See:
http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2010/08/10-must-read-sites-for-hyper-local-publishers237.html
From: MediaShift Idea Lab <<email obscured>>
Date: Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 7:20 AM
Subject: MediaShift Idea Lab
To: <email obscured>
MediaShift Idea Lab <http://www.pbs.org/idealab/>
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http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2010/08/10-must-read-sites-for-hyper-local-publishers237.html
From: MediaShift Idea Lab <<email obscured>>
Date: Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 7:20 AM
Subject: MediaShift Idea Lab
To: <email obscured>
MediaShift Idea Lab <http://www.pbs.org/idealab/>
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------------------------------
10 Must-Read Sites for Hyper-Local
Publishers<http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/pbs/idealab-feed/%7E3/p_fSS0w51DI/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email>
Posted: 26 Aug 2010 11:05 AM PDT
Here at NowSpots <http://nowspots.com> we're developing a new advertising
platform that will let local publishers sell and publish real-time ads on
their sites. In my last post here on MediaShift Idea
Lab<http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2010/08/nowspots-working-to-make-local-web-ads-that-work222.html>,
I explained why real-time ads are a better business model for hyper-local
bloggers and local publishers than AdSense or existing display ad solutions.
Since winning a 2010 Knight News Challenge award to kickstart development of
our new platform, we've been busy meeting with publishers to learn more
about their needs and problems. We've also been busy reading up on what's
happening in the hyper-local publishing space. This week I'm going to share
with you 10 sites I read on a regular basis for news, commentary, and
context about business models for hyper-local bloggers and local publishers.
At the end of the post are links to subscribe to them through RSS or to
follow them on Twitter.
Top Ten
*1. MediaGazer <http://mediagazer.com>*
MediaGazer is a semi-automated aggregator for media news. It's a
dead-simple, one-page site that lists the day's top media headlines from
around the web alongside links to related coverage. What's great about
MediaGazer is that their algorithm makes sure they get just about everything
interesting each day, while their editorial touch makes sure the front page
is always interesting. Not every story on MediaGazer pertains to the local
news game, but anything good that does will be there.
*2. Nieman Journalism Lab <http://www.niemanlab.org/>
The Nieman Journalism Lab <http://www.niemanlab.org> is a blog covering
journalism's efforts to figure out its future. Moreso than any other blog on
the web, they are squarely focused on introducing new examples of "the new
news" and figuring out what they might lead to. My only complaint is that I
wish they'd post more. Just about everything they run is in my wheelhouse as
a news startup guy.
*3. Lost Remote <http://www.lostremote.com/>
Lost Remote is focused on "hyper-local news, neighborhood blogs, and local
journalism startups." Originally started by MSNBC.com's Cory Bergman, it is
now edited by Steve Safran. Anything interesting that happens in the local
news space that could impact hyper-local bloggers shows up here. Lost Remote
is the TechCrunch of hyper-local bloggers. A must read.
*4. Local Onliner <http://localonliner.com/>
Peter Krasilovsky's Local Onliner blog is a repository of analysis pieces on
the future of local online publishing that he writes for the Kelsey Group
blog. As a vice president at BIA/Kelsey, where he works on local online
commerce, Krasilovsky's perspective on hyper-local news, geo-targeted
advertising and the like is worth a look for anyone who wants to understand
the business behind local publishing.
*5. Mashable's local section <http://mashable.com/tag/local/>
Uber-blog Mashable devotes a post or two each month to the local space, and
its coverage is picking up with the rise of group-buying sites such as
Groupon and location-based social networks such as Foursquare and GoWalla. I
filter down to just posts tagged "local" to sidestep the never-ending
onslaught of headlines about Twitter.
*6. Local SEO Guide <http://www.localseoguide.com/>
Local SEO is a sharp blog from Andrew Shotland, an SEO consultant who
specializes in local. Every hyper-local blogger needs to be aware of how
findable their content is through search. Shotland's blog offers detailed
rundowns of topics such as why sites like Yelp do so well in
search<http://www.localseoguide.com/yelp-seo-analysis-part-one/>that
can help you better connect with readers through local search.
*7. Hyperlocal Blogger <http://www.hyperlocalblogger.com/>
Matt McGee's Hyperlocal Blogger pulls together the latest news coverage of
the hyper-local blogging space and publishes regular commentary on issues
affecting neighborhood bloggers. For instance, McGee recently responded to
the
news<http://www.hyperlocalblogger.com/philly-bloggers-feeling-overtaxed/>that
the city of Philadelphia is requiring city bloggers to buy a Business
Privilege License for $300.
