More impressive coverage for “hyper-local” media darlings Outside.in and Everyblock, this time in the New York Times. Venture capitalists have pumped $7.5 million into aggregator Outside.in and the Knight Foundation has given Everyblock a $1.1 million grant.
Of course, neither is actually local, rather they work in a host of cities from afar, cobbling together data sets, blog posts and news site feeds. But the Times doesn’t focus on that aspect, choosing instead to ask the “but what is the business model?” question. And, “what will they aggregate if newspapers continue to go out of business?” Not clear. But I’m glad to see these and other experiments underway.
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more