For Pamela and the others interested in location-specific blogs, Placeblogger (as mentioned by Daisy) has launched. Cheers and best wishes for the New Year. Hughie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Poynter Institute" <newsletters@poynter.org> To: <hmusic@ozemail.com.au> Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 8:08 AM Subject: E-Media Tidbits - Need Local Blogs? Check Out Placeblogger Poynteronline E-Media Tidbits Monday, January 1, 2007 Posted by Amy Gahran 4:33:23 PM Need Local Blogs? Check Out Placeblogger What's happening in Pearlington, Miss. or Bozenman, Mont.? Sure, you could check local news outlets -- but to get a deeper slice of life you might peruse nearby placeblogs. Finding placeblogs just got a whole lot easier. Today, Lisa Williams debuted Placeblogger (http://placeblogger.com/) , an online resource that lists and showcases placeblogs -- so far 713 from around the U.S., with a few scattered elsewhere around the globe. What's a placeblog? Williams defines (http://placeblogger.com/faq) it as "an act of sustained attention to a particular place over time. It can be done by one person, a defined group of people, or in a way that's open to community contribution. It's not a newspaper, though it may contain random acts of journalism. It's about the lived experience of a place." Her own community site for Watertown, Mass, H20town (http://www.h2otown.info/) , is an example of a placeblog. While many placeblogs focus on hyperlocal news and citizen journalism, others are more personal views about life in that town or region. Placeblogger allows you to find and list placeblogs. Each placeblog listing includes a map, link, and other information. I know Lisa is a major fan of OPML (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPML) , so expect some sophisticated feed options later from Placeblogger. Apparently, wikis will be part of the mix. And there's already a discussion forum for placebloggers. Many news organizations already offer lists of local blogs or even syndicated content from them. Also, more and more news organizations are blogging about local issues. Why not add these blogs to Placeblogger, if they're not already listed? And if you're covering unfamiliar locations, why not check for nearby placeblogs to add color and context? See Jay Rosen's Pressthink (http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2007/01/01/placeblogger...) today for more about Placeblogger.