A New News Source for Laurel

Laurel Patch, an online local news source is now available on the web at laurel.patch.com.  AOL’s hyper-local news network called "Patch" now has over 500 community web sites.  Laurel's Patch is one of the latest to go live today. 

“Yes, you read that right: 500 different websites, all with the same look and general feel, but each one staffed by an editor devoted to writing about the people and businesses in that community,” writes Bizjournals.  AOL is planning on investing over $50 million on the Patch Network in an attempt to capitalize on the dearth of local news web sites.

We have two local newspapers in town.  Well, we really only have one, the Laurel Leader.  The Gazette quietly shuttered their Laurel operation earlier this year and clumps Laurel's news in with Beltsville, College Park and other communities in the northern part of the county.  And let me be honest, the Gazette really never committed the resources necessary to serve our community well.

Editor Melanie Dzwonchyk and her plucky band of journos at the venerable Laurel Leader cover our fair city quite well.  Unfortunately, they are saddled with a web site from their publisher that is so lame and old fashioned, it looks like something invented by the late Senator Ted Stevens.  In spite of her lame web site, Dzwonchyk has been posting breaking news online and on Twitter. 

So now we have another online local news source in Laurel.  A source with a modern web site, a commitment to getting the story online regardless of the day of the week, and with access to AOL's deep pockets.

Let the competition begin. 

Kojo Nnamdi: Blogging The Blizzard

Laurel Connections was part of a panel of three community bloggers today on Kojo Nnamdi's show on WAMU - 88.5 FM.   

A Podcast of the show should be available soon.

My goal on the show was to explain how web 2.0 tools can help us grow closer together as a community.   

The snow storm provided an excellent example of how our local government, our local newspaper and our community collaborated using web sites, blogs, photo sharing sites, listservs and old fashioned can-do spirit to keep each other informed and safe.

Increasing social capital and social cohesion via web 2.0 tools is an answer to Robert Putnam's challenge in "Bowling Alone."  I believe it's one of the ways that we will recreate stronger communities in the Internet Age.  

Major media cover national news with thousands of reporters.  Big city newspapers and electronic media cover metro stories with a few dozen reporters.  However, not everything that is most important to our lives happens on Capital Hill or in the West Wing.

In a crisis, the most important thing to know might be what is happening right now on the next block.  Major newspapers, TV and radio stations cannot cover our neighborhood.  Web 2.0 tools like blogs, Twitter, listservs and Facebook give us the tools we need to inform ourselves.  Information we need to stay safe, stay warm and to help one another.  Web 2.0 tools support  our first ammendment freedom in its purest form.  

Blogs and listservs will never replace great community newspapers like the Laurel Leader.   However local blogs and community newspapers can cooperate and serve the community better than either could alone.

Sometimes knowing where to borrow a shovel when your car is snowed under, or who has a warm cup of coffee when your power is out can be the most important thing in the world.