Tag: media

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UrbanCincy voted one of best blogs in Cincinnati

CityBeat recently announced the winners of the 2010 Best of Cincinnati awards, and I’m proud to say that UrbanCincy was, once again, voted among the best blogs in Cincinnati. UrbanCincy came in second behind Scott Sloan’s blog for 700 WLW “The Nation’s Station.” Also finishing in the top three was Julie Niesen’s Wine Me, Dine Me food blog.

It really is an honor to be considered to be the best in whatever it is you do, and I personally do feel honored. But, I would not have been able to grow UrbanCincy to where it is today without the help of the dedicated team of writers that help produce content, brainstorm story ideas, shoot photography and conduct research for our stories.

Since its inception in May 2007, UrbanCincy has grown from a random spattering of thoughts shared on a blog every so often, to a website that now publishes almost 100 percent original content 10 to 12 times each week. A group of friends and interested community members has grown into a large collection of tens of thousands of people each month who visit UrbanCincy to stay connected with what is happening in Cincinnati’s urban core.

Work published on UrbanCincy has been featured in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Reno Gazette-Journal, National Resource & Defense Council, Trust for Public Land, Planetizen, ‘Smart City’ and ‘City Talk’ radio shows, Reconnecting America, Streetsblog, Urbanophile, and discussed by Richard Florida. I feel like since May 2007, UrbanCincy has helped to change the conversation in Cincinnati. More and more people are excited about the transformation of Cincinnati’s urban core, policy decisions are being discussed and debated in a new way, and new ideas are emerging about how we should manage and interact with the city.

On May 8th, UrbanCincy’s 3rd anniversary, the UrbanCincy team will celebrate the launch of a brand new website. There will be expanded coverage, new ongoing features, an updated design, and even more content all based on the input given in the 2010 UrbanCincy Survey. A launch party is currently being planned for that Saturday night so we would like to ask you to reserve that spot on your calendar to come out and meet the team, celebrate the new website and enjoy Cincinnati’s urban core. Please stay tuned for event details.

Thanks again for your ongoing support. We hope to be able to continue to offer high-quality content and better user experiences down the road that are engaging and interesting. In the mean time, if there are any comments you would like to share with me or the team, please do so in the comment section of this post. Cheers.

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News

South by Southwest conference comes to Cincinnati

The nation’s largest interactive conference takes place today in Austin, Texas, but the newly-formed New Press Club is helping bring the conference to local interested in interactive media with the first-ever “South by Southwest by Cincinnati” which will tap into the South by Southwest conference being held in Austin.

Event organizers say that for one hour, and possibly longer, South by Southwest by Cincinnati attendees will be able to hear some of top thinkers and most influential people in the world of interactive media. Those attending will even have the opportunity to ask questions of these individuals and get the latest news about what is developing in the industry.

“Greater Cincinnati has one of the most active social media communities in the world,” said Joe Wessels, New Press Club founder and board member. “This event provides an excellent opportunity for those in Cincinnati to get a cut of the action in Austin and bring some of that knowledge back here without leaving home.”

The live discussion will start at 5:30pm at Mainstay Rock Bar tonight in downtown Cincinnati (map), and will include a networking and social time immediately after the live discussion. The event is free and open to anyone who wants to come, and those with Twitter accounts are encouraged to follow @NewPressClub for live updates.

Mainstay Rock Bar exterior photo by 5chw4r7z.

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News

How Cincinnati could benefit from greater use of new media

A recent article written by Christian Madera in Next American City discussed what role new media plays in local government, and more particularly, in small local governments. Madera’s article examined what a couple of small local governments are doing around the nation to better engage their citizens while doing it on a tight budget.

While Cincinnati does not fit the bill of a “small local government,” the city does have the opportunity to enhance residents’ experience with local government with little to no extra costs. Over this past winter, the City of Cincinnati started operating a Twitter account (@CincinnatiSnow) where anyone interested could follow along and stay informed on the latest snow emergency levels, procedures, status of snow clearing efforts and more. This joins a small group of other City departments/agencies that have joined the Twitter fold to further share their information with the public at-large, but what else could be done?

