Thanks to WINA for having me on this morning talking about local blogs. My blog tracks the Charlottesville and Central Virginia real estate market, market statistics, real estate technology, real estate representation (for sellers and buyers), local politics, “and more.” There is a thriving community of blogs nationally (nearly 70 million!), internationally and locally in the Charlottesville area. For the record and disclosure purposes, I am a Realtor with Century 21 Manley.
One of the many questions that came up was this – How do you find local blogs?
Google Blogsearch
Cvilleblogs
cvillenews
CvilleTomorrow is tracking the Charlottesville/Albemarle elections (interestingly, no local Republican candidates have blogs – why is that?)
Charlottesville News Headlines, thanks again to cvillenews.
Look at the “blogrolls” of blogs you come to know and trust (typically on the side of the page).
Key parts of a blog:
– Reverse Chronological Order of posts, updated frequently
– Comments (some debate this, but it is a crucial component of blogging) – participation in the blogs is key.
– RSS – Real Simple Syndication – a method of information distribution
– Linking to other blogs and citing your sources
– Transparency and accountability
Generally, reading blogs also necessitates reading in a different way; rather than visiting each individual webpage, the news can come to you.
Hint: you can subscribe to my blog by clicking here.
Technorati Tags: albemarle, blogging, charlalbemarle, charlottesville, hyper-local, real estate, rss
You can learn more about the various RSS readers here and here. RSS is not strictly for “techies;” neither are blogs. There is a vast world of blogs. Finding the best ones takes time, but it’s worthwhile.
How to get started with Google Reader.
Slightly more in-depth about RSS readers.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me anytime.
Regarding the guy who called in after I left, who said his blog’s goal is to “destroy Republicans running for office” – surely there are a fair amount of blogs whose goals are to publish vitriol, and there are plenty of political blogs on either side (and all sides) of the political world. I have found that many blogs and commenters can debate and disagree with class and candor, and the political world is a better place with these kinds of debates rather than seeking destruction of others. We all disagree at times; disagreeing with open minds is a better
My blog is here to provide information on the Charlottesville, Virginia real estate market.
Whoa. Seriously? Somebody called up to say that the purpose of his blog is to “destroy Republicans running for office”? That’s… Well, I think “crazy” is the word here. To destroy the individual is to make the political the personal in a way that’s just terrible. (Even to “destroy” their political ambitions is far too strong, but at least that’s in the right ballpark.)
FWIW, I don’t know of a single political blog in Charlottesville that has come even close to “destroying Republicans running for office,” or even particularly tried, so whoever it is apparently isn’t doing a very good job. 🙂
I deliberately did not link to his blog, because I didn’t want to continue that conversation. There is no place for that sentiment in discussions seeking to forward political agendas, regardless of one’s position.