Blogging 101

Last night The Buffalo News and its sister Web site, Buffalo.com, hosted a panel discussion on blogging.  Blogging 101, as it was dubbed, covered many bases and all in an interesting light.  Panelists included Christina Abt, of the famed Buffalo Style; Alan Bedenko, aka Buffalo Pundit; Colin Dabkowski, news arts critic and ArtsBeat contributer; David Torke who works diligently to Fix Buffalo Today; and WNYMedia.net President and Buffalo Geek Chris Smith.

This was a fascinating account of how five rather disparate local bloggers perceive their roles as either casual or professional bloggers, political or literary, probing or observational.  Torke spoke about bringing about change—real, self-evident, constructive change—and telling the stories no one else is.  Bedenko and Smith complimented that by saying they don’t necessarily report news, rather they offer their own opinions on what news is already being reported.

Abt and Dabkowski brought a literary writer’s mentality to the political reportage that is the base of so much of the blogosphere, Abt offering the contention that to blog is to have something to say, and that the mechanics of getting those words on people’s screens is secondary; Dabkowski discussed the blurry lines news reporters must negotiate when including blogging in their journalistic mission, how being objective in print is an altogether different animal than being opinionated online.  Taming these beasts is a skill, and in Dabkowski’s case a job.

Much was said about the role a blog has in the public sphere, with Smith likening an online community to that of your local pub.  Interactivity is essential for a blogger’s words to take wing, all were agreed, which leads to the consensus that being provocative or at the very least exciting is imperative.  At its core, blogging is not merely an extension of talking; it is a tool a speaker or writer or active public participant can use to further what they already have to say.  (Bedenko made the point I would have made, too, that blogs like Stuff on My Cat have their place too ... in my heart.  But that’s another post for another day.)

So here we are, out there in the blogosphere, on the World Wide Web, into the great wide open.  What do we have to say here at Block Club?  Well, that can best be answered by what we don’t have to say.

We are not a news organization, so we don’t report on area news the way other local blogs and newspaper do.  They do a fine job, and as Torke points out, there’s a lot that falls through the cracks for others to pick up.  So while we might post news on community developments and business announcements, we mostly offer our thoughts on what those news stories mean to us.

We talk about seasonal events, memories of years past, ideas for tomorrow, recipes for tonight.  Everyone wants ideas for things to do, places to explore, people to meet, things to make, items to buy, and things and such of that sort.

In the vein of interactivity, I would like to extend a hand to those who would like to be included in our blog circles.  We welcome all points of view, all areas of interest, all neighborhoods of the area, all eyes and all ears.

us with ideas and comments, and comment on our blog posts.  We don’t strive to change the whole world at Block Club, or even whole lives.  But we can hopefully change your life for today, and even tomorrow, maybe even next week has an ounce of Block Club in your fate.

Who knows?  I don’t.  But let’s figure it out together.

Posted by on 10/11 at 10:21 AM