Blogging,Bloggers,and Communities.

Welcome Marcia Robovitsk who is the  newest blogger in the Oakland Press community blog section, with  Bloomfield TWP. Happenings. In her blog profile she writes "I've lived in Bloomfield Township since 1981 and I am interested in local township government issues ".

Marcia , I started blogging, years ago, in June of 2011 to be exact.I recall finding  a blog  on the Blogs I follow section  of Stephen Frye's (Oakland Press On Line Editor)  profile. It was  Newspaper Death Watch which  said  it was chronicling the decline of newspapers and the rebirth of journalism. While playing around with the word Blogger and the search box  I found Exploding Blogger Myths . It is from 2009 and you can't scroll to it directly. Until now I've never been able to link to it. Playing with the words Exploding, Blogger,and  Myths in combinations  produced the article but it is very finicky. When all else fails whack the computer with the palm of your hand or go away and try again in  a couple of months.

Stephen Frye Editor

Written by paulgillin and posted on May 8, 2009  the article says “Ryan Tate takes issue with the conventional wisdom that blogger can’t be depended upon to cover local government. Tate tells of his experience as a reporter in Oakland, Calif. pounding a local beat. “I often found that blogger were the only other writers in the room at certain city council committee meetings and at certain community events. They tended to be the sort of persistently-involved residents newspapermen often refer to as ‘gadflies’ – deeply, obsessively concerned about issues large and infinitesimal in the communities where they lived,” he writes.

Drop by any meeting of your local town government and you’ll find concerned citizens sitting in the cheap seats, watching intently what’s going on. What motivates these people? Usually, it’s passion for the topics being discussed. Whether it’s an increase in property taxes, a school bond, a new sewer project or a prohibition against walking dogs on the town common, citizens do come out to learn about issues that matter to them.

All of these people are, broadly defined, potential bloggers.

Check out a list of bloggers  in the borough of Brooklyn as noted in the blog rolls on Brooklyn Heights Blog and A Brooklyn Life. These people write about all sorts of things: local arts, events, politics, schools and community organizations. They’re not journalists, but they have a lot to contribute to a public discussion and they observe things at a level of granularity that few newspapers could ever match.

Marcia Robovitsk, Blogger

The above excerpts are where I found the Brooklyn Heights blog which is linked to  this blog. It is also where I found  a raison d'etre for those of us who want to be community bloggers. You mentioned the newspapers you linked to. In many cases they do an excellent job of reporting the news but you as a resident and a blogger will come closer to  uncovering  the soul and spirit of the community. Blog often. The more you write the more they read. Stats on Blogger will tell you that. Take a small camera with you always.  You will have fun. Your efforts will make a difference and be appreciated. I look forward to reading your posts.