While it may seem like the worst of times for newspaper circulation, it's also the best of times for those newspapers looking towards the internet as an opportunity. For its "Internet Strategies" seminar, the American Press Institute invited three speakers representing different websites to share the experience of creating and managing community hubs. While "newspapers can no longer afford to see themselves as gatekeepers," as one of the speakers, Steve Yelvington of blufftontoday.com, notes, newspapers can still draw readers by facilitating community interaction.
The origins:
Like any other story, the story of these three e-cities began with someone who had a problem to fix. For Liz George of baristanet.com, the problem was that there was no go-to place for activities telling her what to do when she moved into the area of Montclair, New Jersey. Bob Kelly of backfence.com saw a business opportunity in filling the missing niche. Meanwhile, Yelvington needed a new way to revitalize a dying print paper.
The solutions:
Liz George decided to create a blog that featured postings about local news, events, and people. George and another webmaster make the main posting, giving them the power to direct the overall content. From then on, however, readers have many opportunities to contribute to the website by commenting on each post. Baristanet users don't register to post. Off the webpage, readers have taken initiative to act as local tipsters by phoning in news leads. George or her coworkers then follow up on the leads and post stories on newsworthy items.
In contrast, the bulk of backfence.com's content comes from users. Its homepage announces itself as "Do-it-yourself-news." Users, after registering, can post everything from news items to event listings to photos. Like Baristanet, Backfence allows all users to comment on all postings. While the content manager of Backfence doesn't directly create homepage content like the content managers of Baristanet do, Backfence does remove offensive posts.
Yelvington's solution began on the printed page, with a redesign of the print paper into a tabloid format and a move to free home delivery. Bluffton.com, while an extension of the paper, offers much more than complete access to print content online. Like at Backfence, people can post articles and photos on which other users can comment. Unlike most conventional newspaper websites, however, Bluffton features user-submitted postings on the homepage. Bluffton editors get involved by choosing which user-generated posts to feature. Bluffton also offers all users the opportunity to have a blog.
Success by the numbers:
Backfence.com covers many towns, but in McLean, Virginia, it has 8,000 unique visits with 547 registered users since launching in 2005 among 60,000 local residents.
Baristanetnj.com averages14 comments per blog entry.
Since its launch in 2005 Blufftontoday.com has drawn 5,000 registered users, with 700 active ones. A typical post draws seven responses. Approximately 500 photographers have uploaded roughly 17,000 photos.
Challenges and opportunities ahead:
As more consumers and advertisers become comfortable with the web, these sites will need to offer more and more features and reach. Backfence, which has recently launched some San Francisco Bay area sites, hopes to reach other towns soon. All three sites also strive to bring more multimedia onto their sites. Baristanet is considering setting up accounts for its users and Backfence may give users blogs. Bluffton is considering adding a local search function.
However, with successes come challenges. As more people post online, how much the sites need to be moderated becomes a concern. Yelvington says, "The role of the webmaster is like being a bartender. Keep the crowd under control." Kelly hopes that Backfence will become a public meeting place where citizens can regulate each other. Indeed, George says that she has already seen this trend on Baristanet where users will chastise other users for inappropriate comments.
