The Observation Deck

Being a City Charter nerd, I'm always interested in how cities govern themselves. They're all a little different.

It looks like the University Heights mayor and council are a bit at odds over this one. It will be fun to see how it plays out.

http://heightsobserver.org/read/1/6/uh- ... commission

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A little off topic, but hasn't it been fun to see news from the Heights Observer AND the Westlake-Bay Village Observer here on the Lakewood Observer Observation Deck this week?

A movement is afoot!

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stephen davis wrote:A little off topic, but hasn't it been fun to see news from the Heights Observer AND the Westlake-Bay Village Observer here on the Lakewood Observer Observation Deck this week?

A movement is afoot!

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It Has!! And Perhaps It Is!!

Call out the instigators
Because there's something in the air
We've got to get together sooner or later
Because the revolution's here, and you know it's right
And you know that it's right

We have got to get it together
We have got to get it together now.

Something In The Air - Thunderclap Newman


There is a quickly growing movement to Hyper Local News and Journalism.

While much of the emphasis has been placed on the internet, the truth is it is maybe a decade or more away from having the traction needed to become a "force" in news coverage.

While Lakewoodites have a pretty good average to computers and online resources, websites still hit a very, very small section of the populace. Over in East Cleveland we are finding the number around 11%. Here in Lakewood even the most successful website in Lakewood, the Lakewood Public Library is affecting maybe 20%, the Observer around 15% - 17% based on our ip number count. The rest would be far, far, far less. The Lakewood Library is in the top 1% of websites for traffic on the net. The Observer falls just inside the top 4% with the traffic distance between the two less than 20%.

So you can see and understand the massive disconnect. I wonder if this will not grow in the future. I upgrade computers about every two years or less. But I am in the business that needs me to do that. What about the family of 4 on a fixed income? As the next grows, and gets more rich in content. The dived between those with latest equipment and software will grow. While Firefox is free, some of the latest editions need the latest system software.

With the death of news media as we are told by the media is, the net covers national, and even regional news but falls far short on local news. The Plain Dealer, the regional paper is feeling the heat. The Sun Papers because of how they are produced is also feeling the heat. Still people have a need to understand their community, and how their lives are effected. This provides the opening for Hyper Local to grow and succeed.

However, in 2007, 975 Hyper Local news projects were started all but three on the net. In 6 months, 950 had gone out of business. Simply put they were not financially viable for a variety of reasons. One of the largest is what I refer to as vanity advertising. Giving ads away so that they are perceived as successful. It is not a sustainable business practice.

So for all of these and many other reasons print is still the best way to build a sustainable "media project." We had to build a platform that would cost next to nothing to own and operate, and could plug into print, while developing cutting edge modules for the future when print does not exist. It was developed to give everyone a say in how the city is run and how the news/information is disseminated. The LO success at sustainability has gotten serious attention, as to why and how it works so well.

There is something in the air.

Stay tuned.

Or better yet, join the revolution.


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