250,000 and Counting
A Milestone for GM and Lasso Online
(January 10, 2007)

When Lasso Online recorded its 250,000^th visitor last month, the staff was more than a little impressed by this figure.  After all, the online version of The Lasso has only been in existence for a little over five years.  But more impressive than the fact that the front-page of our school newspaper has been seen a quarter of a million times is the greater significance of this milestone.

It means that as we much as we may scoff at high school, we do have a genuine interest in school life.  And we are much more of a community than one might imagine, if at times we are connected only by the shared hope that we have recently defeated Clarke County.  But we still want our classmates to succeed and evidently enjoy reading about their successes.  And besides, it’s always fun to see the ridiculous Spirit Day costumes, read about a thrilling athletic victory, and discover the sometimes surprising talents of fellow students.

Even if many of the 250,000 visits to our site may be credited to students simply glancing at the front-page photo during an uneventful moment, we have still succeeded in attracting interest to the various events, profiles, achievements, discussions and controversies that have shaped our school over the last five years.  We have been able to feature more photos and articles than a conventional print newspaper ever could and we have maintained an accessible archive of hundreds of stories from past years.  

There are some events that we will remember long into the future, perhaps even if we do not appreciate their value at the present.  Some of the most gratifying feedback that we have received has come from alumni who have used Lasso Online to keep up with their old high school, wherever in the world they may be.  Too often do we forget that high school is supposed to be one of the best times of our lives and just look ahead to the future, to the next year, to something that we imagine is more exciting. Yet once we have all graduated, we will undoubtedly feel some nostalgia while reading news of traditions like Mr. Mason, the musical, the blood drive and maybe even exam week – although the latter’s not too likely. 

Even when the current students of George Mason go off to save the world, we suspect that Lasso Online will have no shortage of visitors.  If our current readership is any indication of what is to come, we hope that we will surpass many more milestones in the future.