The Brooklyn Ink returns this morning with new stories,
new features, and with news. Today they feature the story of the life
and death of Kevin Hill, who was 23 when he was killed just days ago in
Afghanistan. His story also serves as a reminder of those from the
borough who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://thebrooklynink.com/featured/kevin-hill

BI has also expanded its Daily Roundup of news, which they say they will update throughout the day, to keep you up-to-date on news from the borough.

BI has also introduced a new daily feature — Here is Brooklyn —
vignettes that capture the moments that animate life in the borough.

Good to have you back.

It’s Reclaimed Home’s turn to host the rolling Brooklyn Blogade.  It's at Kush in Clinton Hill and it should be fun and interesting. A blogade is like a mini-Blogfest. A chance to meet other bloggers, talk, and get inspired. It's open to anyone interested in blogging. See the details below:

Since this is not a neighborhood blog and since I’ve lived in just
about every part of Brooklyn, I could’ve chosen any location.

I chose Kush in Clinton Hill
because one, I can walk there from my Bed Stuy home and two, it’s one
of my favorite restaurants in Brooklyn. Like, on the top three.

So anyway, what’s a blogade all about? Well, it’s a monthly
gathering of bloggers who get together to exchange ideas, encourage one
another and eat. There’s usually a theme. I wanted to talk about the
technical aspects of blogging, so I’m getting my web designer to fill
us in on blogging from different angles.

Vanessa of Noseround Productions
will look at breaking away from your average post and making your blog
more interactive. She’ll bring in examples of plug-ins, add-ons and
open source platforms, such as web carts and forums. She’ll try to
explain ways to make your blog both user friendly and also owner
friendly.

Sounds good, no? So far there are about 20 of us gathering on the
28th. If you haven’t RSVP’ed yet just give me a holla to let me know
you’re coming. I’m still working out the menu, but it’s a brunch thing
with a vegetarian and a vegan option. Cost will be less than $15.

Hope to see you there!

Due to the great success of my HOW TO BLOG class at the Brooklyn
Arts Exchange I am doing it again. I hope those who participated before
will continue and new people will join, too.

Learn how to blog with Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, a
hands-on workshop for anyone interested in becoming a blogger and those
who already blog but want to know more.

Learn from a pro.

This
course will cover technical issues but also creative and conceptual
ones. We will also discuss blog design, how to write a great blog post,
top ten tips for new bloggers, search engine optimization, social
networking platforms and more.

You don't need to know a thing about blogging. All you need is the desire to blog!

Monday nights at 7 p.m. on June 1, June 8 and June 15 at BAX on Fifth Avenue and 8th Street.

	ACCESSBAX WORKSHOPS FOR THE CURIOUS, CREATIVE ADULT HOW TO BLOG with Louise Crawford, Mondays, June 1, 8, 15 from 7-9pm. To register call (718) 832-0018 or email info@bax.org more>>

Pardon Me For Asking from Blue Barn Pictures, Inc. on Vimeo.

Un trocito de El Palo en Brooklyn from Blue Barn Pictures, Inc. on Vimeo.

Why not me? from Blue Barn Pictures, Inc. on Vimeo.

One of the sponsors of Brooklyn Blogfest, Outside.in,  tracked the top topics, places, and neighborhoods in Brooklyn that got buzz and traffic so far in 2009. So if you, as a blogger, are wondering what kind of content people are looking for, we've got the top ten for you:

10. House of Yes. This Bushwick artist collective, office, and performance space includes a 50-foot high arial truss for performers to swing from. Circus troupes and other bohemian-types have performed here.

9. Aero Restaurant. This Bay Ridge restaurant was broken into in over a year ago but is still garnering attention.

8. Clinton Hill. This brownstone neighborhood, already a hotbed for blogging (number one in the outside.in Bloggiest Nabes of the U.S. 2007) has become even more popular with the launch this March of the New York Times Ft. Greene and Clinton Hill blog, The Local.

7. Toren Building, 150 Myrtle at Flatbush in Downtown Brooklyn. This glass-faced housing development has been in the public eye through every step of its construction.

