The brief: A hyperlocal special
A special edition of The Brief tonight, featuring a large helping of the best hyperlocal related links after the Talk About Local Unconference over the weekend.
The #TAL12 event brings together those running hyperlocal sites across the UK and those interested in both those running them and the idea. Here's some of the best blogs about and off the back of the event.
Why WV11: Summing up why people do this
If you look at it from the outside then hyperlocal sites make no sense. They make barely any money, they take up ridiculous amounts of time and put you at risk of pissing people you live near off. But this fantastic post from Steph Jennings really brings it home as to WHY people do it. Her passion, dedication and love for where she lives shine through. The Hyperlocal Handbook
Dave Briggs has started up a free wiki which will outline a Hyperlocal Handbook. This will act as an open-source resource for thos people thinking of starting up a hyperlocal site, or already up and running, for how to do it from those already running one.
It will cover topics including how to get people contributing, engaging with local businesses and using social media to promote your site. Well worth contributing to this if you have something to add.
The hyperlocal 'scene' in the UK
Loving the title of this blog, Street Fighting Mag, but this post from Damian Radcliffe who authored the excellent Here and Now report giving an overview of the hyperlocal scene in the UK. He highlights how hyperlocal sites are going to need to forge partnerships with existing "big media" to find commercial sustainability.
Following that comment from Radcliffe, there was a good discussion about creating a Hyperlocal Alliance during the Talk About Local event. It's worth checking out the site and if you run a hyperlocal site requesting an invite.
Hyperlocal bloggers and council press offices
I missed this session, but it sounded like good fun. Dan Slee, a press officer with Walsall council, blogs on what the relationship between a council press office and hyperlocal blogger should be like. It's a great read and I echo his sentiment and ideas.
What did I miss? Let me know if you've seen any hyperlocal/hyperlocal news or #TAL12 write ups that I've not linked to here.