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Two of 2010’s hottest news stories were written by frequent Mountain Xpress contributors Anne Fitten Glenn and Nelda Holder. Both women are longtime journalists: Glenn now writes our Edgy Mama and Brews News columns; before retiring late last year, Holder was our associate editor, in charge of the letters and commentary sections. Here are their respective thoughts on two articles that ranked among the most-viewed by online readers this year. — Margaret Williams

”Social Media for Business No Longer an Option”

I wrote this story right around the time that lots of small businesses were realizing they needed to dive into the fray of social media, if they hadn’t done so already. This was an easy story to research, because people who work in social media are typically both easy to track down and, well, social. Plus, local business owners were excited to talk about the connections they’d made via Twitter and Facebook. One reason this story has attracted so many readers is that the social-media folks I interviewed promoted the heck out of it — using social media. — Anne Fitten Glenn, freelancer writer/columnist

“Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube — names that didn't exist a handful of years ago — are now indispensable business-survival tools.

Remember when small businesses were scrambling to set up websites — to provide an easily accessible online presence for their clients and customers? Today, these same businesses are learning they must expand beyond static web pages and into the continuously updated stream of information otherwise known as social media.”

To view the full story, visit: http://avl.mx/22

”Local Family Feels Vindicated by Breakthrough Research”

Ryan Baldwin’s "positive" test for the XMRV retrovirus was a hard-won vindication in his personal saga and a newsworthy means to aid the public's knowledge of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome — a debilitating but misunderstood disease. That misunderstanding was evident in court proceedings after Ryan was removed from his home by the Department of Social Services. An unnamed source had accused his parents of medical neglect, implying that his mother "caused" the effects of his illness. Clinically diagnosed with CFS, Ryan testified in court that his foster caretakers had been told there was "nothing wrong" with him. — Nelda Holder, freelancer writer and former associate editor

The one-page letter dated Sept. 1, 2010, contained the following statement:

‘I wanted to inform you that your son Ryan's tests indicated that he has positive [sic] evidence of XMRV in his blood sample drawn by PSI several months ago. As you know, we are just at the beginning of understanding what this means and what the implication may be for Ryan and your family.’”

To view the full story, visit: http://avl.mx/26