6. Sunset Park High School. The Brooklyn Prospect Charter school will open this fall in a new building in Sunset Park and lots of bloggers have written about the news.

5. Atlantic Center Mall. With all the buzz about the Atlantic Yards project over the past couple years, the shopping plaza is finally getting some attention via (among other sources), crime blotters and FIPS undercover at Target series.

4. Park Slope, BK. We've got writers and we've got bloggers in this lovely brownstone neighborhood. Always a hot ticket for readers and writers alike.

3. Trader Joe's, Brooklyn. It may not have two buck chuck but it's TJs!

2. Pomegranate Market. The nation's largest kosher grocery store is in our very own Coney Island. Lots of blog mentions and lots of people reading about this place.

1. aaaaand the number one is Alex McCord. She is a hot topic in Brooklyn since starring on the Real Housewives of New York (and since the word of her nudie pics surfaced).

 And this is what outside.in had to say about their Top Ten.

Go to Katia Kelly's lovely coverage of the Brooklyn Blogfest, which reads like a delightful children's book. I loved it. Here's an excerpt. Read the rest at Pardon Me for Asking.

No matter. Inside the PowerHouse Arena, some very busy people were at work, transforming this bookstore into a gathering place for Brooklyn's finest bloggers.

 Eleanor Traubman, the producer of Blogfest, runs the blog  Creative Times, and is a people person extraordinaire. She has the amazing ability to facilitate constructive collaboration between creative people. 

Smart, organized and focused, Eleanor is a great person t o have on your team. We all owe her a tremendous debt for her tireless enthusiasm, energy, unlimited store of great ideas, and creativity. 

POWERHOUSE ARENA:   powerHouse is one awesome place for an event. Honestly, I wasn't sure how a bookstore/gallery could morph into Blogfest but it did.  The space is very well run by Craig Mathis who runs a tight ship and is very accommodating. He was helpful from our first meeting in December right until the clean-up at the end of the night. A great, well-run space and a real class act! Big cheers and thanks.

Some thoughts: powerHouse's Arena seating makes a fantastic stage (even though it's supposed to be where they seat people; we turned things around). We were able to put a video screen high above the "seating." I worried about sight lines becks of the columns but it turns out I had nothing to worry about. I heard some complaints about the sound in the back of the room?? Complaints? The bookstore/gallery atmosphere with its cool couches, pew seating and bookstore content was perfect for the Blogs-of-a-Feather.

THE SPONSORS:  We had the ULTRA GENEROUS SUPPORT of local businesses like Babeland, Brooklyn Frameworks, Whimsy & Spice Brooklyn Confectioners, D'vine Taste, Pizza Plus, Willie's Dawgs, Hugh Crawford. Alison Lowenstein, Melt, Slope Suds, Peeled and Grimaldi's

Casio GENEROUSLY donated a digital camera and watch and Yelp and City Limits, a site which, probes
under-reported or entirely ignored topics, did some great promotion. Oh and Jolt Energy Gum made a generous donation of their caffeine gum (the woman from Jolt was just so nice…).

Plenty of thanks go to Outside.in, which helped out with water (and wanted to donate beer but we decided against that) and provided a fun Top Ten List of top stories in 2009 thus far.

Some thoughts: Next year Blogfest will continue to look to generous local sponsors but we need a couple of BIG SPONSORS, who are willing to help pay for
the event. Maybe the answer is a government or foundation grant or corporate
sponsors who believe in what we're doing and want to help us make it happen. 

Two of the sponsors didn't come through on what they promised
and still managed to do promotion at the Blogfest (boo). That was a little disappointing.

TECHNICAL AND AV: Between powerHouse, Rooftop and Blue Barn Pictures we were COVERED. A great team of terrific A/V people made the night a great success.

ROOFTOP FILMS: Right here in Brooklyn we've got a great AV rental company with a great staff. Chris was fantastic in all our phone calls and emails and he also made a site visit. They gave us a great rate even though Blogfest is not yet a non-profit and threw in mics and tables for free. Big cheers for Rooftop and staff.

