Posts FromOctober, 2010

25
Oct 10

Why Do You Blog?

Posted by Esther Brown in Bloggers We Love / General — View Comments

Recently, I surveyed the bloggers who subscribe to our occasional newsletter, asking them questions about their blogs and themselves (a big thank you to everyone who submitted answers!). While I don’t purport to have conducted an in-depth, analytical survey of the entire blogosphere, at least one the questions I asked received some answers that definitely warrant further examination.

I asked the bloggers – the majority of whom identified themselves as ‘hyperlocal,’ bloggers – what motivates them to blog. I listed four possible answer choices:

  • For money
  • For fun/as a hobby
  • For fame/notoriety
  • Other

The answers I got broke down like this:

What surprised me was not how few of the bloggers said they were motivated by money. My interviews with bloggers have already told me that very few bloggers (particularly hyperlocal bloggers) are making significant income from blogging, and those that do make money are generally motivated to write by something else.  For these bloggers, any income is simply a happy bonus.

Rather, what surprised me was how many bloggers selected the mysterious ‘Other’ as their motivation. After reading through the write-in answers, though, I realized that I had left out an important and likely answer choice to the question. What was it?

  • To increase community awareness/to make a difference/as a public service

Public service! It makes perfect sense. So many of the bloggers I’ve spoken to say they not only feel an obligation to their blog audience, but they also feel a larger sense of purpose and dedication to their communities.

Even though most of the bloggers I’ve interviewed don’t think of themselves as journalists, strictly speaking, a lot of them speak about their devotion to hyperlocal blogging in words similar to those a journalist might use to speak about their obligation to the truth. (Some bloggers do think of themselves as journalists, of course, but let’s not open the whole blogger-versus-journalist can of worms today.)

Instead, today I’d like to hear from more bloggers:

Why do you blog? What motivates you, and how have those reasons evolved?

18
Oct 10

Outside.in Sr. Product Manager Lauren Sperber to Speak at Mashery’s Business of API Conference 10/19 in NYC

Posted by Esther Brown in Announcements / Development & Features / Events — View Comments

Tomorrow at 1:00 P.M. EST, Outside.in Sr. Product Manager Lauren Sperber will speak at The Business of APIs Conference, sponsored by Mashery. The conference will be held at SunWest Studio, located at 450 West 31st Street here in New York City.

Lauren will be talking about our API as a case study for  how APIs can power relationships between large and small companies (take Outside.in and CNN, for example). Though we’re probably a bit biased, we think that sounds really interesting, and we can’t wait to hear Lauren’s take on things.

The rest of the speakers at the conference sound similarly compelling:

Interested in attending? Tickets are still available through the conference site. The conference will be followed by a cocktail hour at 6 P.M. and sounds like an incredibly interesting event for developers and others interested in the business of APIs.

Lauren Sperber, Sr. Product Manager, Outside.In


As Outside.in’s first product manager, Lauren introduced order and documentation to the company’s small, scrappy development team. She moved on to head up product management of Outside.in’s hyperlocal search and syndication platform, including the newly released API, which enables developers to access local news in any U.S. state, city, ZIP code, or neighborhood. Before Outside.in, Lauren worked in product development and marketing in the education and non-profit sectors. She studied literature at Georgetown University and NYU, where she wrote her MA thesis on how search engines construct the authoritativeness of online text.

11
Oct 10

Congrats! You’ve Won a Scholarship to The New York Times’ Hyperlocal Blogging Course!

Posted by Esther Brown in Bloggers We Love / General — View Comments

Last week, we ran a simple contest on our blog. We offered entrants a chance at winning a scholarship to an online, self-paced course on Hyperlocal Blogging, which is being taught by our friends at The New York Times. As promised, we randomly selected two lucky winners from the entries we received, and they are… (drum roll, please)…

  • Clay Williams, a NYC blogger, foodie, ‘professional geek,’ and aspiring photographer who’s interested in learning hyperlocal blogging skills (always great to see photographer-types getting in on the fun: photography is a core blogging skill, and it’s one that’s especially useful for hyperlocal bloggers);
  • Ginger Fawcett, a St. Louis-area real estate agent who’s interested in learning how she can launch a hyperlocal blog in her neck of the woods (a stellar example of one thing real estate agents can do to really stand out: after all, there probably aren’t a whole lot of people who spend as much time thinking about their communities as real estate agents).

