Buffalo blogosphere
February 28th, 2006Well, this is a round-about path. Lorna Peterson (on faculty at UB) dropped me a note indicating that fix Buffalo had referred to me as the “dean of Buffalo blogging.” (Oh, and I do like that, by the way. I’d put it in my tag-line, if I weren’t a deserter.) All of this pointing to an article in the Buffalo News about community blogging.
I do think that the urban critique found among Buffalo bloggers is, if not unique, at least unusual. I hope that articles like this will drive more Buffalonians to follow these blogs, and ultimately to take action. It’s a nice indication of how blogs and local communities can be tied together, and how blogging can be used toward a project that spreads beyond just a few people. I think an interesting piece of this is how often photographs are used on these blogs as a clear tie to place. Anyway, it will be interesting to see whether this can add momentum to local blogging efforts. Would love to see local politicians embrace this grassroots effort.
The article includes information on Buffalo’s city ranking for blog density derived from Jia Lin’s dissertation, by the way.
February 28th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
You missed a Geek Meet in town, sponsored by the Artvoice. I think you would have felt at home.
March 1st, 2006 at 2:47 am
[...] Alex Halavais The “dean of Buffalo blogging” always offers insightful commentary and research on the trend-making disruptions of the online (and sometimes offline) world. Frankly speaking, he’s the reason why a lot of graduate students I know come to Buffalo. Still, I’m glad to see him move onto newer opportunities. [...]
March 3rd, 2006 at 6:38 am
Hi there, Alex!
That’s quite a title, “Dean of Blogging.” Congrats! I wish I had been a blogger when I lived in Buffalo. Nice to see you mentioned over at Sandhill Trek:
http://sandhill.typepad.com/sandhill_trek/2006/03/howdy_doody_buf.html
one of my favorite bloggers … not a Buffalonian though.
March 5th, 2006 at 8:04 pm
I was disappointed that Steve left out most of his article sources – myself included for providing some inspiration to write the piece in the first place, teaching him information about blogging (not all of which was incorporated… of course), and introducing him to some great local bloggers – and omitted links to the bloggers he highlighted in the article. But whatya gonna do? It’s the librarian in me. Citation = good. I did get one free beer at the lovely Caffe Aroma on Elmwood for my time, however.
Interesting that linking and giving credit to sources are concepts bloggers seem to take for granted and do without a second thought. Irony in the idea that mainstream journalists can take their lead from bloggers on some things. One exciting aspect of blogging is clarification. Thus… this comment. :)
March 5th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
[...] Professor Alex Halavais, who actually teaches about this stuff, weighs in on the Buffalo blogosphere and our recent attention in Steve Watson’s Buffalo News article. I do think that the urban critique found among Buffalo bloggers is, if not unique, at least unusual. I hope that articles like this will drive more Buffalonians to follow these blogs, and ultimately to take action. It’s a nice indication of how blogs and local communities can be tied together, and how blogging can be used toward a project that spreads beyond just a few people. I think an interesting piece of this is how often photographs are used on these blogs as a clear tie to place. Anyway, it will be interesting to see whether this can add momentum to local blogging efforts. Would love to see local politicians embrace this grassroots effort. [...]