Does Your Blog Reflect Your Community?
by Matt on Jun 28, 2009 in Blogging
I find it tough sometimes to decide what to blog about and what to ignore on our hyperlocal blogs. Sure, some things are obvious — popular local events, importatnt local news, etc. But what about when a new business opens, or an existing business closes? Do you report on bad stuff that happens in your neighborhood, or do you just focus on the good?
Your answers to those questions probably depends on what type of local blogger you are. Our blogs are indirectly designed to promote Cari’s real estate business, so we don’t blog about the rare murder or missing persons report and stuff like that. We have, however, blogged about the local mall shutting down after a robbery. If you’re not running a pure local news blog, these decisions can be difficult.
Whether we like it or not, whether we know it or not, outsiders will be judging our hometowns based on what they read on our local blogs. It’s no different than how newspapers are a reflection of the town they cover. Watch this funny skit by British comedian Jack Dee (esp. the first 3 minutes):
If you agree that your local blog should be an accurate reflection of the town you live in, try this:
- Step back and read through your blog archives with the eye of an outsider.
- Look at the tone of voice in your posts: Positive? Negative? Supportive? Critical?
- Look at the words you use most often: (same as above)
- Adjust accordingly, but … and this is important … be yourself.
What are your thoughts? Do you think your local blog should be an accurate reflection of the community you write about? Comments are open.
You might also like:
Comments
8 Responses to “Does Your Blog Reflect Your Community?”
Leave a Reply (please use your real name; company names & other keyword-based names will be deleted)
-
-
Featured Video
That Jack Dee clip is quality.
I did what you said and took a look back at my blog, I think overall I am very positive but I think a better word would be ‘interested’.
I try with Preston Blog to look a bit deeper and make sure there’s a good variety of stuff.
I think the blog tends to be positive, not in the fluffy local council reportage way, but as a balance against what can be a very cynical and negative local press.
Matt,
I agree with your basic thesis. For me, I tend toward reflecting the truth as I see it.
The website I show here as mine in not a local blog (and it is going to bite the dust in favor of a new flavor soon. Trial and error, you know). It is quite different from that but it shows how I like to editorialize. I would always separate editorials from pure news items though. The twain should never ever meet as they usually do in the printed press.
Their biases are one of the causes of their demise. For instance, they may be gung ho for gays and their reporting will show that bias, which is a turn off for the majority of their readership.
Keep up the good work, Matt.
Cheers
I am not running a local blog yet but I intend to in the near future. The main goal of the blog will be to generate new business for local customers in a tourist area and in that sense, I think giving the blog a positive angle is very important.
In that sense, I guess business blogs related to certain industries, such as Real Estate, Tourist Areas, and similar, should concentrate on the “good” stuff… otherwise, who will want to live or visit the place.
Great content! Thanks!
That’s a good point, Jennifer. Our local blogs are written both for locals and for people who might be moving to the area. So, yeah, that’s why it doesn’t make sense to report all the crime and such. But at the same time, I think we’re not afraid to call a spade a spade when something’s wrong or needs fixing. At least I hope so….
[...] HyperlocalBlogger blog which deals with blogging and real town communities. He asked his audience if their blogs accurately represented the towns that they live in. If someone who didn’t live in that community stumbled across the blog, what [...]
“Do you think your local blog should be an accurate reflection of the community you write about?”
I try very hard to give an accurate reflection of our community while injecting my thoughts, style and interests without being too one sided. I believe some “negative” information is important to mention but, the overall feel for my blog tends to stay pretty positive. Part of the reason for keeping things positive is because I truly enjoy writing about the areas I cover. I have fun, I am interested in the topics and I enjoy the interaction with our readers.
Loved the clip.
On our local site we accentuate the positive. There are enough local media outlets (DFW, TX) that broadcast all the crap around the clock we figure people can get bad news elsewhere.
I write about the good, the bad and the ugly. That said, I truly enjoy the community where I live — otherwise I wouldn’t be there — but when there are crime issues to be discussed or local govt issues to be addressed, I think people want to read about that too.