Podcast: Hyperlocal Blogging for Business
by Matt on Sep 13, 2010 in General | 1 Comment
Hyperlocal blogging for business was the topic of an interview I did last week with Don Campbell of Expand2Web, a California-based small business consulting company. We chatted about the blogging opportunities that exist for small business owners and a number of other things.
Read more and download the audio on Don’s web site.
ps – Don, thx for the great chat!
Jay Rosen’s Advice for Journalism Students (and bloggers)
by Matt on Sep 13, 2010 in Blogging | Leave a Comment
I’m a bit distracted at the moment, so the weekly “Hyperlocal News Roundup” will return next weekend. But there’s one link I want to share with you today and I’ll take the risk of calling it the only article you really need to read this week.
It’s by Jay Rosen of New York University and recaps a presentation he gave recently to new students on their first day at a French journalism school. There’s great stuff in here for those of you who are hyperlocal news bloggers:
7: Your authority starts with, “I’m there, you’re not, let me tell you about it.” If “anyone” can produce media and share it with the world, what makes the pro journalist special, or worth listening to? Not the press card, not the by-line, not the fact of employment by a major media company. None of that. The most reliable source of authority for a professional journalist will continue to be what James W. Carey called “the idea of a report.” That’s when you can truthfully say to the users, “I’m there, you’re not, let me tell you about it.” Or, “I was at the demonstration, you weren’t, let me tell you how the cops behaved.” Or, altering my formula slightly, “I interviewed the workers who were on that oil drilling platform when it exploded, you didn’t, let me tell you what they said.” Or, “I reviewed those documents, you didn’t, let me tell you what I found.” Your authority begins when you do the work. If an amateur or a blogger does the work, the same authority is earned. Seeing people as a public means granting that without rancor.
(emphasis added at the end is mine)
The article is geared toward journalists, so if you’re a hyperlocal business blogger, I’m not sure how much is in it for you. But if you’re an interested, engaged citizen (regardless of your blogger focus), I think you’ll gain from reading it. Here’s the link:
The Journalists Formerly Known as the Media: My Advice to the Next Generation
Hyperlocal News Roundup
by Matt on Sep 6, 2010 in Industry | Leave a Comment
Hope those of you in the U.S. had a great Labor Day holiday. The McGee family enjoyed a spur-of-the-moment drive over to Seattle and an otherwise relaxing long weekend. Here’s the latest batch of hyperlocal headlines for your reading enjoyment.
- Rick Waghorn: Why the ‘Godfather of Hyperlocal’ is keeping it simple, blogs.independent.co.uk
- Two great projects for hyperlocal websites: UK Sound Map and the 4am Project, Talk About Local
- ESPN can’t just bigfoot its way into local markets, Los Angeles Times
- Hyperlocal network Neighbortree raises $120,000, Lost Remote
- TBD uses map-based crowdsourcing to chart public transport problems, Editors Weblog
- London’s Hyperlocal News Blogs, www.speedcommunications.com
- Patch is coming to my town! Thoughts on competition and collaboration, stevebuttry.wordpress.com
- Take two: How Patch.com – or any national network of local news websites – might succeed, www.ojr.org
- TBD hyperlocal site’s traffic pops up during hostage crisis at Discovery Channel’s headquarters, www.solomonscandals.com
Yahoo’s Hyperlocal Help Wanteds
by Matt on Sep 3, 2010 in Industry | Leave a Comment
Following up on last week’s news about Yahoo hiring local writers/bloggers as part of a national push toward local content, how about a look at one of the job descriptions?
You can find a job listing for Local Editor – Chicago on Yahoo Careers web site.
Yahoo! is looking for an expert online editor to raise the level of our content served to the citizens of Chicago. The ideal candidate will be a seasoned editor with a passion for news, new media, and their local market. He or she will synthesize content from a number of sources and publishers into a relevant, addictive offering for residents. You should be flexible, quick-thinking, energetic, efficient, and able to work independently under pressure while maintaining attention to detail. Real-world journalistic experience managing digital news on deadline is a must.
Some other highlights from the bullet list items:
- Crafting clever and SEO-friendly headlines, writing tease copy, choosing and cropping appropriate images
- Reporting and writing engaging and exceptional news stories and blog posts from primary or secondary sources on deadline
- Monitoring blog comments, surfing similar sites for story ideas
- Familiarity with SEO, RSS, Twitter, Facebook and other social media
Maybe the thing that stands out the most to me is this qualification:
- Minimum 3+ years online and 5+ years overall experience at a major media outlet in your market
They’re definitely not looking for beginning hyperlocal hopefuls, that’s for certain. No mention of a salary, but I suspect if you’re expecting to hire someone who’s been working the Chicago media scene for five years minimum, you’re going to be paying that person pretty well.
Hyperlocal: Not for the Faint of Heart
by Matt on Aug 31, 2010 in Industry | 2 Comments
American Journalism Review has an article out that is far from earth-shattering, but I think it does a fair job of summarizing the state of local news sites/blogs at the moment. In a phrase: “not for the faint of heart.”
At this moment, news organizations and startups across the country are betting heavily that hyperlocal news sites will solve the needs of both consumers and advertisers. But this path is littered with false starts and failures, some quite fresh. In June, the New York Times handed the keys to its New Jersey community news site to the hyperlocal veterans at Baristanet.com, after turning over its Brooklyn community site to journalism grad students at City University of New York.
Other news organizations have launched and abandoned hyperlocal efforts over the years, some big like the Washington Post, others small and unknown. The managers of these projects tend to leave a common admonition to those who would follow: Hyperlocal is difficult, expensive and not for the faint of heart.
I’d put an asterisk next to “expensive” in that sentence, actually. It doesn’t take a lot of money to setup a hosting account somewhere and install WordPress. That’s all you need to start publishing. The tools of the trade don’t need to be wallet-busters, either. But to do hyperlocal right, it’s certainly expensive in terms of how much time you spend.
The full article is here: The Hazards of Hyperlocal. And there’s more on Mediagazer, too.
Thanks, PBS MediaShift
by Matt on Aug 30, 2010 in Industry | 2 Comments
Just wanted to say a quick and public THANK YOU to Brad Flora and PBS MediaShift for including Hyperlocal Blogger in an article last week:
10 Must-Read Sites for Hyper-Local Publishers
That was a real surprise and honor to see this blog included on such a list with so many excellent industry sites. If you’re reading this, I assume you already know enough about Hyperlocal Blogger — so be sure to check out the other nine sites when you can.
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