West Seattle Blog and Blogging Best Practices

Perhaps one of the most popular hyperlocal blogs is the West Seattle Blog. This blog represents a small, but civically active neighborhood in Seattle. It was started when a power outage in the neighborhood sparked the need for an instant and neighborhood specific news source.

From its start WSB has only grown averaging nearly half a million visits each month. The West Seattle Blog is a regular source for reporters and a first thing in the morning read for most residents in West Seattle and beyond.

Timing is important especially today when we receive a constant flood of information from social channels. The perfect timing will depend on your audience. In the case of WSB they’re timing of creating a neighborhood news source of instant need to know information through their blog, came after a power outage which highlighted the lack of this need.

Once created the engagement is what created the buzz of this blog and creating a stronger community within the neighborhood of West Seattle. WSB has an avid community forum where discussions regularly end up on the front page, and then the occasional evening news.  Not only does WSB engage through the blog itself but it engages through multiple social media platforms such as: facebook, twitter, flickr, youtube, pinterest, and google plus.

This hyperlocal blog’s timing along with its content, frequency, engagement, and use of social media has helped establish its authority as the go to blog for most residents as well as reporters in the West Seattle area.

Press Release for Joe Paterno’s death

Penn State coaching legend Joe Paterno dies at 85

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Joe Paterno, the longtime Penn State coach who won more games than anyone in major college football, died Sunday of lung cancer. He was 85.

“His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled,” released in a statement Sunday morning by his family to announce his death.

“He died as he lived,” the statement said. “He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, though only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, and his community.”

The Pennsylvania hospital where Paterno died conformed the cause of death as a spreading lung cancer.

Mount Nittany Medical Center said in a statement that Paterno died at 9:25 a.m. Sunday of “metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung.” Metastatic indicated an illness that has spread from one part of the body to an unrelated area.

The hospital said Paterno was surrounded by family members, who have requested privacy.

Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush also released a statement.

“I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Joe Paterno,” Bush said. “He was an outstanding American who was respected not only on the field of play but in life generally -- and he was, without a doubt, a true icon in the world of sports. I was proud that he was a friend of mine. Barbara and I send our condolences to his devoted wife Suzanne and to his wonderful family.”

Joe made an incredible impact, these last 61 years. That impact has been felt and appreciated by our family in the form of thousands of letter and well wishes along with countless acts of kindness from people whose lives he touched.

He leaves us with his “living legacy” of five kids, 17 grandchildren, and hundreds of men whose lives he changed in more ways than can begin to be counted.

The family requests, in lieu of flowers or gifts, that donations be made to the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania or the Penn State-THON, The Penn State IFC/Penhellenic Dance Marathon.

Accompanying Facebook Post:

Social Media Tools

I will admit that with all the social media tools available today, my knowledge of them all is pretty limited. While I knew of blogs and how they worked this is my actually my first attempt at blogging. I’ll have to say it’s not a natural thing for me. I’m more familiar with Facebook and Twitter thanks to my job as a public affairs officer in the U.S. Army.

Due to being a manager of social media for my job I’ve become extremely familiar with Facebook and its privacy settings which has helped me in my personal use of it as well. I encourage you to take a look at the Facebook page I manage for my command, The 76^th Operational Response Command, and to follow it if you like. You can find it at: http://www.facebook.com/76THORC.

Twitter is another social media tool that I use for my job. While I use Twitter, all I really know about it is you post using 144 characters which I find limiting, however the reach can be greater due to how many people use twitter now. I currently have it set up at work where what I post on Facebook is also tweeted on Twitter and ensure my posts follow the 144 character restriction. If you are interested in seeing the 76^th Operational Response Command’s Twitter feed you can find it at:  http://mobile.twitter.com/76thORC. I’ve also dabbled in YouTube for my job as well, but don’t use it much now as we do not have the video capabilities at my current position. 

One of my passions is photography, and while I still consider myself an amateur photographer I use photo sharing sites to display my photos. I have a Flickr account at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/njshutterbug/  as well as I have an account with viewbug.com. I'd share the link, however unless you are a member it's not accessible.

Like I said before I know there are tons of social media tools out there, I don’t really have the urge to learn any new ones, as the ones I use work for my needs.