Judging from the conversations I’ve had with each of them so far, they’re both really excited to begin the course, which starts today.

We’re certainly happy to sponsor both of them and we look forward to seeing how their hyperlocal blogging projects evolve (No pressure, guys, seriously! Just have fun with it and learn as much as you can).

6
Oct 10

Annandale Blogger’s Advice? Stay in School.

Posted by Esther Brown in Bloggers We Love / General / Tips & Tricks — View Comments

Annandale’s Tollhouse Park

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Ellie Ashford, who blogs about Annandale, VA, a suburb of Washington, DC. I used to live in Northern Virginia myself, so I know that the area is a huge suburban expanse– however there’s also a diversity of communities that exist within the general ‘NoVA’ umbrella. Annandale is a unique enclave all on it’s own, and its residents are lucky to have a dedicated hyperlocal blogger like Ashford, who’s always looking for new happenings and stories to share with her friends and neighbors.

That said, what I found most compelling about Ashford is her obvious passion and her intense curiosity about the world around her: this is clearly her driving force. So, let’s all take a cue from Ashford and explore some of the ways we can continue learning and becoming even better bloggers.

TIP #1: KEEP REINVENTING YOURSELF

When I first started blogging, I began because my job was winding down and I knew I would be laid off. So I started the blog as a way to make some contacts and learn about blogging and social networking and new media. It’s been great. My background was in education writing, so now that I’m freelancing, a lot of my clients are in education. I’ve gotten a blogging job working as a freelancer on a technology blog, too– blogging has just been really helpful. I’m working on lots of different projects and I’ve met so many people doing it.

TIP #2: TAKE A COURSE ONLINE

I’m always looking for ways to learn new things, like how to promote my blog using Twitter and Facebook. I’m also taking advantage of online courses at Lynda.com– they have all these technology subjects you can learn about. You can explore all the classes for free, and then you pay $25 a month for unlimited access to the classes, which are all on video online. I’ve taken classes on WordPress and also SEO techniques. It’s a great place for people who are new to blogging.

TIP #3: SEE PARTNERSHIPS AS LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

I’m a part of TBD‘s network, which has been great– they’re starting to offer some free classes to whoever is in their network through an arrangement they have with American University– I’m taking a class this Saturday!

Some of my blog items are also posted on the local WUSA Channel 9 news website. I usually post two or three pieces a week on that site– after I post them on my own blog– to increase visibility for my blog.

Local bloggers should also try to get listed in whatever networks and directories they can find, like Outside.in, it really helps. Ask your local newspaper if they have a blog directory, too. Partnerships help you to keep learning about new technologies, stay current and meet other people.

TIP #4: USE TECH TOOLS TO STAY ON TOP OF TRENDS & STORIES

Fairfax County has all kinds of alerts you can sign-up for through their website – they’re a really good tool for bloggers. Google Alerts have also been really great for getting story ideas.  I find a story idea that way almost every day. Here’s a really good example: I have an alert set up for Annandale, and I just found out there was some kind of cake decorating contest in Oklahoma, and the winner was a guy from Annandale. They have a catering company here, but they don’t even have a store– but they’ve been on all these cake decorating shows on TV. That was one of my favorite interviews.

Oh, and I just got something about 10 minutes ago from the school system, too– one of the National Merit Scholar Finalists is from one of the local high schools. So, I found her name on Facebook and sent her a message asking her to contact me, because I’d like to highlight her.

TIP #5: YOUR COMMUNITY IS YOUR CLASSROOM

I’ve been involved in community affairs all my life, so it come naturally to me. I’m involved with the Fairfax County Superintendent’s Advisory Committee right now, so that helps me get story ideas. I’ll also write about the issues that the Community Association is involved with, and I go to a lot of Chamber of Commerce events. I’ve learned a lot about how local communities work, how local government procedure works.

I’ve also been covering a lot of the Planning Commission’s meetings lately, because they recently approved a new plan to encourage landowners to consolidate small pieces of land to encourage developers to do larger, multi-use developments. Things have been in kind of a slump economically, but as soon as it picks up, there will be a lot of changes here.

