We here at Preppermint are exceedingly happy to announce that Adam Wilbur is now our Affiliate Relations Director.  Adam has a lot of experience in taking radio prep services to the next level, and we are excited that Adam will now be doing the same for us.  

This means that Adam will now be the main contact for all affiliates and the man to call if you want a free trial.  You can reach Adam at 559-237-0700.  Go ahead, try it.

If you're afraid of phones, well... there's something wrong with you, but who are we to judge? (I'm judging you)  Then, simply send us an email.  Either way, we'll get you started on a trial to see just what Preppermint can do. 

If you haven't noticed yet, I (Chris), am now a columnist for AllAccess, in addition to all of the things I do here.  I write the new column "The Net Untangled" as well as provide a daily radio-based web tip, cunningly entitled "The Net Untangled Daily Tip".  Yup, I spent a lot of time thinking that one up.  

The Net Untangled will appear each "Website Wednesday" in AllAccess's "Digital Technology" section, near the bottom on the left menu.  I'd link to it, but you need a login first, and you can't deep link into AllAccess, so you'd have to navigate there anyway.  The good news is that anyone can create an account at AllAccess - they're free!  Besides, if you are in the radio industry or have any plans of ever getting into radio, you have to check AllAccess regularly - as it is THE industry news source.

I just got back from a three week trip to Ireland and the UK.  It was great, but I was stunned at the almost non-existent visa and customs control.  There was no person in customs landing in Ireland twice and the UK once.  There wasn't even a person checking passports in the UK!  Come on in, everybody!

Luckily I returned to the US one day before the London terrorist arrests.  Security was a breeze at both ends.  I even got my return to the US customs and visa check done in Ireland before we boarded the plane.  However, I cannot say the same about the security on my flight from NJ to Raleigh-Durham.  

My flight left at 6:55 AM.  I arrived at the airport at 5:45 AM.  I checked my bags in at 6:30.  They made the flight.  I got in line for the security check point at 6:38 AM - and I took pictures of the odyssey - shown below...

Hope you had a nice July 4th week/weekend!  I know some stations and shows got an extended weekend or even a full week off, so it was nice to take a break and stretch our legs.  

I attended a free concert and saw some aerial maneuvers from our Armed Forces at Ft. Bragg.  The paratroopers jumped out in formation, with smoke coming off of them and all that.  The kicker was one of the guys who jumped was almost 80 years old and had about 5,000 jumps to his credit.  He ended July 4th in better condition than me as I ended up sunburned and itchy.

Well, now that we are getting back into the swing of things, our "Preppermint 2.0" of sorts is in its final bug-testing.  By the end fo the week, there will be a much improved category system, search system and reodering of minted stories as well as much more.  

After the release, I'll start writing about what has changed and what you can do to utilize the new features.  Until then, it's more aloe vera for me.

Sometimes, you'll find a story that has local interest and you'll want to submit it to Preppermint so you can put it on your site.  Well, that's real simple to do!

Once you have logged in, click on the "Submit" button at the top.  This will take you to the submit page.  There, enter a title for the story (what people will click on), a URL (the link to where the story is located), and a synopis (this is the text below the clickable title).  You can choose some categories to help you find it later as well.

Once you click submit, it will now be added to your stories page.  You can Mint or Prep it or do anything else you can do to a regular story.

Don't worry about other people seeing it - any story you submit has to be approved by an editor before anyone else who subscribes to Preppermint can see it.  So, that local story won't be seen by anyone but you - and it will stick around for as long as you want it.  Wewill never delete any story that is Prepped or Minted.

If you have nay questions or comments, leave a comment below and I'll answer it quickly.