J-blog research: My blogging

Since I was such a newcomer to Web 2.0, there was no better way to try to understand the blog concept than to become a blogger. Admittedly, I didn’t have a concrete idea of what I would be putting in the blog. I knew I would use it in part to document my j-blog research and write about media issues and events as they happened. I also wanted to use it as a way to ramble about whatever crossed my mind at the time and I deemed interesting enough to post.

It’s been an interesting and obviously educational experience since my first post on August 25, 2006 when I tried to explain what “Fernsehturm” means. At times, this blog has attempted to practice citizen journalism. For example, I blogged live from two public events: an FCC hearing and a panel discussion on Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct. My lack of experience in situations like these hampered my ability to write much in the way of useful information. It was hard to listen to the speakers and also write and review my work before posting it. All in all it was pretty haphazard and loosely organized but it was out there quickly and it was fun! Several of the j-bloggers said as much when asked about their posts.

Speaking of which, for a public FCC hearing in Seattle, I personally experienced the “symbiosis” of the blogger/journalist relationship. Seattle Times Political blogger David Postman was not able to attend the meeting so he did the next best thing: He searched for blogs about the meeting on Technorati then quoted several of them for his own blog post on December 1st. When I read his post the day after the hearing, I was pleasantly surprised to see my blog cited right there with several other well known Puget Sound blogs. That one reference by Postman resulted in the most views for a single I’ve had yet. Frankly, it felt good to not only to see my blog link on the Times website but also for independent bloggers to be recognized for their work. Since I had been trying to interview Mr. Postman, I was able to use this opportunity to contact him, thank him and set an interview time which had previously been difficult to do.

My other live-blogging experience also included a brush with the local media. At an Alaskan Way Viaduct panel at the Evans School with County Executive Ron Sims and Mayor Greg Nickels, I sat next to Political Reporter Bob Young of the Seattle Times. We chatted a little before the panel started about j-blogs and the viaduct. Just as the panel got underway started, I nudged Bob and told him that since I was live-blogging, I’d be scooping him.