Place blogging is not a new movement. It is a genre of blogging which has existed at least since 2003 with the Ecotone wiki. (after about 300 posts by 50 bloggers it closed in 2005. The Ecotone archives can be found here).
What is a place blog? A good definition is on Lisa Williams’ placeblogger.com, a just launched aggregator of place blogs:
–A placeblog is an act of sustained attention to a particular place over time
–It can be done by one person, a defined group of people, or in a way that’s open to community contribution
–It’s not a newspaper, though it may contain random acts of journalism
–It’s about the lived experience of a place.
Teresa Boardman, Maureen McCabe & Brad Nix were the first placebloggers we met. If you want to know anything about St. Paul, Columbus or Atlanta, you are likely to find it on their blogs. Many more real estate bloggers have discovered the value of place blogging in attracting consumer interest and potential clients. Local content may be the future king of real estate blogging for business. If you post local content, look to syndicate it to the growing number of aggregator sites designed to attract consumers. Localized content will grow in popularity and draw more consumers. As real estate brokers and agents, don’t forget that your contribution to the local community is an expertise in buying, selling and leasing property, as well as where to get the best cup of Joe.
A small number of sites have sprung up to aggregate local content or place blogs. Here is a list of place blog sites we have found. Let us know of others we have missed. Oh, BTW, if your individual blog is primarily a place blog, add it to placeblogger.com.
New West Network (The Voice of The Rocky Mountains)
Outside.in (national) register here.
Localism (national, part of the Active Rain Network)
MyHouseKey.org (national) (Sellsius is on the steering committee)
Backfence (Bethesda, MD area) sign up here
Nashville is Talking (aggregating local blog content from blogroll)
Blognetnews.com (21 states so far) (via David Mastio)
Pghbloggers.org (Pittsburgh) (via Robert Melton)
Want to get hyperlocal. Check out Place Site, hatching in San Francisco cafes. A fantastic concept.
Further reading:
The Where Project Paper
Tim Lindgren Blogging Places
Tim’s Where Project Blog
