Blog Lunch

Actually, more like a late morning coffee.  Next time I am ordering a sandwich right at the beginning.  But, I did get to have lunch with my wife.

As Greg Page, The New Englander noted, there was a small luncheon meeting of a few of the local Lowell bloggers.  Present were Greg Page, Dick Howe, Tony Accardi, Jackie Doherty and me.  I learned a couple of things.

As Greg mentioned in his post, we got the quick rundown on Twitter.  We also learned that Tony teaches a class on "citizen journalism," which he promotes on another name, which has slipped my mind.  Middlesex.

We all marveled at the number of blogs in Lowell and how the blog "Lowell Handmade" keeps a running list of local blogs and what they have posted most recently. As Tony Accardi points out this blog is a service to the community at large.

We also agreed that putting up a good blog post can take some time out of the day.  That is because of concern for getting the words right (I will be checking with my wife on some English when she gets back from her music duties today).  And, there are the links, when appropriate. Finally, there is the concern that we say the right thing.  As the dustup, mentioned here and here, over The Sun's editorial on the School System shows, getting it right and conveying it right are important.  The fact of blogger fatigue got mentioned. It seems easier when there is a team doing it, as with Dick Howe's blog or Left in Lowell.

Greg Page says that he skips those blogs that talk about "dear diary" stuff.  And rightfully so.  But, maybe not so for all.  The term blog comes from Web Log, which is sort of a diary.  It is like Facebook, at least as I understand Facebook, which is limited, although my middle Brother just linked up with me last night.  (I was surprised that he was that far along technologically.  His Daughter must have shown him how.)  A blog can be a way to keep in touch. For some, a blog is still that and my hat is off to those who blog to keep in touch with family and friends.  But, with the overwhelming number of blogs out there, it is necessary to pare down the information.

And, we talked about the demise of newspapers. I am not looking forward to that.

The large number of blogs in Lowell is a comment about the residents of Lowell as being on the leading edge.  It also raises the question as to how we can foster this trend and help make our work force, our students, and our overall citizenry even further out on the leading edge.  In the new economy, that will be important.

Regards  --  Cliff