Alright, folks, the Ballard News-Tribune is jumping into the 21st Century. We're getting a new Facebook page.

While we have had a Facebook page for a while now, it has been under the old "Friend" model. The new Facebook page, which can be found at http://www.facebook.com/ballardnewstrib, is a business "Fan" page.

With the new page, the BNT will be able to access social media and analytics tools that Facebook provides to businesses to help keep better track of marketing. This will help us provide readers with a better reading experience and increase our audience.

Moreover, it increases privacy for readers. With the new fan page, the BNT cannot view your profile if you have your profile settings on private.

We will also work to better personalize our social media experience. In addition to posting links to our articles, we will post pictures and engage the community in other unique ways.

We encourage you to be a part of the experience and be a part of the community conversation. Share thoughts, pictures and links on our new Facebook page.

The old Facebook page will be updated over the next two weeks while we transition to the new page.

Thank you, Ballard! And remember to like our new page!