tomorrow.
From design to drool over to hacks for your home to reducing your pet’s pawprint, senior editor Luanne Bradley and new writers Lisa Hoover, Susan Johnston, Holley Simmons, Maggie Marton and Julie Knapp will keep you in the know with the freshest green finds and smartest designs for you, your tykes, your home and even your mother-in-law. I’m excited for you to get to know these talented writers this year, so lookout for their posts on the site.
Seasoned entertainment journalist Liz Barrett, art writer Melanie Reynard, culture writer Anne Keehn, and feminism blogger Naomi Zeveloff will bring incisive, insightful posts to our culture offerings, along with Luanne, Amy and Nancy Harrington, Christopher Correa and Stephanie Rogers (who’s never afraid to take on the big dogs).
Tech content will be headed up by New York Times blogger and EcoMeme columnist Lora Kolodny as Tech Editor, along with auto, gadget (and occasional beer) reviews by Patrick Sauer, plus a few new names you’ll notice in coming weeks.
Katherine Butler moves up to Beauty Editor, and we’re happy to be bringing you more beauty content on a weekly basis in Femme Vitale!
In coming weeks you’ll be going behind the scenes of the eco (and not so eco) fashion industry with fashion editor and green style guru Amy DuFault and her new team: the independent filmmaker and green fashionista Greta Eagan, Fashion Takes Action’s Kelly Drennan and West Coast fashion journalist, Rowena Ritchie.
Ladies and gents alike will be pleased to know our eminently patient lone male staffer, Mike Sowden, is now in more evenly distributed company with the addition of Wend Magazine founding EIC and environmental explorer Stiv Wilson, who will be heading up our travel content as editor of the new Passport section, and Christopher Correa of The Washington Post and True/Slant, who will be contributing a weekly Culture Bitten column, Hill/Street Greens, on green affairs from Capitol Hill and Wall Street. Expect equal parts adventure and awesome – and skewering aplenty. Check out Stiv’s first post, and check in next Wednesday for the debut H/SG.
Last, but certainly not least, I’m pleased to introduce our new assistant managing editor, the smart and savvy Heather Dale. Heather will be helping to wrangle our writers, chat with you about anything and everything green and great, keep me sane, and produce upcoming video content. (You can see our first videos here and here).
Contest:
EcoSalon is grateful for the incredible support of our green sister company and original eco retailer, VivaTerra. Founded in 2005, VivaTerra created a breakthrough, green-to-the-core, high style catalog company focused on gorgeous eco design and sustainable fashion before green was even a gleam in most retail companies’ eyes.
To kick off our new sections today, the first 1,000 readers to sign up for our newsletter will be automatically entered to win this beautiful living ecosphere ($89 value). Makes a perfect gift and goes with any decor scheme. We’re giving away five, so be sure to sign up for your chance to win! (Limit one subscription and entry per person; offer does not apply to VivaTerra or EcoSalon staff, family, or friends; offer expires 4/21/2010. See all rules here.)
But wait, there’s more!
We also have exciting site enhancements, special retail goodies and custom features in the works this year. Stay tuned for this and more. To get the firsthand scoop on site changes, meetups and events, sign up for our newsletter.
We couldn’t ask for a better bunch of readers, and I couldn’t ask for a better team. This is going to be a fun year, so stick around, baby!