The City currently has a phone number that people can call to report overflowing City trash cans among other things. This system could be enhanced to allow people to tweet, text or email these reports to the City which would then be handled by an analyst – presumably the same person now answering the phone and handling the calls – so that the City could dispatch crews accordingly. If Cincinnati can not afford the upfront capital expenditure associated with solar-powered trash cans that automatically notify crews when they approach a certain fill level, then this could be the next best option.

Public meetings are currently broadcast on CitiCable, Cincinnati’s local access television station, but why not turn the audio recordings already done into podcasts or broadcast them on UStream? Those interested in Planning Commission or City Council meetings, for example, could subscribe to those podcasts and listen to the meetings at their convenience. Broadcasting the meetings on UStream would create another means in which the public could stay connected with City Hall while adding no additional costs to the City’s budget.

The City already has the ability to record the audio and video for all of its public meetings, so all it would take is the initial effort and maintenance of operating the new media outlets. Young talent already possesses the ability to do this and could be managed on a department by department basis where existing staff takes on the minor work increase, or a singular employee could manage the entire system from the dissemination of information to its collection from those engaged in the process.

The beauty of new media is that it allows for instant exchange of information and ideas. Effectively taking advantage of this at the local government level could improve services, make public information more available, and allow for an interaction between citizen and government that is not currently seen.

Cincinnati City Hall photograph by Thadd Fiala.

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News

Taking the Stage kicks off second season at Cincinnati’s SCPA

The second season of Taking the Stage kicked off this past Thursday on MTV. The reality show takes place at Cincinnati’s famous School for Creative & Performing Arts and follows around a select group of students looking to make it big. Produced by Cincinnatian and former 98 Degrees front man, Nick Lachey, Taking the Stage airs each Thursday at 11pm and is primarily set in historic Over-the-Rhine and Downtown.

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Arts & Entertainment News

It Takes An Army

If you follow any of the UrbanCincy crew on Twitter you probably are aware of a hot debate going on over the last few weeks as it relates to the opening of a new establishment downtown. While the debate itself is interesting, I am going to avoid the details of it, it has also served as the inspiration for this post.

There has been a lot of discussion over the types of people that some of the newer places in the urban core attract and there was some backlash against these places on Twitter from folks that clearly support the urban core of Cincinnati in many ways. I for one always try to visit new places and draw my own conclusions about whether or not I like it, and if I don’t then the new place does not become one that I frequent on a regular basis.

The main realization I have come to during these discussions is that we need everyone involved with the urban core in some form or fashion so that there is long term success. There has to be a places for scenesters, places for hipsters, places for frat guys, and places for suburbanites so that we get the most people we can involved with the success of our city. Does this mean that I need to approve of or like every single new place that opens? Of course not, but when a new place opens and is successful, that is good news for the city that I love.

So, downtown Cincinnati needs institutions like Arnold’s and Grammer’s just as much as it needs new places like Mynt Martini and (the soon to be open) Passage Lounge. We need national chains like Palomino and McCormick & Schmick’s just as much as we need local favorites like Mayberry and Via Vite. By having a diverse offering, downtown Cincinnati is quickly becoming a place that appeals to all kinds of people.

Why is that important? Think back to the heydays of the Main Street scene. It was one stretch of one area of the city and most of the establishments catered to one type of crowd. When that crowd moved on to somewhere else, the Main Street Entertainment District quickly became a part of Cincinnati history.

Mynt Martini photos taken and provided by Thadd Fiala

These days though, there is wonderful diversity in the offerings downtown and it is only bound to get more varied. Throngs of people with varying taste should be able to help make the revitalization that is occurring a long term solution, and not a fly by night sensation. It is already helping to reestablish pride for our city and with the additions of The Banks, the casino, and hopefully the Cincinnati Streetcar. The future is very bright for our fair city that is nestled up against the banks of the Ohio.

Back to the social media power that is Twitter. As folks have followers that number into the hundreds and sometimes thousands, any opinion shared is one that can be viewed and interpreted in different ways by many folks as they form their own opinions about what is happening in the world. If we are going to all work towards a better, more prosperous, and more fun Cincinnati, then we should all be thoughtful about the power our opinions hold.

Follow the UrbanCincy staff on Twitter:
UrbanCincy team — @UrbanCincy
Randy A. Simes – @RandySimes
Dave Rolfes – @CinNewTon
Jenny Kessler – @JenLKessler
David Ben – @DavidCBen
Travis Estell – @taestell