Comments on: Local Online as Practiced from 30,000 http://blog.frontporchforum.com/2007/10/04/local-online-as-practiced-from-30000/ ... about neighbors, community and Front Porch Forum Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:05:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Michael http://blog.frontporchforum.com/2007/10/04/local-online-as-practiced-from-30000/#comment-69146 Michael Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:48:57 +0000 http://frontporchforum.com/blog/2007/10/04/local-online-as-practiced-from-30000/#comment-69146 Points well taken Peter. I'm sorry if I misread Chris' comments. There's little doubt that Topix and the growing number of services with a local focus from a global perspective provide something of value to the communities they cover. I wish the powers that be could come up with a clearer way of delineating between the local online equivalents of "Walmart" and the "locally owned and operated small retailers." Between national-local and local-local. On the retail side for comparison, I believe that small businesses far outweigh the national chains in the cumulative (revenue, employment, etc.), but they get proportionately less media attention, business school research, access to capital, government handouts, etc. That's how it works in a capitalist system... money begets money, attention, breaks, etc. So the few big boys get more than the millions of little guys. Is the same pattern underway in the "local online" space? How many locally derived services are out there vs. the nationals? How do total traffic and revenues compare? I know which side gets the lion's share of the attention from media, investors, etc. Wasn't the internet supposed to turn this basic relationship between national and local on its head? Points well taken Peter. I’m sorry if I misread Chris’ comments. There’s little doubt that Topix and the growing number of services with a local focus from a global perspective provide something of value to the communities they cover.

I wish the powers that be could come up with a clearer way of delineating between the local online equivalents of “Walmart” and the “locally owned and operated small retailers.” Between national-local and local-local.

On the retail side for comparison, I believe that small businesses far outweigh the national chains in the cumulative (revenue, employment, etc.), but they get proportionately less media attention, business school research, access to capital, government handouts, etc. That’s how it works in a capitalist system… money begets money, attention, breaks, etc. So the few big boys get more than the millions of little guys.

Is the same pattern underway in the “local online” space? How many locally derived services are out there vs. the nationals? How do total traffic and revenues compare? I know which side gets the lion’s share of the attention from media, investors, etc.

Wasn’t the internet supposed to turn this basic relationship between national and local on its head?

]]> By: Peter Krasilovsky http://blog.frontporchforum.com/2007/10/04/local-online-as-practiced-from-30000/#comment-69142 Peter Krasilovsky Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:32:54 +0000 http://frontporchforum.com/blog/2007/10/04/local-online-as-practiced-from-30000/#comment-69142 Michael: I think you are being kind of literal about what Chris said about local news headlines. My interpretation of what he was saying is that people don't care about the "news" that a journalistic entity would produce.....(i.e. a bond measure for a local garbage dump ). But he thinks that people care a lot about community information and observations that only local residents can generate. Topix is creating a relatively good environment for that...along with its competitors, don't you think? Michael: I think you are being kind of literal about what Chris said about local news headlines. My interpretation of what he was saying is that people don’t care about the “news” that a journalistic entity would produce…..(i.e. a bond measure for a local garbage dump ). But he thinks that people care a lot about community information and observations that only local residents can generate. Topix is creating a relatively good environment for that…along with its competitors, don’t you think?

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