Posts Tagged "New York City"

21
Dec 10

Attention Must Be Paid to Such a Neighborhood

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

Sophie's: The Bar That Started It All. Image: AHistoryOfNewYork.com.

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing the anonymous blogger (aka ‘E.V.G.’) behind E.V. Grieve, a hyperlocal blog that covers the East Village neighborhood here in New York City. As we spoke, I found myself hearing echoes of that famous monologue from Arthur Miller’s classic play, ‘Death of Salesman,’ (about how attention must be paid to a man upon his death, even if he wasn’t a famous man or a rich man) and I couldn’t help but think about the monologue in the context of the East Village and all the changes its seen in the last half-century.

If you’re at all familiar with New York City, you know that it’s not only “The City That Never Sleeps,” but that it’s also a city that’s constantly in flux— perhaps the most reliably constant thing in New York is change itself. The East Village is no exception to this phenomenon, as Wikipedia notes:

The East Village […] was once generally considered to be part of the Lower East Side, but began to develop its own identity and culture in the 1960s, when many artists, musicians, students and hippies began to move into the area, attracted by cheap rents and the base of Beatniks that had lived there since the 1950s. The neighborhood has become a center of the counterculture in New York, and is known as the birthplace and historical home of many artistic movements, including punk rock and the Nuyorican literary movement. It has also been the site of protests and riots.
The East Village is still known for its diverse community, vibrant nightlife and artistic sensibility, although in recent decades gentrification has changed the character of the neighborhood somewhat.

What was once the epicenter of the counterculture movement has, like many parts of Manhattan, become increasingly gentrified. There are now fewer artists, higher rents and more college students and affluent young professionals in the East Village than there once were. Of course, there’s also less crime and many, many new vibrant businesses as well.

Whether you like it – or not – development happens in New York City. Neighborhoods grow, change, evolve and re-invent themselves. A resident of the East Village for roughly two decades, E.V.G. has seen a lot of changes: some for better, some for worse. On E.V. Greive, he’s documenting it all and, perhaps most importantly, paying attention. That’s why he’s a Blogger We Love.

We hope you find his reflections on hyperlocal blogging as fascinating as we did.

ON WHY HE CHOSE THE EAST VILLAGE

While he didn’t grow up in New York City, the East Village is the only New York City neighborhood E.V.G. has ever lived in:

I’ve been here for about 20 years. Some people might say, ‘hey, who are you to judge [development], you’ve only been here 20 years!’ I’m well aware of that, and there’s really nothing I can do about it. I got here as soon as I could! I think it’s [because of] my father, really – he had never lived here, but he was an Allen Ginsburg fan, and it really rubbed off on me— [the East Village] seemed like such a magical place.

ON WHY HE BECAME A HYPERLOCAL BLOGGER

“I started the blog after reading an item on Page Six – it said that Sophie’s was going out of business. [Before I read that], I was really just moving around in a blur. I wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on in the neighborhood. I wasn’t really noticing. But Sophie’s – that was the last straw. I was so pissed. I just thought, you know what, I’m going to start putting together all these [news] items about [Sophie’s], and then I was just going to go to the Sophie’s people and create this great time capsule about this great bar, this great place. So, that was the plan.”

ON THE EAST VILLAGE, THEN

I think we do make things better than they were—sometimes you only remember the good parts. It’s like High School. There’s a danger in romanticizing these things. Even Sophie’s – back when the bars would open at noon, and men would go there because they had no better things to do — they were waiting there to die. A lot of places along The Bowery were like that. Just ask someone who’s been to The Bowery in the late 1960’s: this was an awful place. It’s nice to look at these old vintage photos and say, ah, look at this great bar. But this was skid row. People were drinking themselves to death and it wasn’t anything to celebrate. But, at the same time, we don’t need to tear down the whole G*ddamn boulevard and build $2 million condos.

ON THE EAST VILLAGE, NOW

I think I like living here more now than I ever had before. I still think there’s a lot of energy here, now. Maybe a different kind of energy. There’s not that menacing undercurrent now—with [a lot of] the drug dealers [gone]. Sure, there was something cool about it [before], but it’s safer for my wife now. I don’t miss that [menacing energy].

ON THE YOUNGER GENERATION OF EAST VILLAGERS

These kids don’t care at all – I kinda feel that way. Some of the new generation living in the neighborhood… they don’t give a sh*t. They’ll throw up on your stoop, they’ll pee in your stairwell. So, I don’t necessarily see the respect as much as I did before. But I don’t hate NYU students. I speak to a lot of NYU students who love to live here.

ON DEVELOPING YOUR VOICE AS A BLOGGER

I don’t know, sometimes I take the attitude that we’re all in this together. I think it’s important to speak in a regular, everyday voice. I think people come to see you as a friend, as a trusted friend. I mean, how do you choose a movie to see? Do you go by the critics, or do you go by a friend’s recommendation? I personally always go by a friend’s recommendation. I think it’s important to be nice, too. You create more of a rapport with the readers that way. Sarcasm in small amounts is fine, but the world can only take so much. You have to be careful.

ON BLOGGING ANONYMOUSLY

It was never supposed to be about me. I like to think I’m pretty fair, I’m not just blasting people and taking pot shots. So I don’t fee like I’m hiding behind an anonymous pseudonym. Someone offered to send me a review copy of the new Keith Richards book, which I do want to read… but then someone would have my address. That would be awkward.

ON REPORTING AND BLOGGING REVENUE

I work in publishing. I like being a reporter, so it’s fun— it doesn’t seem like work to me. I started out in journalism, too, so cranking out a lot of copy on a short deadline [comes naturally to me]. I’m sort of in the volume business right now— though this isn’t a business. I don’t have any advertising. It doesn’t really matter to me. Even with good traffic, I could only make like $100 a month. It doesn’t really seem worth it, so it’s not a priority.

ON HOW TO WORK THE NEIGHBORHOOD BEAT AS A BLOGGER

Reach out to store owners here and there. It’s important to go to community meetings, too— you can’t always link to other people. You can’t always say, ‘Oh, Eater will be there,’ or ‘DNAInfo will be there.’ Sometimes you have to sit through the 9 hour meeting yourself.

ON GETTING BREAKING NEWS TIPS FROM READERS

There was this terrible fire on 14th Street at Avenue A – I was at work, stuck in an office. Someone from the scene kept sending me photos and providing a narrative of what was happening. Those breaking news stories are always really big.

