The great things about “blogs” are the new passion you can find about a lot of topics. I’m not aware of any local blog here in the Tri-Cities making a lot of money for anyone – not that it should, but the point is that these creations are a labor of love and sometimes give us an interesting perspective into the lives of our colleagues and friends.
Basically, the tables are turned. The ability to publish information was in the hands of the few. The Net has let the genie out of the bottle and now anyone with the time or the intent can create a perspective using the power of print, audio, video and interactivity to create a intriguing space for opinions, perspectives, expertise, immediacy and more.
Recent studies point to blogs as evidence of a “narcissistic age.” I couldn’t help but think of the cranky old journalist writing this from behind the curve. Sure. We want attention…that happened coming out the womb, so I’m over that statement.
My intent is to become a better writer. These words have enough trouble coming from my brain to the keyboard and for them to find order on a page is something I would like to improve. Who doesn’t want to tell a better story? Besides, who’s to say this is not just the evolution of our expressive nature and machines make it all the more interesting phenomenon. But that’s another story.
Over the past several months, I’ve watched a lot of people come to life and make sense of themselves via this medium. Not that we’ll find all the answers, but at the very least, it conjures up lots of question – at least i should. For me, it’s the perfect mashup of all media and it meets me at a time in life where the tools are hard for me to ignore.
Here are some of my favorite local blogs that keep popping up from folks right here in the Tri-Cities. Some of these folks are seasoned journalists and others are just plain great story-tellers, but each one has inspired me over the past few months and it’s nice to share the streets with such an interesting group.
APPALACHIAN TREKS
– This is one of my new favorites and I’m envious of the authors time to get out and capture images and hiking experiences here in the Appalachian region. The blog is called Appalachian Treks and records plenty of beautiful scenery taken from the foothills here in East Tennessee. Nice blog with regular updates on Nature and a refreshing departure from most of my tech readings.
MOUNTAIN PUBLICAN
– Mike Faulk is a client from Hawkins County whom we met while working on his new website at GoTriCities a couple of years ago. Mike has distinct professional character and a down to Earth manner that not only brings him awareness in his profession, but he gives me hope for public service. Together with his stories of growing up in the tobacco fields of Hawkins County, the Mountain Publican is part story-telling, part opinion and part politics. Keep up with Mike and his journey that begins here in Kingsport.
HARDTACK AND HARD TIMES
– Hardtack and Hard Times refers to the life of the Civil War Soldier. Hardtack is the name of the ration bread the soldiers ate and we all know what hard times are. Ned Jilton is a long-time news photographer for the Kingsport Times-News. I’ve known Ned for a long-time and he’s one of the best news journalists in the region. I’m pretty sure he has a police scanner turned on at every turn. Recently, he surprised me with his new entertaining blog and information resource that tells the history and the stories about the Civil War. Ned is a buff, but he’s a great photographer too and his coverage of re-enactments, events and other information about the War Between the States is a great historical resource.
CARTER PHOTOGRAPHY
– Earl Carter is a former Kingsport Times-News photograph turned independent. He has always been on the cutting edge of technology and is an extraordinary portrait photographer. With his camera, he has a real warmth when it comes to human subjects and he has developed many published series of a variety of hometown photos. Earl is a Kingsport native and he’s seen plenty of Kingsport’s history. His personal website has a picture of Johnny and June Cash. Earl shot their photos plenty of times and this is only the beginning. I can’t wait to see how he tells the story of his work on his blog and invite you to check out his photography and links.
OF THIS AND THAT
– Conversations with Don Fenley always treat me to a good hard perspective with regard to good journalism. A former Army ranger, Don has worked for the Washington Post, this paper, that paper and has been employed at Times-News for over 20 years. His sensitivity to good journalism and aggressive reporting gives me a rich perspective about the business. His blog at Times-News is a collection of some of the stories you don’t see in the newspapers and he calls it a “regional round-up” and it’s here that you’ll find news that although it’s below the radar is entertaining and information. It’s updated often too and one of the best news blogs around.
DOWNTOWN KINGSPORT SQUARE
– Here’s a new one that popped up and they are doing a great job keeping up with events and happenings in Downtown Kingsport. Not sure who’s behind the keyboard yet, but I’ve booked marked the site for the latest updates.
JEFF FLEMING
– Jeff Fleming is one of the hardest working bloggers around. He publishes a personal blog that is an informative and feel good collection of Kingsport facts, figures and accolades. He’s got a big list of readers who receive his daily email and his efforts have truly had an impact on the professionals and officials in our city. Jeff’s a dedicated public servant too and is a must for any blog reader with interests about Kingsport.
RANDOM MUMBLINGS
– I met Jack Lail earlier in the year in Las Vegas at a newspaper conference. He is the news editor for the Knoxville News Sentinel and he has a blog that covers the latest in web trends and journalism. He’s got his finger to the pulse too and involved with a great team in Knoxville and his perspective and ideas about the industry are both informative and timely.
If you are still new to blogs, it’s important to understand the RSS Reader. RSS is another web-age acronym that means “Real Simple Syndication.” This web tool is one of the single most important developments on the web and allows you to subscribe to blogs and RSS feeds. You don’t have to visit the site, but with an RSS reader, you get a note every time your blogs are updated. You can find your own Blog Reader or RSS Reader for free from BLOGLINES, GOOGLE and several other resources.
You can find out more about RSS Readers and subscribe to the Kingsport Times-News reader service here. From there, you should be able to subscribe to any blog or service you are interested in.
Got a favorite local Tri-Cities blog? Got a question about RSS Readers and subscribing to blogs…starting your own blogs? Let me know.