The Hedon Blog Hey Community Voices

The Hedon Blog and HEY! Community Voices! Internet and web-based services have transformed the way that people communicate and interact with the world. Millions of people are now using the internet to seek out news, information and advice and to carry out shopping and trading. However, people are not just passive viewers and purchasers of online services, on the contrary they are reviewing products, passing comment, posting photographs and video and joining online communities. As people have migrated to the internet then advertisers have followed. This substantial switch to internet advertising has had a profound affect on traditional print media and commercial TV who have seen such revenues slump. They have had to adapt to these changed circumstances by turning to the internet themselves, but income generated from internet-based news remain low. Advertising on the internet is relatively much cheaper. And ‘news’ is now universal and free on the internet. People are unwilling to pay for services and content that is freely available elsewhere. Media companies have been forced to retrench and restructure in order to survive. Journalists have found themselves out of work or losing permanent positions and having to go freelance. In the past, news organisations would employ teams of journalists to write the news. Today it is the readers themselves who are quite often making the news and writing about it and posting videos and photographs to back up those reports. Earthquakes in the pacific can be reported in minutes via Twitter, and eyewitness reports submitted on YouTube and Flickr soon after – and all this can take place before the traditional journalist has even set off to reach the news location. Whilst traditional media is likely to remain a key source for syndicated major international and national news, sport and entertainment for some time yet, there is a significant gap emerging in the market. Large media organisations no longer have the resources available to cover really local – or hyperlocal – news. Hyperlocal news is the material that is of specific interest to (and from) identified geographical communities, neighbourhoods, towns and villages. This might be the ‘big’ local issues that are considered newsworthy by larger media organisations. But more likely hyperlocal news will consist of: •

Information about local services, particularly the disruption of these through weather, accidents, etc o

Opening hours, time-tables, public services, roadworks

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Schools, GP surgeries, libraries, shops, pubs

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Planning applications that might impact on the local area

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Analysis of how decisions made elsewhere will impact locally

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What’s On guides

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Local business ‘White Pages’

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Community and Voluntary activity

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Local campaigns

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….things that matter to local people!

This gap in the market is being filled by a wide variety of organisations and individuals that have established community websites, blogs and even local press associations to aggregate local news. The Hedon Blog is an example of an emerging hyperlocal community website. Development of “The Hedon Blog” The Hedon Blog was established on the 24th January 2009 as a hobby for the author. It includes coverage of local events, attractions, community activity and public information. The site attracted over 200 unique page views in February 2009 which has risen to over 2,400 in September 2009.

The site has grown through its own internet presence and local word of mouth. To do: Build local profile and local readership and commentators. •

Local business card and introductions

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Flyer distribution

Assemble group of community bloggers •

Train, coach and support via social media surgeries

Group constituted/incorporation – able to apply for funding “Talk About Hedon” Promotion – broaden coverage, appeal and support. Seek involvement as commentators, authors and editors. Achieve ‘critical mass’ of readers and commentators – the blog becomes a talking-point and known as a reference point for local news and opinions.

HEY! Community Voices! This is a proposed service to help communities establish their own online community voices. It will involve working with individuals and groups to build their own community websites and blogs. Through coaching and training participants will learn about: •

Social media and how to use the tools to create and maintain their own online communities. o

Wordpress, Blogging, Twitter, Wikis, YouTube, Flickr

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Video and audio production

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Writing and reporting skills in a hyperlocal context; understanding of representation, accountability, neutrality and balance.

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Growing real communities to support the online ones o

Community development and action

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Building local support

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Sustainability

The project will offer ongoing support for a specified period of time to ensure each community project is sustainable. Achieving the sustainability of each supported project is a key part of this proposal. Each community blog/website created becomes a sustainable project i.e. no ongoing or very low costs, depends on free and/or open source software and the passion and commitment of volunteers. This is dependent on obtaining the following outputs: •

Sufficient number and commitment of volunteers involved

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Volunteers are confident in using the tools. NB: The tools are free and/or open source which means that ongoing software costs will be nil.

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Volunteers are confident participants, authors and editors.

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Volunteers are connected to wider communities and support networks.

Ongoing support costs for individual projects are extremely low or non-existent. Income Generation Low: White pages; classifieds; advertising Low (potentially High): Syndication to larger organisations.

HEY! Community Voices! will investigate opportunities to derive income from the syndication of local website content and independent news to larger media organisations. High: HEY! Community Voices! will offer its service to help communities establish their own online community voices to Local Authorities, Strategic Partnerships, and NHS Trusts. The service will support the establishment of locally controlled community websites that provide essential information on local services; allow greater public scrutiny of local public services and allow local facilities for public input and feedback on services. There will be opportunities to discuss partnership arrangements with other organisations in delivering training content. HEY! Community Voices! consultation services: Creating dialogue between agencies and communities, helping improve consultation and to allow substantial evidence gathering opportunities for those forming public policy.