I think i would investigate local media blogs like Hoboken411, Baristanet, and Maplewood Online. Real estate certainly is a piece of the content, but those sites are operated by media people, not realtors.

I just think real estate people have (a) laws and regulations that inhibit them, and (b) conflicts of interest business-wise to do a real job of becoming local media. Certainly community members can pick up that slack, but then the real estate piece becomes just one small section (much like our dead-tree newspapers today).

Localism IS planning on rolling out a non-real estate involvement schema/module/whatever you call it. I’m very interested to see it.

Your small town newspaper is struggling because of (a) changes in reader behavior, (b) changes in advertising ROI, and (c) too many folks with journalism degrees working there. I think local news will become (at some point) a crowd-sourced affair with no one deciding what is newsworthy. Those gatekeepers do a very poor job overall — look at the New York Times.

-rsh

I think i would investigate local media blogs like Hoboken411, Baristanet, and Maplewood Online. Real estate certainly is a piece of the content, but those sites are operated by media people, not realtors.

I just think real estate people have (a) laws and regulations that inhibit them, and (b) conflicts of interest business-wise to do a real job of becoming local media. Certainly community members can pick up that slack, but then the real estate piece becomes just one small section (much like our dead-tree newspapers today).

Localism IS planning on rolling out a non-real estate involvement schema/module/whatever you call it. I’m very interested to see it.

Your small town newspaper is struggling because of (a) changes in reader behavior, (b) changes in advertising ROI, and (c) too many folks with journalism degrees working there. I think local news will become (at some point) a crowd-sourced affair with no one deciding what is newsworthy. Those gatekeepers do a very poor job overall — look at the New York Times.

-rsh

I think for either model to work the focus needs to be on how to create a community-especially on a hyperlocal level – I’ve been considering quite a few ways this can be done – not even for the traffic it could bring to my real estate site, but for the trust and authority it could bring. If I were a more prolific writer (or if I had a staff) I would likely create a site that was very community oriented that only touched on real estate – the trick is how to get the community to participate. Almost need to find a way for the community to also take ownership in the site. If Localism were able to find a way to attract non real estate industry people they could possibly build this type of community. I don’t really see how this type of community would really be encouraged by a news media site. I look at my small town newspaper that is struggling for advertising dollars and has a very weak internet presence and wonder who should take up that slack in providing local content and deciding what is newsworthy.

I think for either model to work the focus needs to be on how to create a community-especially on a hyperlocal level – I’ve been considering quite a few ways this can be done – not even for the traffic it could bring to my real estate site, but for the trust and authority it could bring. If I were a more prolific writer (or if I had a staff) I would likely create a site that was very community oriented that only touched on real estate – the trick is how to get the community to participate. Almost need to find a way for the community to also take ownership in the site. If Localism were able to find a way to attract non real estate industry people they could possibly build this type of community. I don’t really see how this type of community would really be encouraged by a news media site. I look at my small town newspaper that is struggling for advertising dollars and has a very weak internet presence and wonder who should take up that slack in providing local content and deciding what is newsworthy.

FWIW, I don’t know that I consider the way you and other realtors use Localism to be “an abuse”. It may simply be that what you guys get out of Localism ain’t the same thing that Jon and the folks at ActiveRain envisioned.

But then, history is filled with examples of products that achieve success in a way totally different from the way their makers envisioned. Lightsticks come to mind. As does Botox.

-rsh

FWIW, I don’t know that I consider the way you and other realtors use Localism to be “an abuse”. It may simply be that what you guys get out of Localism ain’t the same thing that Jon and the folks at ActiveRain envisioned.

But then, history is filled with examples of products that achieve success in a way totally different from the way their makers envisioned. Lightsticks come to mind. As does Botox.

-rsh