ON BREAKING NEWS AND GETTING PICKED UP BY MAINSTREAM MEDIA

I got a lot of pick-up on Labor Day weekend. There’s this place called Diablo Royale, and I started getting all these emails about a ‘Boats n’ Hoes’ party they were having— it’s a reference to a movie with Will Farrell: they pretend they’re rich, famous rap stars. It’s funny— anyway, somebody who lives near there was sending me all these photos of 19-year-old NYU students waiting in line in really appalling, suburban outfits. It got picked up by Eater, Grubstreet and someone at The [Village] Voice, I think. It was just one of those things. A lot of people found that delicious. It’s kinda fun when you find out your blog is being linked to by crazy celebrity blogs in, like, Italy.

ON WHAT MAKES IT ALL POSSIBLE

I couldn’t do this website without the encouragement of so many people— people who are as passionate about the neighborhood as I am: people sending in tips and photos, people commenting and keeping the conversation going. I’m amazed, too, that people take the time to comment. The people that take the time— to me, that’s really the best thing. I really appreciate that passion and I certainly couldn’t do it without so many contributions. I’m really thankful for that. It really speaks to the passion of the neighborhood.

ON WHAT MAKES IT ALL WORTHWHILE

What makes it all worth it? [Interviews] like this. I really appreciate it. I know that sounds really corny, but it’s true.

8
Nov 10

Outside.in is Hiring: Content Manager

Posted by Jared in Jobs — View Comments

Outside.in is the leading provider of hyperlocal news and information. We show consumers neighborhood news and information from local bloggers and mainstream media on hundreds of trusted news sites across the Outside.in Network as well as on our destination site, Outside.in.

ROLE:
Content is an essential component of our hyperlocal experience. We’re looking for an analytical and creative Content Manager to lead the organization, refinement, and expansion of our database of more than 50,000 content sources. By doing so, you will be playing a critical role in Outside.in’s success.

Reporting to the VP of Partner Relations, the Content Manager will be responsible for:

  • Ensuring that our content source database covers all U.S. markets comprehensively
  • Monitoring various channels for new sources of hyperlocal content and adding them to our database as they become available
  • Maintaining titles, categorizations, and other data points of content sources to ensure high-quality results across the Outside.in Network
  • Continuously refining the taxonomy by which we organize our content sources to accommodate new types of content
  • Managing a team of remote freelancers and reviewing their work for inclusion in our content database
  • Using mechanical turk to efficiently outsource large-scale tasks
  • Supporting content needs of key partners based on needs shared by the business development and partner relations teams
  • Monitoring trending news topics and ensuring that our content tagging is optimized for search queries for those stories
  • Assisting the product team in researching roadmap for inclusion of new content sources and the QA team in testing the release of new content-related features
  • Monitoring key metrics for diversity and quality of content database and focusing work to optimize those metrics
  • Regularly monitor and be a passionate advocate for the quality of our content

REQUIREMENTS:

  • Highly analytical, detail-oriented, and driven worker comfortable working in a demanding, fast-paced environment
  • Experience using Excel to organize and manipulate large sets of data
  • Ability to orchestrate systems to manage many simultaneous, ongoing tasks with a knack for finding an easier way
  • 1-2 years of experience in an analytical position or an online editorial position

ICING ON THE CAKE:

  • Passion for news and local content
  • Experience with or interest in learning to use Mechanical Turk
  • Familiarity with SQL

INTERESTED?
Please send cover letter, resume and/or LinkedIn profile to careers@outside.in

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.

31
Aug 10

A Blogger’s Dilemma: Been There, Done That… Now What?

Posted by Esther Brown in Bloggers We Love — View Comments

New York City is OVER.

Dead.

Finito.

At least, that’s what NYC nightlife blogger Kristina Marino tells me. She doesn’t get the obsession with the Hamptons, either, (“You’re like: ‘this isn’t cool. Why would I drive 3 hours just to go to the same clubs they have in the city?’”), and it’s not like you can go to Goldbar, Kenmare, The Jane, or Le Bain every night. At least… not once you’ve landed a full-time job that you value and enjoy. Plus, maybe you’d like to find the time to learn a language or two. Not to mention that you’ve started to think about the possibility of going back to grad school. Oh, and you’re also trying to get in shape (on account of all the bridesmaid’s dresses you’re being asked to wear lately).

FOTP BBQ at Good Company. Photo credit: Kelly Neal for Metromix New York.

… Let me back up for a moment:

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kristina, the girl behind The Downtown Diaries, a blog about nightlife here in New York City (or “The Scene,” as Kristina begrudgingly calls it). We chose to meet at Good Company in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Finger on The Pulse was hosting their final BBQ of the summer season, with Andrew W.K. DJ-ing and $5 plates of deliciousness courtesy of Frankies Spuntino.

I arrive at 7:30 on the dot, belly up to the bar, and order a sweet tea vodka with lemonade (which, happily, is served in a Mason jar). A short while later, a pretty girl with dark hair and smoky eyes sidles up next to me: “Are you Esther?” she asks. It’s Kristina!

I buy her a drink. She orders a sweet tea vodka, too, and I like her immediately. Every few minutes someone new comes up to us to say hello to Kristina. They’re young, attractive, hip, creative: writers, photographers, DJs, bon vivants, musicians and artists. Kristina is a natural hostess and her networking skills are evident right away. She’s pleasant with everyone and careful to make thoughtful introductions. She talks with a friend about meeting up on the Lower East Side later in the evening (“At Pianos?”… “I’ll text you.”), then we make our way out to the courtyard to get some grub.

Kristina (R) & friend Nicole Wasilewicz (Senior Music Editor, Free Williamsburg)

I ask Kristina what prompted her to start the blog. I always love the story, and hers doesn’t disappoint: it all began thanks to the MTA.

… Ok, Ok, I kid, I kid.

Well, sort of, anyway: after a long night of partying in the city, she was waiting for the L train to come and take her back to Brooklyn. Broke A*s Stuart and his girlfriend were also waiting for the L, and the two ladies struck up a conversation about the cute boots one of them was wearing (“Will you believe they were from Charlotte Russe?!”). An hour later, the L still hadn’t come (thanks, MTA!), so the threesome decided to share a cab back to Williamsburg. Stuart mentioned how he needed help planning his upcoming book release party, and Kristina jumped at the chance (“I told him I was an event planner. I wasn’t, at the time, but I knew I wanted to be.”).

