Yesterday’s post regarding the Immersive Gallery feature on our new website prompted a comment from Jay Baldemor of Louder Design. He offered a few additional user tips:

1. While zoomed in to any photo or video, you can click on the center “visit this page” link to launch a new window where that photo or video is found, whether it’s a gallery page, article, business listing or event!
2. Change your wall background color or image with a single mouse click!
3. Don’t forget to check the other galleries by clicking the other checkboxes — The Immersive Gallery opens with only the Photos & Videos displayed by default.

The best way to get acquainted with our Immersive Gallery is to experience it for yourself. We will be doing some work on adding photos over the next few days, so we hope you’ll check back later too!

The Immersive Gallery with Full Screen Option

If you came to look at pictures or videos, we want you to see them without distraction. The Immersive Gallery gives you that opportunity. First, click the Immersive Gallery button (shown below) – then if you like, enlarge your view with the full-screen icon near the bottom right and see a wall of images from the category of your choosing. Click and drag to effortlessly cycle through the collection  – then select a specific photo or video for larger viewing.

Every photo added to our albums in the future will appear in this immersive gallery that will eventually number in the hundreds. Magnificent mountain and wildlife shots, panoramic landscapes, event and attraction images  and more. There are also some off-the-cuff video segments that were originally posted here on Inside Alaska and a few other surprises along the way.

As always, if there is anything else we can do to make this feature better, easier to use or even more impressive, let us know. We are very serious about making your experience the best it can be.

When Jay Baldemor asked me to write a short testimonial about our experience with Louder Design, I was eager to do so. We were more than happy with the results of our new website and ready to tell the world about the great experience we had building it with Jay and the guys at Louder. Here’s a look at what I wrote:

When we first began searching for a vendor to build the new ExploreFairbanks.com, I remember saying I wanted someone who knew innovation wasn’t just a new paint job on old ideas. They needed to believe that a travel site could be better than “industry standard” – that meant re-thinking some of the key elements, asking tough questions and building things that had an impact on the visitor. When we found Louder Design, we found that company.

They viewed the site from a potential visitor’s perspective, brainstorming ideas for making their experience better. From the initial point of inspiration to an eventual decision to book their trip, the technology makes sense and it works.

That being said, it’s not enough to say “these guys know their stuff.” They also listen, bring several options to every discussion, execute plans to perfection and are an absolute joy to work with.

I’ll be giving a hearty endorsement for a long time to come…but my words will not tell the whole story. For that you must have a look at their design, see how their sites work, tinker a little with their terrific management tools and hear their fresh ideas. Testimonials are great, but hands-on experience will speak much, much Louder.

Chris Harper
Internet Coordinator
Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau

There are a variety of reasons we think our new site is a cut above. A quick look at our homepage and a few clicks should give you a preliminary idea, but be sure to sign up for a myFairbanks account and start using the Trip Planner to recognize the real difference. It’s smart software that is useful and easy to use. We really think you’ll like it.

With that being said, we want to be sure we make changes that could help the site become even better. If you have thoughts on what we can do to add a dimension of new intelligence or functionality, please let us know. Louder and I will then put our heads together and see what we can work out. Contact me at any time with comments, suggestions or other input!

These eight tweets received the most clicks on our Twitter account over the past week. Photos from Denali and the Arctic were top on the list, along with some links to brand new pages on our recently-launched website.

1. Our Fairbanks and Interior Alaska photo contest is still open. Enter five of your favorites today: http://ow.ly/xflv
2. Breathtaking images from Denali – http://ow.ly/xm6k
3. Authentic Alaskan Stories: hear from people who call Fairbanks home – http://ow.ly/wUGP
4. HDR Photo of the Day…Denali through the Trees – http://ow.ly/wTSQ
5. Midnight sun prevents fireworks each summer, that means we save big light shows for crisp winter evenings: http://ow.ly/wUvT
6. The Jolly Old Elf makes his list and checks it twice just 15 miles from Fairbanks: http://ow.ly/wUjy
7. Amazing polar bear closeup from @alaskaphoto in the Arctic: http://ow.ly/xGhi
8. See the brand-new photo and video gallery on our site. Be sure to check out the Immersive Gallery (top right button) – http://ow.ly/wiuT

Follow us on Twitter now @insidealaska.

With the launch of our new website, we have also expanded our social networking presence to Facebook. If you’re already an FB user, you can find us at facebook.com/insidealaska. If not, feel free to join and become our fan today!

Be the first to hear about many of our announcements, new feature roll-outs and contests by becoming a fan. We are also posting a ton of Fairbanks and Interior Alaska photos, videos and other items almost daily.

If you’d rather just show up here and find the latest, visit our breaking new page, which has all our recently posted items in chronological order. Those social networking addicts among us can find our profiles on:

Facebook | FriendFeed | Twitter | YouTube | Vimeo

Here are seven of the most clicked links from our Twitter account over the past week or so. Most of photos from around the area.

1. Alaska tourism experts flock to Fairbanks for conference – http://ow.ly/t0CD
2. Wow. Killer Denali photo of the day: http://ow.ly/pZSD
3. Absolutely fantastic Autumn in Interior Alaska photos from Patrick Endres: http://ow.ly/plu6
4. “Bullwinkle here is happy to have some peace and quiet after a busy summer…” – http://ow.ly/rXJq
5. F-16 Fighting Falcon Aggressor from Eielson AFB soaring above Interior Alaska: http://ow.ly/q00U
6. Awesome new photos from Denali National Park: http://ow.ly/qnmT
7. Photos from a trip on the ‘Denali Park Road 2009′ – http://ow.ly/qAhF

As another note of interest, our clicks on Twitter have gone from the hundreds per month to the thousands! Thanks for all your support.

Most of the popular links lately have featured photos from Denali National Park or other wilderness areas near Fairbanks. We make a prime home-base for anyone who wants to get out and see some of the magnificent scenery nearby.

1. Wow. Killer Denali photo of the day: http://ow.ly/pZSD
2. Some good photos from the Gates of the Arctic National Park north of Fairbanks: http://ow.ly/nLLE
3. Cute overload: Dall sheep lambs in the Brooks Range north of Fairbanks – http://ow.ly/nLIq
4. Absolutely fantastic Autumn in Interior Alaska photos from Patrick Endres: http://ow.ly/plu6
5. Crisp northern lights time-lapse video captured in Arctic Alaska: http://ow.ly/nWhW
6. Great photo of Denali with Grizzly bear in foreground from Patrick Endres: http://ow.ly/qkZg
7. F-16 Fighting Falcon Aggressor from Eielson AFB soaring above Interior Alaska: http://ow.ly/q00U
8. Here is a bull Caribou shot from Denali by Patrick Endres: http://ow.ly/pZYx
9. Terrific photos: ‘Autumn in Denali’ – http://ow.ly/oIUY
10. Awesome new photos from Denali National Park: http://ow.ly/qnmT

I will follow-up with more of our top tweets on occasion, but if you want to keep up real-time you can always follow us at Twitter.com/InsideAlaska.

If you’d like to see how far the exhibits have come over the past few month, be sure to check out this video from July. If you indeed come to see us in person, be sure to pick up one of our just-released Winter Guides. You can also request one by mail in advance of your trip, or take a look at the filp-book style online version.

Download the 9/11 Midday Update

The exhibits inside the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center are slated to open early next week. While some minor additions will occur in the upcoming months, you will certainly be impressed by what’s already in place. The photo above shows the exhibits while they were in process of being built.

Download the 08/21 Midday Update