The West Jackson Blog was created in 2010 by the Center for University-Based Development (CUBD) at Jackson State University to highlight and promote West Jackson. The Blog was created by Curnis Upkins III under the leadership of Dr. Kimberly Hilliard. Since its conception the blog has been growing exponentially and continues to make “positivity” its main mission.

In 2013, Heather Wilcox, Neighborhood Development Assistant for CUBD began managing the blog and has been writing, editing, and designing for the blog. The blog has seen a tremendous amount of growth since its inception and set an all time record high of viewership in 2016.

The number of hits details how many people are coming to the West Jackson Blog for information, updates, news, and events. In 2015, there were 36,546 hits to the blog and in 2016 that number increased to 68,566. This represents an 87 percent increase in traffic to the West Jackson blog.

This large increase can be partly attributed to the new look that the blog converted to in the beginning of 2016. The blog went from a very simple template that could only feature one story at time to a very complex template that featured five stories at a time. The new template also had more pictures, more information in the menu bar, and an events calendar.

In 2016, the blog saw traffic from 87 different countries from across the world and many people find their way to our blog through Facebook and Google.

Quick Facts about the West Jackson Blog

There were 83 posts in 2016, which is about 1.5 stories per week.

There are a total of 4,405 people following the blog. With 2,287 signed up to get emails when there is a new post; 1,366 likes on facebook, and 752 followers on twitter.

It cost $18.00 per year for the webpage name http://www.westjxn.com.

The West Jackson Blog is interested in your positive stories about the community. If you have a story you want featured on the blog, please send all information to Heather Wilcox at heather.a.wilcox@jsums.edu or call her at 601-979-5828.

Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/westjxn/.