Long story short: Kristina got the gig. She may not have been an event planner, but she knew a thing or two about parties. After all, the girl was sneaking into Limelight at the tender age of 15 (when Limelight was still a nightclub, not a chi-chi marketplace for expensive gelato). So, it’s not surprising that she planned an amazing book release party for Stuart (fire breathers, hundreds of beautiful people, the works), and she was on her way. She met a lot of people in “The Scene,” and soon she was going out ‘til the wee hours almost every night of the week. Conveniently enough, around the same time, Kristina got laid off from Yahoo! along with about 2000 other people. She found herself with a hefty severance package and lots of free time on her hands.

It was time to party, clearly— and party she did, for about two months straight. She then did a brief stint selling advertising and hated it. It was during that wretched time that she started toying with the idea of blogging. Then, on one particularly epic evening, she found herself at Mr. West rubbing shoulders with Katy Perry and Rihanna and she knew she had found something worth writing about: “I mean, who gets to do this sh*t?!”

And so, The Downtown Diaries was born: a place to chronicle the adventures of a New York City Scenester who’s also a Queens native, a die-hard resident of The ‘Burg and a refreshingly down-to-earth gal. The blog quickly took off, so after leaving the miserable Ad Sales gig, she decided to give herself six months off to have some more fun (it turned out to be only two months, but we’ll get to that later). During that time, she planned parties, discovered that “Wednesday is the new Monday,” (wait, what? Did she say Monday?) and affirmed her beliefs that: 1) you should never pay for your own drinks (“Blasphemy!”) and 2) “Knowing the DJ is key,” when you’re trying to get into a party.

If knowing the DJ doesn’t work, you should just tell the unlucky soul working the door that you’re writing a story about [insert nightlife-related story idea here] or that you’re there with [V.I.P. X] (“Doormen will never know if the story runs so it doesn’t really matter.”). Try to do this with as much swagger as you can muster. This is called ‘Dropping The Card,’ as I learned, and it’s as simple as that: giving your business card to the person at the door, explaining to them who you are, what you do, why you’re there, and why they should just be a doll and let you past the velvet rope, like, now. I asked Kristina how often she has to ‘Drop The Card,’ these days, and she laughs: “I try to keep it to a minimum.”

… So, if she’s doesn’t have to ‘Drop The Card’ much anymore, what kind of wild shenanigans is Kristina getting into these days? And, why is she now insisting that “New York is dead,” after having finally established herself as a fixture in the city’s see-and-be-seen nightlife landscape?

For one thing, she’s no longer living the charmed life of the blissfully unemployed: after about two months of partying like a rockstar (quite literally), she was contacted by Mirrorball, a consumer engagement agency specializing in live events for beverage and spirits brands such as Dos Equis, Pernod Absinthe, Perrier, Amstel and Hpnotiq. They needed an in-house blogger and someone to handle their social media strategy, and they thought Kristina would be perfect for the job. She agreed, and has been happily employed at Mirrorball for the past six months. Plus, while she still has her Scenester moments (“I don’t just want to write about the ‘IT’ girl, I want to be the ‘IT,’ girl.”), Kristina’s found that a whole host of new interests have sprung up in her life (“I want to learn Spanish, I want to learn Italian. I want to learn to play the keyboard, learn to DJ and I want to get really good at yoga. I want to lose 10 lbs, so I’ve been going to the gym a lot instead of going out. I want to study for the GMATs… but, it’s like, when the f*ck do I have time for that?”).

Me & Kristina. Photo credit: Kelly Neal for Metromix New York.

So, I ask her: now that she’s back to working full-time and taking up new hobbies, how does she handle her rigorous social schedule?

… Ah, yes. Now we’re getting somewhere. I can tell by her expression that I’ve clearly asked a tough one.

She goes out a lot less than she once did, because her life is changing. She only goes out on Wednesday through Saturday nights most of the time, and she doesn’t drink very much when she goes out because, well, she’s got to work the next day. The Scene, on the other hand, has remained more or less the same, which is one reason Kristina’s grown a bit weary of it. It must be exhausting, I imagine, bouncing from party to party, neighborhood to neighborhood, scene to scene (“You’re never a regular, really.”). Plus, when your social schedule is dictated by openings and special events, it can feel a bit contrived (“That’s exactly it! I don’t have any sort of organic lifestyle.”). Not surprisingly, when ‘The Scene,’ stops being fresh and exciting and begins feeling more like a chore— like work— it can become boring, routine, stale. And you’re in real trouble when you add to that the fact that you can forget about dating, because “if you’re in The Scene you can’t date someone in The Scene,” Kristina explains with mock drama. “At least that’s what they say,” she adds, laughing. “I don’t know who they are, but… that’s what they say.”

Kristina’s also admittedly become a bit jaded by some of fair-weather friends she’s made (and lost) in recent years. I get the sense that she’s been burned more than once. She’s friendly with everyone – and does keep a handful of close, trusted friends – and yet she wonders aloud what many of us often think to ourselves: “Where do I belong?”

This isn’t to say, of course, that Kristina doesn’t still enjoy a fun night out on the town. She definitely does, and it’s not uncommon for her to stay out until 3 a.m. on a weeknight. But she senses a shift in her attentions: after all, once you’ve partied with Katy Perry and Rihanna, been interviewed by BlackBook, been written-up by Eater, met Lady Gaga – you get the idea – what else is there?

Well, quite a lot, as it turns out: Kristina is looking forward to the fall, to colder weather, a bit of hibernation – some relief from the relentless party schedule that engulfs New York City in the summer months. She’s not sure what’s next for her, exactly, but she has a lot of ideas, both for the blog and for herself. For starters, she wants to make the blog more of a personal narrative. And she plans on making more time to see her family now that summer’s over (“My Nana lives on Havemeyer Street,” she explains, adding that her Italian-American family has a long history in Williamsburg). She also wants to help plan some underground dinner parties with her friend Adam Aleksander.

While the big picture is still evolving, these days this 26-year-old nightlife blogger finds herself staying in her home borough more often. For one thing, she says, getting off the subway in Brooklyn is still one of her favorite feelings:

“It’s like a huge sigh of relief: I have everything I need right here.”

27
Aug 10

Happy Shea Day!

