Hopefully, this better reflects the piece I wanted to write on the necessity of local bloggers. The All Around Troy blog is a perfect example of why more and more communities will be relying on web 2.0 techniques to more quickly and adequately foster the spread of information. (That blog is too good in its infancy not to be noticed; it’s a shame that most people stumbled across in the aftermath of a murder, but I digress…)
Local blogs are intrinsically pertinent.
The voices are recognizable; I don’t know about you, but there is something foreign about watching major news coverage. The personalities become these “larger than life” figures who have a faux-omniscient viewpoint towards a news cycle on a seemingly infinite loop. Do you really think Matt Lauer knows the towns of Maryville and Troy, IL as well as Alderman Allen Adomite does (great alliteration too!)? 
Think about your favorite local sports announcer, if you’re in Saint Louis many reference Jack Buck (Go Buckeyes!) or Mike Shannon. If you’re heading north on 55 and end up in Milwaukee you can’t stop talking about Bob Uecker. These guys walk on water in their hometowns, but throw the name “Mike Shannon” around in any market besides Saint Louis, and you’ll get the proverbial, “huh?” The reason being is that these guys (I know Buck didn’t really fit the mold here) are completely obsessive, certifiable whack-jobs when it comes to being an all-encompassing “homer.”
It’s what they know; it’s the cities they grew up in; it’s the teams they loved and died to play for since they were 2-years-old. Their passion is real because it’s legitimate, transparent, true…whatever you want to call it, their passion is realized. Theirs are the voices that make the story great, the game can be analyzed and chopped apart by anyone, but these guys have that undefinable “it” factor.
Bloggers can be the same way. A blogger needs to write about what he or she knows, loves, goes crazy about. Blogging about your hometown, your experiences, your life will allow readers not only to take away valuable information, but you’re passion will be brutally apparent in the voice of the blog. Nobody can tell your stories as well as you can. You can hire every consultant, media coach, PR flack under the sun, but do you know who cares about your interactive start-up or service trip to Mumbai more than you?
Noone.
This is why blogging is beautiful; it’s so practical for the masses. This is why Arianna Huffington described blogging as, “history’s first draft” on the Daily Show a few months back. These are our stories, unedited, spoken from a point-of-view that is unmatched in individual perspective. At a time where we lack the “voices” that transcend common thought, the Walt Whitman and Bob Dylan-types, we rely on the rule of the masses to paint the human experience.
Are you a local official who has the ears of a community? Are you the Marketing VP of a company that needs a little guidance? Are you the first born grandson who has lost touch with his extended family?
Stop thinking your blog has to be everything to everyone. Your audience is just that, “Yours.” It doesn’t matter if you write for 15 or 15 million, somebody is investing their time in your thoughts.
The question is why not blog? We take it for granted how many people are willing to listen if they find the right voice.
Who do you need to be talking to?
Peace,
mjb