TIP #6: LEARN HOW THE PROS DO IT… THEN FOLLOW SUITE

When I started doing this, I went to an event and I said: ‘I want to be at the media table, I’m a blogger,’ — and they let me.  I’ve been a ‘professional journalist’ in my career, I have a degree in journalism. I use the AP Style Guide, which I’m comfortable with, and I try to verify facts. I won’t put out anything that I haven’t confirmed. So, yeah, I treat myself like regular media and that’s how they treat me.

Sure, I’ve had things where people have come in and submitted clarifications and I’ve published them as comments. But I think in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, being online — being able to correct things immediately, as opposed to having to wait for the next printing and burying the correction — that almost improves things.

5
Oct 10

Outside.in CEO Mark Josephson to Serve as Panelist at Ad Revenue Conference this Thursday in NYC

Posted by Esther Brown in Announcements / News — View Comments

On Thursday, October 7, Outside.in CEO Mark Josephson will participate in a panel at the Ad Revenue Conference at the Times Center in New York City.

The panel, ‘Embracing Change: Exploring New Business Models For Publishers,’ will be moderated by Jeff Jarvis, who serves as Associate Professor/Director of Interactive Journalism at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism, as well as a Columnist/Consultant at Guardian News and Media. Here’s what you can expect, according to the official agenda:

Embracing Change: Exploring New Business Models For Publishers

Some of the largest media companies in the world have built their empires upon foundations with too much reliance on brand advertising from their print and television divisions. Business models need to change in order for today’s publisher, especially ones with more traditional roots, to continue producing quality content and maintain relevancy and revenue growth. Salvation isn’t likely to come in one form (i.e. paywall, iPad, etc.), so this panel will explore a combination of ideas and ideologies about what it actually means to be a premium publisher in today’s digital age and how to best adapt to today’s competitive marketplace.

Other panelists include:

  • Andy Jacobson – VP, Digital Sales at Gannett Digital/USA Today
  • Jeremy Helfand – President, United Online Media Group
  • Kyoo Kim – VP, Sales, MSNBC.com

The Ad Revenue Conference is an annual, invitation-only event focused on helping online publishers develop strategies to improve their ad revenue through both direct and indirect sales channels. For additional details, please visit the conference’s official site.

5
Oct 10

CONTEST ALERT: Enter by THURSDAY to Win a Spot in The New York Times’ Online Course in Hyperlocal Blogging

Posted by Esther Brown in Announcements / Bloggers We Love / General — View Comments

We recently heard that our friends at The New York Times are now offering a course on Hyperlocal Blogging, which we think is great news. The online, self-paced course is designed for people who want to start a blog to serve the news and information needs of their community— no journalism experience required (though experienced hands are welcome as well). We think this is such great news that we’re offering scholarships to two lucky individuals who want to take the course.

If you’re interested in winning a scholarship, it’s easy to enter, but you have to act FAST: simply fill out this form by midnight on Thursday, October 7.

The two lucky winners will be randomly selected on the morning of Friday, October 8. Winners will be contacted via email and then announced publicly, right here on our blog.

According to Jim Schachter, associate managing editor of The New York Times:

There is no single right way to establish a successful community news site. But the experience that we’ve gleaned publishing The Local sites in and around New York – combined with our rich, deep experience as reporters and editors at The Times – gives us a lot of wisdom and short-cuts to share with anyone who wants to dive into this emerging world.

Taught by Deputy Metro Editor Mary Ann Giordano, Hyperlocal Blogging will cover:

  • The fundamentals of community journalism and local reporting, including how to find and present information, how to check facts and how to preserve fairness in local coverage;
  • Fundamentals of designing a site and building it out;
  • How to find and develop an audience, how to use social media to get a blog noticed, and how to get the community (including potential sponsors) involved and engaged.

Too excited to wait on contest results? Visit www.nytimes.com/knownow for more information or to register for Hyperlocal Blogging.

The first session of this brand-new course begins October 12, and runs through November 8, with course registrations accepted through October 10. Cost for the course is $175 (unless you win a scholarship, in which case it’s FREE!).

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