Posted by Esther Brown in Events / General — View Comments

Meet Chris Shea:

Exhibit A

Chris is one of our AWESOME developers here at Outside.in. Chris likes to keep things simple, so he’s developed something of a uniform for himself, which he rarely deviates from:

bedhead +
black glasses +
black T-shirt (Uniqlo) +
blue jeans (Levi 507s – sadly discontinued) +
Chuck Taylors (black, obvi)

Today is Chris’ birthday (happy birthday, Chris!), so as a surprise, we thought we’d all dress up like him (even Olive the dog joined in!):

Exhibit B

We even tried copying his signature smirk:

Exhibit C

And Lauren even dressed up her signature birthday cupcakes (she really outdid herself this time, they were even MORE delicious than usual, if that’s possible… and Vegan, too (I didn’t believe it, either)!):

Exhibit D

Later, we’re all going out for drinks to celebrate. So, if you happen to stop by Rye House tonight and you see what appears to be a nerdy improv troupe enjoying some beers… it’s not. Just us Outside.in nerds, enjoying some frosty beverages together… ’cause that’s how we roll, son!

… When we’re not getting all hyperlocal on the internets and writing code and stuff.

P.S. Want to join us? Well, you’re in luck, ’cause we’re hiring (interns, too!).

19
Aug 10

Bon Voyage! (Or, Why Taking a Blog Vacay is Awesome)

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

(This is a guest post from blogger extraordinaire Erica Reitman, who does her hyperlocal blogging at F*cked in Park Slope and her design blogging at the aptly-named Design Blahg. She also serves as the Marketing Director at Squarespace. Erica can be reached via Twitter @effedparkslope or @designblahg.)

So, I took a vacation from my blogs for 2 weeks. This vacation didn’t coincide with a real vacation. I wasn’t sitting on a beach or hiking through a rain forest. In fact, I was mostly sitting on my couch, catching up on TV, meeting friends for dinner and on one particularly delicious night, going to bed at 9:30. Like 9:30 p.m., in bed, lights out. And yes: it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

A blog vacay doesn’t have to mean leaving town. If you’re anything like Erica, it can mean spending some QT catching up on your favorite reality TV, like SYTYCD. It’s YOUR blog vacay: do what you want!

I have two blogs now (FIPS and Design Blahg) and I typically post 2-3 times per day on FIPS and at least once a day on DB. I also have a Twitter account for each and a Facebook page for each. Oh, and a full time job. So needless to say, it takes a lot of friggin’ time to manage this all. Like A LOT. Now, no one held a gun to my head and said: YOU MUST WRITE TWO BLOGS OR ELSE, so I take full responsibility for this insanity. But it *is* insanity and I decided that I needed a mental break from it all, and so my blog vacay was born.

Logistically, it was slightly easier for me to organize the vacation as I’m lucky enough to have other writers on both blogs who help me out. My gameplan was to take the entire two weeks, save two Sunday eves where I had to recap a TV show.

Here’s how the first few days went down:

* day one: I caved and did a blog post
* day two: I took some cell phone pics and sent info on a post to my FIPS editor.
* day three: I came up with a new blog idea

SON. OF. A. B.

Ok, so things didn’t go *exactly* as planned. And it was waaaay harder than I thought it would be to just step off. But also, after the first few days, I did swing into a bit of a groove. And if I’m being really honest, there were even a couple of days toward the end that I didn’t even bother going to FIPS to see what stories were posted (or even IF any stories were posted… and, of course, they were). But it felt really nice to just take a step back and enjoy a different view of my life for a couple of weeks.

In the end, I really loved the time off. I think it was worthwhile for me to clear my head and feel like a normal person, without the pressures of “OMG WHAT AM I GONNA POST TOMORROW” swirling around in my head day and night. Yes it was slightly challenging getting my head back in the game after my vacation was up, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

So I say bon voyage… take a blog vacay of your own and try it out.

(ED NOTE: To learn more about Erica’s secrets to blogging, check out the Mediabistro class she’ll be teaching this fall in NYC: Intro to Blogging.)

11
Aug 10

The Cream of the Crop: 10 Top Tips & Quips from Bloggers We Love

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

I’m on vacay, but Bloggers We Love are here for you!

I’m on vacation this week – but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about you guys! That’s right, this week we’ve got the Bloggers We Love clip show post! Please enjoy. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming shortly.

10. Adelle says: “Just Do It.”

One of the biggest benefits of blogging is just starting the blog and acknowledging that creative desire and giving in to it — and then, once you give in to it, it just opens you up to so many other things.

- Blogger We Love Adelle McElveen of Fashionista Lab

9. Jill says: “Start Your Own Meetup.”

In January, we started holding monthly Meetups. We go out into Brooklyn neighborhoods with our cameras and explore them — and invite whoever is interested into the group to come exploring with us. For instance, we went to Gowanus, right after the Gowanus [Canal] was declared a superfund site — more than 35 people walked through Gowanus shooting [photographs]. It was great because I got to meet all these people that I correspond with on the internet.

- Blogger We Love Jill Harrison of For the Love of Brooklyn

8. Tom says: “Focus on Friendraising.”

We’ve done huge things with the Kimpton hotel group. For instance, we did a survey last year just looking at the demographics of our readership [and those that completed the survey had a chance to win a free dinner and hotel stay from Kimpton]. We’re getting ready to plan our second birthday party, and we hope to partner with them again. Another great partnership we’ve started has been with the 9:30 Club. We do concert ticket giveaways each week– it’s fantastic.

- Blogger We Love Tom Bridge of We Love DC, on why partnering with local businesses is a good tactic for local bloggers

7. Caroline says: “Relax.”

Try to write every day — just don’t pressure yourself. I’m able to enjoy [blogging because I don't pressure myself too much]. I used to actually write every day, but then I decided to take the weekends off.

- Blogger We Love Caroline of Caroline on Crack

6. Tasha says: “Diversify, Diversify, Diversify.”

I do make some money off of my blog – but it’s just like writing: your money comes from a lot of little different places. Some of my income comes from local ads, some of it comes from internet ads, and some of it comes from freelance blogging projects: for instance, I contribute to a local TV station that has a mom site. When you’re a writer, you very rarely have one income source—that’s something I always remind bloggers of when they start out: they should diversify. It’s really tough to make it happen any one way—and, as a blogger, you have to straddle the editorial/advertising divide, which are usually separate in traditional media. It’s a full-time job in and of itself to sell ads.

- Blogger We Love Tasha Ball of Tasha Does Tulsa, on generating revenue

5. Lee says: “Blog What You Love.”

I love nachos. I used to talk about nachos so much that the girl I was dating at the time made me a ‘I <3 Nachos,’ T-shirt. I wasn’t even in New York yet. I was living in China, and I was blogging there about the city I was in. When I came back I wanted to start another blog because I really enjoyed it – and my friend was telling me how it had to be niche, how I had to find something I knew and liked. Nachos was, like, the first thing I could think of – I love nachos.