THE VIDEO: Bravo to Blue Barn Pictures and Adrian Kinloch for the superb videos they created for Blogfest. We can't thank them enough for their great creativity, taste, energy and hard work.

THE PANEL: Big HUGE thanks to the panelists, who were all interesting and thanks to Megan Donis, who is a skilled moderator. They were all open, articulate and comfortable on stage.

Some thoughts:  Next year we want more debate and back and forth and maybe fewer people. That said, it was a fascinating look at a range of Brooklyn bloggers.

BLOGS-OF-A-FEATHER: This worked on so many levels. It was a great way to involve even more bloggers than you can put on a program. It was also a great way to give even more people "ownership" of the event. It was also a chance for the audience to interact and talk about the work they are doing in small groups.  The BOAFs also give us the opportunity to bring up more issues than time allows during the program.

Some thoughts: Next year we might think about extending this section. At powerHouse sound was certainly an issue as a room full of 300 people arranged in small groups is noisy. Microphones for the facilitators is one idea. Perhaps we need a space with separate break-out rooms.

THE VOLUNTEERS: I can't say enough about the great help we got from 20 bloggers who pitched in on the day of and set up chairs and whatever else needed to be done. Here are their names: Joyce Szuflita  (Volunteer Co-Coordinator) – NYC School Help; Alice Crawford; Amanda Wiss – Urban Clarity

Ameet Maturu – Rice of Life; Brenda Backer – A Year in the Park; Casey Fitzpatrick – Out About Brooklyn; Cathryn Swan – Washington Square Park; Chandru Murthi – Seeing Green; Claude Scales – Self Absorbed Boomer; Elizabeth Palmer – Midnight Cowgirls; Hyatt Michaels – F.O.K.U.S.; Julio Barros – E-String Technologies, Inc.; Joyce Hanson – Good Girl Blog; Kim Maier – The Old Stone House; Martie McNabb – Memories Out of the Box; Michael Szuflita; Morgan Doninger – Puzzling NYC; Neil Carlson – Brooklyn Creative League; Peter Solomita  (Music), Groovalicious in Brooklyn; Robin Lester – Clinton Hill Blog; Tuey Connell; Yvett Velazquez

THE SHOUT OUT: Sadly the Shout-out, a Blogfest tradition, didn't really work at Galapagos because of the noise and the desire to party and talk (both understandable desires on the part of attendees).

Some thoughts: Next year maybe the Shout-Out could be part of the show again but we may have to limit it to 20 bloggers so that it doesn't run as long as it has in recent years. Or maybe we don't need it anymore.

GALAPAGOS ART SPACE: Cheers for Galapagos; the people there were seriously fantastic. The staff is great, welcoming, accommodating and generous. Hailey Rhatigan responded to my first email request of the space within minutes with a: "We'd be thrilled to host 300 bloggers on the night of Blogfest!" And their enthusiasm never let up. Big cheers for Galapagos who also said, the crowd can stay until 2am if they want.

THE AUDIENCE: What a crowd of interesting, enthusiastic people! Thank you all.

Some thoughts: Diversity is still an issue. While I think this year was better in that department Blogfest still wants to reach out to people of different skin colors, ethnicity, and socio/economic groups. We also want geographical diversity (all parts of Brooklyn, that is, otherwise what right do we have to call it the Brooklyn Blogfest?). That said, this year thanks to outreach on the part of many, we made some strides in that direction.

FOOD AND DRINK: Okay. We decided on no-alcohol for the program and a cash bar at the party, which seemed to work. We were expecting free iced tea and snacks but that didn't happen.

Some thoughts: Did people really miss white wine and beer at the show? We've always had alcohol at the after-party and not at the show (except the first Blogfest, which was pretty wacky). Last year the beer was meant for after but people found it first thing…

NEXT YEAR: The Fifth Annual Blogfest will very likely be a full day event with morning and afternoon workshops, an evening program, Blogs-of-a-Feather and an afterparty. What do you think of that?

SAVE THE DATE:  Oops we don't have a date yet. But a Saturday in early May. Or maybe April would be better. It may be the cruelest month, but there's too much going on in May! And June: forget about it.