*8. Chicago Art Magazine Transparency
Pages<http://chicagoartmap.com/transparency/>
*
A bit of a hidden gem, this series of blog posts by Chicago Art
Magazine's<http://chicagoartmagazine.com/>Kathryn Born covers a seven
month period in late 2009 during which she
launched a collection of websites focused on the Chicago art scene. In these
posts, which carry a bit of a confessional tone, she discusses how hard it
is to sell ads to local galleries, and her philosophy on creating quick
content for the web. They're a great recounting of the trials and
tribulations of starting a hyper-local web publication, and every
hyper-local blogger should read them.
*9. MediaShift Idea Lab <http://www.pbs.org/idealab/>
The blog you're reading right now has been a favorite of mine ever since I
started Windy Citizen <http://windycitizen.com> in 2008. I love the site for
its great think-pieces about the future of news and updates from Knight News
Challenge winners. We're excited to have a spot of our own now, and we still
drop by regularly to see what's new. For hyper-local bloggers interested in
new ideas about the space, this should be a regular stop.
*10. eMedia Vitals <http://emediavitals.com/>
eMedia Vitals has an old-school name and takes an old-school approach to
covering tactics and strategies for growing your digital business. Editor
(and co-founder of TechicallyPhilly.com <http://technicallyphilly.com> Sean
Blanda turned me onto the site at SXSW last year and I've since found their
analysis to be relevant to people working in the local news space.
OPML File and Twitter List
These are the sites I'm reading on a regular basis to keep up with what's
happening in the hyper-local space. I'm sure you may have a few favorites of
your own that I omitted. If so, feel free to share them with me in the
comments below or via Twitter (I'm @bradflora <http://twitter.com/bradflora>
).
I've created an OPML file that you can import to add the feeds for all these
sites to Google Reader. You can find it
here.<http://www.pbs.org/idealab/HyperlocalOPML.xml>
And if you prefer reading your news through Twitter, I've created a list
over on the NowSpots Twitter account <http://twitter.com/nowspots> that you
can follow to add these folks to your Twitter feed. You can find it
here<http://twitter.com/#/list/nowspots/hyperlocalmustreads>
.
Happy reading!
You are subscribed to email updates from MediaShift Idea
Lab<http://www.pbs.org/idealab/>
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe
now<http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailunsubscribe?k=XGkZl7K2xx_2d5MiYe4FF5X2f50>
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10 Must-Read Sites for Hyper-Local
Publishers<http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/pbs/idealab-feed/%7E3/p_fSS0w51DI/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email>
Posted: 26 Aug 2010 11:05 AM PDT
Here at NowSpots <http://nowspots.com> we're developing a new advertising
platform that will let local publishers sell and publish real-time ads on
their sites. In my last post here on MediaShift Idea
Lab<http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2010/08/nowspots-working-to-make-local-web-ads-that-work222.html>,
I explained why real-time ads are a better business model for hyper-local
bloggers and local publishers than AdSense or existing display ad solutions.
Since winning a 2010 Knight News Challenge award to kickstart development of
our new platform, we've been busy meeting with publishers to learn more
about their needs and problems. We've also been busy reading up on what's
happening in the hyper-local publishing space. This week I'm going to share
with you 10 sites I read on a regular basis for news, commentary, and
context about business models for hyper-local bloggers and local publishers.
At the end of the post are links to subscribe to them through RSS or to
follow them on Twitter.
Top Ten
*1. MediaGazer <http://mediagazer.com>*
MediaGazer is a semi-automated aggregator for media news. It's a
dead-simple, one-page site that lists the day's top media headlines from
around the web alongside links to related coverage. What's great about
MediaGazer is that their algorithm makes sure they get just about everything
interesting each day, while their editorial touch makes sure the front page
is always interesting. Not every story on MediaGazer pertains to the local
news game, but anything good that does will be there.
*2. Nieman Journalism Lab <http://www.niemanlab.org/>
The Nieman Journalism Lab <http://www.niemanlab.org> is a blog covering
journalism's efforts to figure out its future. Moreso than any other blog on
the web, they are squarely focused on introducing new examples of "the new
news" and figuring out what they might lead to. My only complaint is that I
wish they'd post more. Just about everything they run is in my wheelhouse as
a news startup guy.