- Blogger We Love Lee Frank of Nachos NY

4. Liz says: “Do Your Own Thing.”

Take your time and go at your own pace. Don’t compare yourself to other blogs. Do your own thing. If you like to use photos, do that. If you want to make videos with your Flip cam, do that. But don’t feel obligated to do things you’re not interested in.

- Blogger We Love Liz Stambaugh of What’s to Eat, Baltimore?

3. Christy says: “Listen to Your Readership.”

One good piece of advice in terms of local blogging relates to the fact that you often have a lot of people trying to do the same thing, and blogs kind of fade in and out. It’s not so much about how many people are doing those things; it’s more about how you’re doing it a little bit differently and a little bit better – that makes it interesting. Try to pay attention to your readers – tailor your feature content to the things people will like. We do pay attention to our page statistics and we pay attention to our Twitter feed and we engage people and we listen. We always strive to be a resource that’s listening to our community instead of just being an outlet that pushes out information.

– Blogger We Love Christy Frink of Nashvillest

2. Michelle says: “Dream Big.”

I’d love to take a sabbatical from my job for a month and work in a restaurant kitchen — or go work on a farm, that’d be great. Haha, yeah, the chefs would probably be like, ‘who let this YAHOO come in and cook in my kitchen?!’ But I’d love to do it.

- Blogger We Love Michelle Venorsky of Cleveland Foodie

1. Steve says: “Don’t Force It.”

Blogs die for the same reason that any project dies. Something gets someone mad or passionate about that subject, and eventually people move on [to other projects].  If someone has a blog that’s passionate for a while, why is that invalid? I wouldn’t want someone to feel obligatory about something they’re not passionate about anymore.

- Blogger We Love Steve Shanafelt of the Spartanburg Spark on how it’s OK to start a blogging project and, when the time is right, move on

P.S. Local bloggers, don’t forget to register your blog here. It’s quick, simple, and will help drive traffic to your blog.
P.P.S.: If you’d like to be featured in our ‘Bloggers We Love’ series (or you’d like to nominate your favorite local blogger(s) for inclusion), we’d love to hear from you! Simply send an email to esther@outside.in

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4
Aug 10

Bloggers We Love: FoodGPS’ Joshua Lurie Talks Food, Drink & LA’s Infinite Possibilities

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

FoodGPS’ Joshua Lurie. Photograph by Gary Leonard.

BLOGGER: Joshua Lurie
FEATURED BLOG: FoodGPS
TWITTER: @FoodGPS

Joshua Lurie is a food blogger. Not because it’s trendy – he’s been at it since 2005 – but because he loves to eat, write and share. Food is all about the people and the stories that are behind it, he says.

There are countless stories to be told about our food and the people who farm, distribute, make, sell, prepare, cook, eat and otherwise influence it. Of course, now that food blogging has exploded across the country, it’s not terribly difficult to find decent, locally-focused food blogs that are telling some of those stories. Still, it’s always a treat to run across a well-written, well-organized hyperlocal blog like Lurie’s FoodGPS, which centers on Los Angeles, CA, the city he now calls home.

Raised just outside of New York City in suburban New Jersey, Lurie says he grew up on “a steady diet of red sauce Italian food, pizza, Americanized Chinese food, burgers and fried chicken.” During his adolescent years, Lurie’s culinary world gradually expanded with each trip his family would take into the City. Still, his training as a foodie (and as a writer) really got underway once he went off to college at Vanderbilt and began spending his summers in LA, where he’d eat adventurously while interning at City Hall and also at film production companies.

“I originally got into TV because I was a tour guide at the studios, [and] part of being a page was being ‘leased out,’ to different production companies on the lot,” Lurie says. “They leased me out to Belisarius Productions and I found out about a writer’s assistant position [that was open]. I never would have imagined writing fiction at all, on TV or otherwise, but that kind of inspired me to start writing, and I eventually pursued [writing as a career].”

Lurie went on to work on television programs such as JAG and NCIS. After launching FoodGPS, taking a food writing course and expanding his network, however, he eventually made the switch to full-time freelance food writer and blogger (I asked him if he missed working in TV. His response? “Not at all.”). I’m thrilled to add him to our Bloggers We Love blog roll, and am happy to share part of our conversation here. I hope you find it as valuable as I did.

What prompted you to launch FoodGPS?

I was originally inspired on December 29, 2004, after an old high school friend and I shared a meal at Per Se [in New York]. We asked for as many courses as they’d serve us, figuring we might not have another opportunity to eat at Per Se. They brought 16-18 courses for each of us, each of them different, and we shared everything. It was such a spectacular meal [that I felt I needed to share it, so] I got on Blogger and created a blog. That was in January 2005. That was my first post – this epic meal at Per Se.

How has the blog changed since then?

It’s been an evolution. [For a while,] I only posted about meals I thought were special. Then, eventually, in 2007, I decided to write restaurant news related to Los Angeles. Then, in early 2009, I created separate pages for drinks and for coffee, and I also started focusing more on the people [behind the food], instead of just providing commentary on food. FoodGPS continues to cover the special meals that I come across both in LA and beyond, but I also do quite a few profiles with [people in the industry], as well as event coverage.

How has blogging influenced your professional life?

I really do think FoodGPS has been great for providing exposure [for me] and I do still put a good amount of time into FoodGPS since it’s my personal brand. As far as having my own brand, it’s one of those few opportunities as a freelance writer [where I get to] control the content and cover what I want to cover, and [that's important to me because] I think that I’m adding unique content to the food blogging universe. There are hundreds of thousands of food blogs at this point. A lot of them fall into the commentary realm. I have some friends [blogging in that realm], and I enjoy many of those [blogs] But, finally, that wasn’t really enough for me [so I decided to do something a little bit different.]

What’s been the most rewarding aspect of local food blogging?

This is actually easy – it’s meeting all sorts of interesting people in the food community – [those who work in] bars or restaurants, or other bloggers. I’ve been able to form all sorts of great relationships and have been able to enjoy [the drinking and dining] experience on a much deeper level than just consumption.

Your profiles are really interesting. Who have been some of your favorites?

John Rivera Sedlar – the Chef/Owner of Rivera in Downtown LA. I didn’t really know much about his history before interviewing him prior to Rivera’s opening, and it’s a restaurant I keep returning to, including last Friday night. He’s an incredibly ambitious chef but he’s also humble and gracious and I think what he’s doing isn’t being done anywhere else. [I've really enjoyed] getting to learn about his approach better.