Thursday night the rain stayed away and the crowd didn't. Approximately 300 attended the Brooklyn Blogfest at powerHouse Arena. At 6:30 the bookstore/publicspace was already getting crowded and by 7:30 when the houselights were turned off, the room was packed.

The show began with an Video Opener by Blue Barn Pictures, a fun montage of last year's event. That was followed by a somewhat nervous welcome from me (Louise Crawford). I described the past three blogfests:

Brenda Becker, ayearinthepark.typepad.com; Tim Becket, cityofstrangers.wordpress.com; Adam E
bigskybrooklyn.blogspot.com; Andrew Gardner, street-level-nyc.blogspot.com; Meg Groome
libertyontenth.blogspot.com; Sharon Kwik, bedstuybanana.com; Amy Melson, brooklynometry.blogspot.com; Lisanne McTernan, foundinbrooklyn.blogspot.com; Janah Terese, eatbrooklynfood.blogspot.com; Lola Zarus, cherrypatter.com; Jonathan Barkey, nolandgrab.org; Tracy Collins, freakinblog.com; Hugh Crawford, onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com; Jake Dobkin, bluejake.com; Nathan Kensinger, kensinger.blogspot.com; Lorna Keuning, lornagrl.com; Adrian Kinloch, britinbrooklyn.com; Chris Kreussling, flatbushgardener.blogspot.com; Robin Lester, clintonhillblog.com; Lara Wechsler, larawechsler.com

As a video intro to the Why We Blog panel three short vignettes made by young filmmakers at Blue Barn pictures were shown. The first one directed by Max Kelly, son of Katia Kelly, was about Katia and her neighborhood blog, Pardon Me for Asking. The second portrayed a young woman who has cancer, who writes an inspiring blog called Why Not Me. The third one was about a woman who blogs about life in Brooklyn, in Spanish, for an audience in Barcelona. All three videos were incredibly well done, spunky and very interesting.

The panel was up next. Hip Slope Mama, Bed Stuy Banana, Jake Dobkin of Gothamis, Anne Pope of Sustainable Flatbush and Tracy Collins of Another Friggin Blog. A very pregnant Megan Donis was the moderator.

The panelists introduced themselves and it was really fascinating to hear the different reasons why people blog. Here I will quote from Josh Frank's report on the Blogfest in Time Out:

There was one common thread: None of these bloggers write about
themselves. “It’s not about you,” Dobkin claimed, adding that
successful blogs are about something that other people are interested
in (e.g., Tracy Collins‘ photo blog about the Atlantic Yards project, or Bed-Stuy Banana’s blog about her neighborhood).

Anne Pope told the crowd that the 2007 Blogfest inspired her to become a blogger and she talked about the way her blog and her environmental activism are linked.

I enjoyed hearing from Bed Stuy Banana about the sometimes contentious relationship between the blogger and the community she lives in. "Some people want to see this neighborhood as a place of beautiful brownstones and trees. So if I write about a bullet hole in the sidewalk people hate me. I just write the truth of what I see."

Jake Dobkin, whose Gothamist blog is enormously successful thanks to Dobkin's business school smarts and Jen Chung's talent as a reporter, told the crowd: "No more new blogs. Not another small neighborhood blog. You guys need to come together, figure out ways to work together," he told the crowd with purposeful provocation. He also announced that he was going to do a guerilla Blogs-of-a-Feather if people wanted to learn more about monetizing their blogs and advertising."

Needless to say that group was well attended.

The second part of Picture Brooklyn followed and then came the Blogfest dedication to Robert Guskind. Brenda Becker, who writes,  A Year in the Park, spoke eloquently about Bob's influence on citizen journalism and shared an interesting thread in Bob's work:

"With his emphasis on
Coney Island and the Gowanus, strange cats and stray pit bulls
something connects all of it," Brenda told the group. "Bob could see
beauty in that which was broken. And he could see what could be in it
again. How a polluted canal could be Venice. A street couch could be
absurdest theater. A broken, miserable Coney Island  could be turned
into something great."