*3. Lost Remote <http://www.lostremote.com/>
Lost Remote is focused on "hyper-local news, neighborhood blogs, and local
journalism startups." Originally started by MSNBC.com's Cory Bergman, it is
now edited by Steve Safran. Anything interesting that happens in the local
news space that could impact hyper-local bloggers shows up here. Lost Remote
is the TechCrunch of hyper-local bloggers. A must read.
*4. Local Onliner <http://localonliner.com/>
Peter Krasilovsky's Local Onliner blog is a repository of analysis pieces on
the future of local online publishing that he writes for the Kelsey Group
blog. As a vice president at BIA/Kelsey, where he works on local online
commerce, Krasilovsky's perspective on hyper-local news, geo-targeted
advertising and the like is worth a look for anyone who wants to understand
the business behind local publishing.
*5. Mashable's local section <http://mashable.com/tag/local/>
Uber-blog Mashable devotes a post or two each month to the local space, and
its coverage is picking up with the rise of group-buying sites such as
Groupon and location-based social networks such as Foursquare and GoWalla. I
filter down to just posts tagged "local" to sidestep the never-ending
onslaught of headlines about Twitter.
*6. Local SEO Guide <http://www.localseoguide.com/>
Local SEO is a sharp blog from Andrew Shotland, an SEO consultant who
specializes in local. Every hyper-local blogger needs to be aware of how
findable their content is through search. Shotland's blog offers detailed
rundowns of topics such as why sites like Yelp do so well in
search<http://www.localseoguide.com/yelp-seo-analysis-part-one/>that
can help you better connect with readers through local search.
*7. Hyperlocal Blogger <http://www.hyperlocalblogger.com/>
Matt McGee's Hyperlocal Blogger pulls together the latest news coverage of
the hyper-local blogging space and publishes regular commentary on issues
affecting neighborhood bloggers. For instance, McGee recently responded to
the
news<http://www.hyperlocalblogger.com/philly-bloggers-feeling-overtaxed/>that
the city of Philadelphia is requiring city bloggers to buy a Business
Privilege License for $300.
*8. Chicago Art Magazine Transparency
Pages<http://chicagoartmap.com/transparency/>
*
A bit of a hidden gem, this series of blog posts by Chicago Art
Magazine's<http://chicagoartmagazine.com/>Kathryn Born covers a seven
month period in late 2009 during which she
launched a collection of websites focused on the Chicago art scene. In these
posts, which carry a bit of a confessional tone, she discusses how hard it
is to sell ads to local galleries, and her philosophy on creating quick
content for the web. They're a great recounting of the trials and
tribulations of starting a hyper-local web publication, and every
hyper-local blogger should read them.
*9. MediaShift Idea Lab <http://www.pbs.org/idealab/>
The blog you're reading right now has been a favorite of mine ever since I
started Windy Citizen <http://windycitizen.com> in 2008. I love the site for
its great think-pieces about the future of news and updates from Knight News
Challenge winners. We're excited to have a spot of our own now, and we still
drop by regularly to see what's new. For hyper-local bloggers interested in
new ideas about the space, this should be a regular stop.
*10. eMedia Vitals <http://emediavitals.com/>
eMedia Vitals has an old-school name and takes an old-school approach to
covering tactics and strategies for growing your digital business. Editor
(and co-founder of TechicallyPhilly.com <http://technicallyphilly.com> Sean
Blanda turned me onto the site at SXSW last year and I've since found their
analysis to be relevant to people working in the local news space.
OPML File and Twitter List
These are the sites I'm reading on a regular basis to keep up with what's
happening in the hyper-local space. I'm sure you may have a few favorites of
your own that I omitted. If so, feel free to share them with me in the
comments below or via Twitter (I'm @bradflora <http://twitter.com/bradflora>
).
I've created an OPML file that you can import to add the feeds for all these
sites to Google Reader. You can find it
here.<http://www.pbs.org/idealab/HyperlocalOPML.xml>
And if you prefer reading your news through Twitter, I've created a list
over on the NowSpots Twitter account <http://twitter.com/nowspots> that you
can follow to add these folks to your Twitter feed. You can find it
here<http://twitter.com/#/list/nowspots/hyperlocalmustreads>
.
Happy reading!
You are subscribed to email updates from MediaShift Idea
Lab<http://www.pbs.org/idealab/>
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe
now<http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailunsubscribe?k=XGkZl7K2xx_2d5MiYe4FF5X2f50>
. Email delivery powered by Google Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL
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