Another was Aiden Demarest, who was the opening manager at Seven Grand, which was a very influential bar when it opened in Downtown LA. He’s now gone to work [elsewhere], but he has that historic perspective on the downtown cocktail scene, which has really exploded.

Reza Esmaili was another interesting one. He’s President of the Northern California Chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild, and I met with him in San Francisco. Not only is he a bartender, he’s an owner/operator. He’s just taken over a place called Long Bar, and it was interesting hear him lay out what’s important [for that venture]. He has the ability to put together a great cocktail program [at Long Bar], but that wasn’t the priority to start. He’s been working behind the bar and on many other levels, so he’s got a historical perspective on the cocktail scene. There’s more context in his approach, and a personal history [that I found interesting].

What’s the most challenging aspect of local food writing and blogging?

Finding balance. At this stage, my primary income comes from covering restaurants and events, so I basically have to be out every single night. I’m at restaurants 2-3 times a day. I cook very rarely at this stage. I feel like my life has gotten increasingly imbalanced in terms of non-food/drinking related activities. A quiet night at home, being able to cook, is almost unthinkable at this point. That’s been kind of a struggle. Most of the time I’m able to enjoy myself at some level, but I’m certainly [aware of the imbalance]. Exercise is also a priority, and there are days when I have trouble finding the time to do that. Luckily, [I'm fairly young, so this lifestyle] hasn’t taken it’s toll yet, but it’s certainly something I’m conscious of and I need to find a way to address it.

I imagine you’re a pretty adventurous eater. What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten?

There’s nothing I won’t eat except for maybe some sort of insect. I’ve had Mexican grasshoppers, chapulines, fried with chili, lime and salt. I’ll try just about anything.

The other day I went to dinner at an Indonesian restaurant, and we finished our meal with a big plate of durian. I was traveling in Asia in 2005, and they don’t allow it on public transportation [because of its smell]. I actually like it. It’s kind of custardy– yellow and green– and it’s got some sweetness to it – but it’s massive, too, green and spiky.

In Taiwan, I tried stinky tofu, crumbled. It was pretty funky. It’s hard to get past the smell. But I might try it again.

So, considering all the places you’ve traveled and all the food you’ve eaten, what is it you like most about the LA food scene?

I think what I like about the LA food scene is what I like about Los Angeles: there are infinite possibilities. There’s no limit to the types of cuisines you’ll find. It requires more driving, but that’s OK – as long as the results are interesting.

What advice would you have for someone who’s interested in starting a local food blog?

A bunch of people have told me that they’ve always thought about starting a food blog. My reaction is, ‘Just do it. It’s free. You can start it today. You can write your first post tonight.’ Sometimes people get too wrapped up in making their blog unique, but once they start, they can figure that out later.

P.S. Local bloggers, don’t forget to register your blog here. It’s quick, simple, and will help drive traffic to your blog.
P.P.S.: If you’d like to be featured in our ‘Bloggers We Love’ series (or you’d like to nominate your favorite local blogger(s) for inclusion), we’d love to hear from you! Simply send an email to esther@outside.in

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29
Jun 10

Bloggers We Love: Jill Harrison

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

BLOGGER: Jill Harrison

FEATURED BLOG(S): For the Love of Brooklyn

TWITTER: @LoveofBrooklyn

FACEBOOK: For the Love of Brooklyn

FLICKR: For the Love of Brooklyn

One thing I’ve learned by conducting our ‘Bloggers We Love,’ interviews is that a hyperlocal blog can be a powerful platform for community organizing – and not just in the political sense. What a hyperlocal or local blog can do especially well (better than a blog that’s not locally-oriented, in many cases) is create communities both online AND offline.

One blogger who is building a vibrant community of like-minded individuals via her blog is Jill Harrison of the inspirational photoblog For the Love of Brooklyn. Not only is For the Love of Brooklyn a great local photoblog chronicling the entire New York City borough of Brooklyn, it’s a collective, meaning the photographs showcased on the site are not just taken by Harrison and the seven other original organizers of the blog, but they’re submitted by an entire community of photographers, both professionals and amateurs alike. Submissions are then curated into photo essays by Harrison and her editorial team.

We could all learn a lot about community building from this collective of artists and enthusiasts who share the same subject: Brooklyn, in all its varied incarnations. With that in mind, I am pleased to present:

10 Ways to Build Community as a Hyperlocal Blogger

(or, what I learned from For the Love of Brooklyn)


10. Enroll Others

“About a year ago I realized that I had a lot of photographer friends and I basically polled some of my friends and asked if they were interested in starting [a blog for] more or less a collective of photographers [which is how For the Love of Brooklyn started.]“

9. Start Your Own Meetup

“In January, we started holding monthly Meetups. We go out into Brooklyn neighborhoods with our cameras and explore them – and invite whoever is interested into the group to come exploring with us. For instance, we went to Gowanus, right after the Gowanus [Canal] was declared a Superfund site – more than 35 people walked through Gowanus shooting [photographs]. It was great because I got to meet all these people that I correspond with on the internet.”

8. Reconsider Your ‘Target’ Audience

“[Our Meetups aren't just for photographers]. Several amateur historians come along and narrate [our exploratory forays into Brooklyn neighborhoods]. That’s one of my favorite parts about our Meetups – all kinds of people come along – from longtime Brooklyn residents to tourists from Europe who are just curious.”

7. Embrace Flickr

An example of iPhone photography using the Hipstamatic App - 'Coney Island Moon' by CootieGarage, a member of For The Love of Brooklyn's Flickr Pool

“Flickr – that was my gateway drug [to social media]. If you submit to our Flickr pool, your work could get featured [on For the Love of Brooklyn]. I always do a lot of due diligence, but overall the feedback has been really positive. People are totally PUMPED to have their work featured. Even with professional photographers I’ve had really good results. I’ve been really inspired by [the way the blog has shown me] how the old ways of thinking about art — ‘it’s MY intellectual property, it’s MY work,’ – are changing. You have to be very aware that this social networking creates ties instead of boundaries. People want their work re-blogged. Artistic boundaries are changing, and they seem to be changing really rapidly.”

6. Get Out There (Yes, You)!

“I’ve been trying to personally attend more events this year – more networking events and more events that interest me, personally – just to meet people who are doing similar things. We have quite a few photographers who have had gallery openings as well – so when we visit gallery openings we’re evangelizing the blog: a little word of mouth [marketing].”

5. Organize Events to Celebrate & Promote Your Community Members

“Yes! [We are] definitely [going to organize a show]. Last fall we had several photographers exhibit in the the D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival. We’re also hoping to do some limited run installations – hopefully some of them in my new house [that I just brought in Crown Heights]!”