The Robert Guskind video by Blue Barn pictures featured an interview with Bob created for last year's Blogfest. There was also footage by Bob of the Gowanus Canal and audio from an interview Bob did with Brian Lehrer  all edited to Jesus and Mary Chain's "Dirty Water."

Throughout the program I announced the Top Ten stories that captured the attention of Brooklyn blog readers. This list included: Target, Trader Joe's, Park Slope, the Toren Building, the Atlantic Mall…When I find that list I will post it here.

Finally, it was time for the Blogs-of-a-Feather, a new concept that was rolled out this year. It was a chance for attendees to get together in small groups throughout the powerHouse space to come together with others who blog about similar things.

This concept worked even better than I expected. People did gather and talk and talk and talk; it may have been the best part of the show. I'd love to hear from people who participated in one. How did it go? Did you meet interesting people? How could these groups be better, etc.

At 9:30 or so the crowd moved to Galapagos where, I hear, there was an incredible skirt steak hero from Fairway (it wa completely gone by the time I arrived at 10 p.m. There were also hot dogs donated by Wilie Dawgs, 20 pizzas from Pizza Plus, Middle Eastern Specialties from D'Vine Taste, and more from Fairway.

We tried to do the Shout-Out over there but it didn't work out because people wanted to talk and party and the Blogfest tradiition didn't really work in that particular setting. But a few brave Shout-Outers did get up. The raffle winners were announced and the party went on until mid-night.

The rain never came. And Blogfest 2009 was a great night in Brooklyn down under the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

An interesting view of the panel discussion on the steps of the Brooklyn Blogfest stage at Powerhouse Arena with (left to right: Tracy Collins, Another Friggin Blog, Anne Pope, Sustainable Flatbus, Jake Dobkin, Gothamist, Sharon Kwik, Bed Stuy Banana, Melissa Lopata, Hip Slope Mama, and Megan Donis, moderator.  Pix by Henry Lowengard

We are recruiting a volunteer crew
for Brooklyn Blogfest 2009, which is on Thursday May 7th at
Powerhouse Books in DUMBO. The after party is at Galapagos – right across the
street.

If you want to join this incredible team of people, email
ETraubman@aol.com

BENEFITS OF BEING A BLOGFEST
VOLUNTEER

• Meet incredible people
• Free exposure for your website or blog: we post a link to you on our
  website Brooklynblogfest.com

• Half price admission – $5
• Three free raffle tickets for all kinds of goodies
• Create good Karma – what goes around comes
  around

Brooklyn Blogfest is a labor of love by a large group of volunteers, local bloggers  who have donated their time, energy and creativity to put the event together. But there's also a long list of local (and not local) businesses who have made a generous contribution to the event. And the list is growing every day. If you'd like to be a sponsor or donate an item to the Blogfest raffle let me know (louise_crawfordATyahooDOTcom. You will be in great compnay. Here is the current list of sponsors:

Brooklyn Blogfest Wishes To Thank Its Generous Sponsors: 

PowerHouse Arena
is a laboratory for creative thought. Home to a world-renowned art book
publisher, Powerhouse Books, the arena is a gallery, boutique, book
store, performance and events space located at 37 Main Street, in New
York City's Scenic DUMBO neighborhood.  Powerhouse Arena showcases a
series of landmark exhibitions, performances, and controlled mayhem
fusing the worlds of art, photography, design, fashion, pop culture,
advertising, music, dance, film and TV into a glorious whirwind of
captivating spectacle.

Galapagos Art Space is a performance space and bar, offering multidisciplinary bills of theater, performance, live music, dance, film, and visual art.

 Blue Barn Pictures, Inc.
is a multimedia production company providing the highest quality images
to suit the needs of its clients. Blue Barn Pictures' successful
history includes producing imaging for: Canon USA, ExxonMobil,
PerkinElmer, Casa Nova Pendrill, EZpass, the Element Agency, Media 100,
Armani Exchange, and Worldwide Fight Services.

Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great and not so great in your neighborhood.

Rooftop Films is
known internationally as one of the most dynamic film festivals in the
world. In 2009, they screened more than 20 feature films, almost all of
which were New York, U.S. or World Premieres. This combination of
brilliant, original programming and stunning outdoor venues makes
Rooftop Films one of the best-attended film festivals in New York.

