Over the past couple of years, readers of the Faribault County Register have seen us promote not only our Register Web site, but our CU site as well.

I wonder how many of you have actually taken a moment to actually go and take a peek at it?

This question came to mind while I was taking pictures of the annual Relay for Life event last week.

One of the survivors walking around the luminary track saw me take his photo, and asked how he could get a copy of it.

Easy, I replied, just go to the CU site. All of the pictures I was taking that night would make their way to the CU area on our Web site, I explained.

He replied that he had often seen how we had touted the CU site, but had not actually gone there to see it for himself. I imagine he did now, after I explained how to go about it.

The CU site was something I found interesting when I first came to the Register. I liked it, because of two reasons.

One, people could go there and see, e-mail, or purchase their favorite photos which had appeared in the Register. But secondly, and to me more importantly, we were able to upload all of the photos we had taken at an important event.

It is frustrating to take 30 or so pictures at a game or event and be limited to just publishing a couple in the paper. Sometimes the ones in the paper have to be in black and white, and not in color.

But on the CU site, they are always in color and we can put up as many as we want.

So if our readers want to see what happened at the the county fair, Moto Fest in Winnebago or Wells Kernel Days, (whether they were at the event or not), they can check out all the pictures our photographer took. It is the next best thing to being there.

Now for the exciting news. The CU site is getting even better, with a new look and new tools.

Some of our readers have complained the site is not easy to navigate, not easy to find certain events’ photographs, and not easy to purchase prints.

Now all that will change on Aug. 26 when the new and improved site is unveiled.

It will have better search capabilities and improved navigation and viewing options.

People who use the My CU site will find it easier to do so. That is where our readers can upload their own photos for others to see and share. There will even be an easy way to share galleries of photos with social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Registered users of the My CU site (and it is easy and free to register), can upload photos of family, social events, town events, church, school, and more. In the You CU site individuals or organizations can post photos of their events, fundraisers, etc.

The We CU site (with Register staff members photos) will have additional galleries of photos, and they will now be tagged (labeled) for easy searching. Also, the names of the staff photographers will be added. This way the site can be searched for photos by particular photographers.

The staff photos can be purchased as prints, or on posters, mouse pads, coffee cups and more.

There are more options as well. Viewers can comment on the photos they see, and they can even rate them.

Probably the best part of the CU site is that it is free to view, browse and use. Only when a photo is purchased is there any charge.

We hope area residents take advantage of this service. If you see us at an event taking pictures, remember that you can easily go to the CU site and view the pictures we were taking.

It is a fun way to see what went on at the event, and if you were there, maybe we snapped a shot of you that you want to keep.

If you have a student in school, we take a lot of pictures of games and concerts and other events that are available to view – and purchase – each week.

We CU photos are uploaded each week. The My CU area has pictures added to it whenever you want to do it.

Try it out. Here is what you do. Either go to the Register’s Web site at www.faribaultcountyregister.com and then click on the CU site icon – or you can go directly to the CU site by going to cu.faribaultcountyregister.com.

From there just navigate through the instructions and soon you will be having fun seeing photos of your friends and neighbors – and maybe you, too.