4. Delegate Responsibility to Community Members

“I often ask people for submissions – it’s a great way to build both leadership and a follower base [on a collaborative blog]. It’s a great way to do things – I’ve literally never had anybody say ‘No.’”

3. Take the Time to Learn About & Spotlight Your Community Members

“I do interviews with the photographers we feature [on For the Love of Brooklyn]. Some of my favorites are the ones I did with with Brooklyn photographers Claire Voelkel and Lyouba Assadourova. Another favorite was with my good friend Anna Gordon from The Good Batch at the Brooklyn Flea – she turned her hobby into a fairly booming business. It’s really turned into a this big thing, built by sheer hard work and by the support she’s gotten from the Brooklyn community.”

2. Teach & Learn

“A lot of teaching and learning occurs informally at our Meetups. We don’t have any formal lessons or Master Classes at the moment, but that’s something that I think is missing from Brooklyn. I’d love to organize volunteer-based art instruction. Someday!”

1. Be Open to the Ways Your Blog & Its Community Will Change YOU

“I get inspired by other people and hopefully I can inspire other people with what I’m doing, too. For instance, [because of the need to create content for the blog, I have to] constantly challenge myself to get out with my camera to create photo essays. Also, through these interviews I’m conducting and [my increased] exposure to other artists in the borough, I’ve refined my perspective about photography and how I propose the genre. Over the last 6 months I’ve actually almost fully become a film photographer – it forces me to identify my perspective before I shoot – and because I’m more careful about how I’m shooting, when I’m creating photo essays I have a tighter narrative.”

P. S. More examples of lo-fi photography using the iPhone are here! You can also see an example of higher-end photography using a medium-format film (Hasselblad) here, or high-end digital Nikon gear here.
P.P.S. Local bloggers, don’t forget to register your blog here. It’s quick, simple, and will help drive traffic to your blog.
P.P. S.: If you’d like to be featured in our ‘Bloggers We Love’ series (or you’d like to nominate your favorite local blogger(s) for inclusion), we’d love to hear from you! Simply send an email to esther@outside.in

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27
May 10

Bloggers We Love: Lee Frank and Rachel Anderson

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

BLOGGERS: Lee Frank (Managing Editor) & Rachel Anderson (Senior Correspondent)

FEATURED BLOG(S): NachosNY

TWITTER:

@NachosNY

@LeeMFrank

FACEBOOK: NachosNY on Facebook

FLICKR: NachosNY on Flickr

12 Steps To Building a Better Blog

(or a Delicious Plate of Nachos)

Rachel, Esther and Lee at Outside.in

This week we sat down with roommates Lee Frank and Rachel Anderson of the hyperlocal blog NachosNY. We took the liberty of using the knowledge and experience they shared with us to create a 12-step program for building a better blog as if you were building a plate of delicious nachos. Buen provecho!


1. CHIPS : CONTENT

Ultimately, the test of a great plate of nachos comes down to the chips: are the chips high quality (good enough to get noticed and keep people coming back for more)? Are they fresh and plentiful? Do the chips hold up under all the toppings, or do they get soggy? Just as all of these factors matter with chips, they matter with blog content. Are your posts innovative, interesting, compelling? Do you post often enough to keep your blog fresh? These are all questions you should ask yourself as a blogger (and especially as a local blogger). NachosNY, for example, finds that their blogging niche — the quest for the best nachos in New York City — provides them with a deep well (a veritable all-you-can-eat nacho buffet!) of quality story ideas to draw from :

LEE: My favorite spot is El Maguey y La Tuna, it’s on East Houston and Attorney. They have like 8 different kinds of nachos, even nachos with broccoli, which are awesome. They also have a really awesome jalapeno margarita. Nobody else likes it, because it’s a little painful – but that’s why I like it. But we’ve also eaten these bad nachos so you don’t have to go and eat them. New York is NOT known for its Mexican food by any means, but in New York you can still find all kinds of great food all over the place. I know there are places that we haven’t uncovered that that probably have really great nachos that we just haven’t gotten to yet.

RACHEL: After a nacho crawl we’ll stop for a couple of days – but we’ll never be finished.

2. MEAT & BEANS : PASSION

Meat and beans (think ground beef, grilled chicken, black beans or refried pintos) are what make nachos into a meal: the protein packs a real energy punch. The same is true of passion and blogging – passion is what gives bloggers their initial jolt of energy, as well as the fortitude and staying power to keep on bloggin’:

LEE: I love nachos. I used to talk about nachos so much that the girl I was dating at the time made me a ‘I <3 Nachos,’ T-shirt. I wasn’t even in New York yet. I was living in China, and I was blogging there about the city I was in. When I came back I wanted to start another blog because I really enjoyed it – and my friend was telling me how it had to be niche, how I had to find something I knew and liked. Nachos was, like, the first thing I could think of – I love nachos.

RACHEL: Learn to be confident in what you’re doing, whether it’s nachos or a cause or something – you have to be able to talk about it and be proud of what you’re doing.

3. SOUR CREAM : MERCHANDISE & SIGNATURE EVENTS

Sour cream can only make nachos cooler, right? The same goes with signature events and merchandise sold on your blog, particularly if they’re conceived and branded just for your blog and its audience (making some extra money on the side? Super cool, especially if you can spend it on… more nachos!):

LEE: We have the merchandise, we have three T-shirts that we sell. They do pretty well, especially at the events – we’ll do nacho crawls and then we just had the Guactacular, which was completely sold out – 370 people showed up. This year’s Guactacular was our first successful event, money-wise.

4. CHEESE & SALSA : COMMUNITY

Salsa and cheese are the elements on your nachos that really tie the whole nacho experience together. The same can be said of your blog’s readership: nearly every blogger we’ve spoken to has said their blog’s community is what ties the whole blogging experience together for them and gives it meaning. Blog communities are as varied and diverse as types of salsa, but the best of them are always fresh, lively and full of local flavor — though of course there’s also nothing like a blog community that has ripened and matured, like a beautifully aged cheddar:

LEE: We like how it’s a shareable thing: there are so many people we can meet and so many people we can talk to about nachos. I actually really like getting emails from people where they’re like, ‘um, my family, like, really likes nachos that are made with Doritos. Do you know where we can find some of those in New York?’ and at first I’m, like, flinching, because, you know, that sounds gross— but then I try to figure it out. I like getting emails like that, or tweets about things like that.

RACHEL: I want more people to feel more comfortable commenting and being more involved in the process. We’re really interested in seeing what other people have to say and getting formal nacho reviews from other people, or just interacting with others on Twitter, trying to get more of a solid community.

LEE: … You should come eat nachos with us.

5. GUACAMOLE : CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS

Guacamole: the luscious, buttery dip made from avocados, joy, and a few other ingredients (usually onions, tomatoes, lime juice, salt and perhaps some spices). We think guacamole is mostly joy, though — and the same can be said of corporate sponsorships for your blog and/or blogging-related events. NachosNY was certainly joyful upon securing an amazing corporate sponsorship for this year’s Guactacular:

LEE: There’s a company called Avocados From Mexico. One of the people that was competing [in the Guactacular] works at Ketchum PR, and they represent Avocados From Mexico, and they were really interested in the event, so they approached us and gave us all 720 avocados. Every avocado used in the event was from them. So it really came in handy.

6. CHILI: NEW SKILLS

Chili is a magical dish: you find it all over the culinary map: beans, no beans, meat, no meat, red, white, you name it. You can make chili however you like it, and when you do you may notice that your particular chili recipe is pretty special — kinda like the new skills you’ll learn as a blogger. Not every blogger will learn the same skills — whether you’re mastering HTML, video blogging, podcasting or photography, you’re making your own unique brand of chili, and it will only improve your blog, and ultimately your skill set as an individual. Plus, even if you’re not crazy about chili on your nachos, if you eat ‘em often enough you’ll find that chili can’t always be avoided — just as every blogger will inevitably pick up new skills, whether they were intending to or not:

RACHEL: I have my undergrad in Gender Studies, so it’s kind of not really focused on any sort of career path, but now I work at a women’s non-profit and I do web design and IT and I’m in charge of all of their social media. I’ve been able to kind of tailor my blog experience to my job now.

7. PEPPERS & HOT SAUCE : THE HUMAN CONNECTION

Just as chili peppers and hot sauce add heat to your nachos, human connections made via blogging adventures will add heat to your life and fuel your passion for blogging. In fact, the effect can be life-changing. Real friendships, business contacts, even romantic relationships are forged every day via blogging adventures:

LEE: I met my girlfriend at the last Guactactular, a year ago. The night of the event she was there, and we were closing down the event, and we, like, just made eye contact and it’s been a fairytale ever since.

8. ONIONS : SOCIAL MEDIA

Ah, onions. Some of us almost can’t live without them – they’re in the base of so many cuisines (mirepoix, sofrito – it seems like every holy trinity has ‘em). I won’t go so far as to say that every great dish of nachos must contain onions, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that many of the best nachos wouldn’t be nearly as delicious if they weren’t flavored by onions in some way. Whether they’re found in the salsa, in the seasoning of the meat, or as a simple topping, onions of all types can be found in nachos the world over. The same can be said of social media tools: not all of the best bloggers use them, but most do – and for most, they’re indispensable:

RACHEL: Twitter has been really great for us – we love interacting with readers on Twitter.

LEE: I have a Google Alert that I have for ‘nachos’ that I get every day and I’m like, “oh, that’s a funny tweet to send out.”

9. OLIVES : MOBILE BLOGGING

Not everyone loves olives on their nachos, but those of us that do also know that they’re a pretty great snack in a pinch. You’ll often find them in a martini or as a snack at the bar, plus you can always pack them up for a picnic. They may not be the MOST portable snack, but they’re pretty good — a lot like mobile blogging tools (such as the iPad, cleverly compared to nachos here). Blogging on-the-go isn’t ideal, but for some of us, it’s really useful:

RACHEL: The WordPress iPhone App is actually kind of awesome. I use that now, whenever I eat at a restaurant, I try to do it on the subway on the way home, because you can just do it and save the draft to your iPhone, and then I publish it later.

10. CILANTRO & LETTUCE: CONTROVERSIAL CONTENT

Some of us love cilantro with an undying passion, while for others, cilantro is as repulsive as a mouthful of soap (literally). The same kind of gulf exists between the lettuce/no lettuce schools of thought in the nacho world. That said, it must be pointed out that even if some of your readers may disagree with you vehemently, one sure way to engage your readership is to experiment with controversial content. NachosNY does this annually on St. Patrick’s Day with their Irish Nachos. Sometimes it works and others… not so much:

RACHEL: [Irish Nachos are] supposed to be some sort of potato product, cheese and bacon. The first year was actually thick slices of potato – it wasn’t even fries or anything, you had to eat it with a knife – and it was gouda and bacon and sour cream.

LEE: It was delicious.

RACHEL: And then this year was really kind of gross – it was loaded cheese fries.

LEE: Disgusting.

11. LIME JUICE : INNOVATIVE EVENTS

The acidity of lime juice balances the richness of the cheese, sour cream, meat and other delicious ingredients that give your nachos heft. Think of new, innovative events as the thing that can give your blog that extra squeeze of freshness that it needs from time to time. NachosNY peppers their calendar with events throughout the year, and they’re always trying zesty new things:

RACHEL: July 19, 2010 is actually our first Guactac Boat Cruise. We’re doing a boat cruise through Rocks Off Concert Cruises. We just finalized that last week, so we’re making plans and booking bands for that right now. We’re hoping to put on a great concert and have good food on a fun boat cruise. We’re also going to hopefully do a Salsa Slam competition in September.

12. BACON : BLOG + TUMBLR

Bacon is that little something extra on your nachos that might seem counter-intuitive to some of us, but when we finally give it a try, we realize it’s actually a pretty nice addition (as bacon tends to be). NachosNY‘s is thinking of creating a Tumblr to supplement their already-popular WordPress blog [JULY 2010 UPDATE: Nachos Nation is here!]. The idea sounds overindulgent, but — like bacon on barbacoa nachos — it could turn out to be a welcome topping:

LEE: We like hearing from people, so one of the things I want to start is a Tumblr to go along with the blog that would be more of a nationwide thing so people could send us a picture of the nachos they just ate and what was on it or why they liked it, or whatever. We never wanted to say that we’re the best people to be doing this: everybody can be eating nachos and telling us about it. If more people were talking about it, everybody would find the best ones even quicker.

P.S.: Local bloggers, don’t forget to register your blog here. It’s quick, simple, and will help drive traffic to your blog.

P.P.S.: If you’d like to be featured in our ‘Bloggers We Love’ series (or you’d like to nominate your favorite local blogger(s) for inclusion), we’d love to hear from you! Simply send an email to esther@outside.in

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