Outside.in is
the best place to discover news happening around you. They  make it
easy to check out stories, events, and local discussions within your
city, neighborhood, or immediate surroundings. Thousands of sources,
including bloggers, newspapers, and even Twitter tweets help you be
"in-the-know" about what's happening in your back yard.

Casio is one of the  world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. 

Babeland
offers top quality products, a pleasant place to shop, and most of all
information and encouragement to women who wanted to explore their
sexuality. Claire Cavanah and Rachel Venning opened the first Babeland
store in 1993 in response to the lack of women-friendly sex shops in
Seattle.The store's popularity with both women and men eventually led
to two more stores in New York and one in Los Angeles, as well as a
thriving website.

Peeled Snacks
make three tasty and nourishing varieties of fruit & nut mixes that
became Peeled Snacks. Peeled Snacks are made with ingredients that you
recognize. Large, easy-to-eat pieces of fruit and nuts provide a
natural source of vitamins, minerals and fiber – with NO added sugar or
fat. The nuts are dry roasted and lightly salted. And for the chocolate
lovers, we use the finest rich dark chocolate with 61% cacao in our
Shock-olate variety.

Melt is
a restaurant in Park Slope, which aims to bring people together, meet
and mingle, taste life and experience something new. Innovative New
American classics, big on taste in the open kitchen and a taste of
style with the sleek, modern decor all at an affordable price.

Slope Suds is a multi-service Park Slope salon and soap bar offers an escape from complicated city life.

Pizza Plus has served real Brooklyn pizza since 1987 on Seventh
Avenue in Park Slope. A very attractive neighborhood place with super
delicious pizza and other Italian entrees.

D’Vine Taste is a gourmet market on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope.
Nalie Elsebaie, a native of Lebanon, runs the store with the help of
her two brothers. Besides the wonderful selection of olive oils from
Spain, France, and Italy, they carry five olive oils from Lebanon,
which Elsebaie describes as having a stronger, greener taste. Make sure
to sample the fresh fig treats, with figs imported from Lebanon

Brooklyn Frame Works
provides custom picture framing with an emphasis on preservation.
Serving Park Slope Brooklyn since 1997, their friendly staff is happy
to help customers design the ideal treatment for your cherished artwork.

Whimsy & Spice Brooklyn Confectioners
create the ultimate accompaniment to tea and coffee, our shortbread
cookies and biscotti, elevated and enlivened by the use of fresh ground
spices, aromatic flavors and roasted nuts, can also be enjoyed alone.
Choose among 3 deliciously complex shortbread flavors for a delicately
crisp cookie: Chocolate Orange Cardamom, Honey Lavender, or Brown Sugar Gingerspice, or try one of our biscotti, Cinnamon Chocolate Malt or Chocolate Chili Cashew,
which are twice baked to crunchy perfection. All of our cookies and
sweets are hand rolled, hand cut and hand packaged in Brooklyn, NY,
using only the finest ingredients with no added preservatives or
artificial flavorings.

Alison Lowenstein is the author of City Weekends: Greatest Escapes and Weekend Getaways In and Around New York City.  She
is the author of City Baby Brooklyn. She is also a contributor to Time
Out Kids, and her work has appeared in Parenting and Babble among other
publications.

The New York Times and Brooklyn Public Library Present an event at the Stevan Dweck called Fort Greene and Clinton Hill — Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. It sounds interesting but I can't be there (dang) because that's the night of Hugh Crawford's opening at the Old Stone House.

But if you dare to miss Hugh's opening you can go. Just go ahead. See if I care.

WHAT:
A lively discussion about two of Brooklyn’s vibrant neighborhoods. The event will be moderated by New York Times metro reporter Andy Newman, who runs The Local, the new blog on NYTimes.com that focuses on Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

WHO:

–Brooklyn native, author and filmmaker Nelson George, whose new memoir “City Kid” recalls his life in the borough.

–DK Holland, publisher of The Hill, a 25-year-old
semiannual magazine about Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

–Carl Hancock Rux, playwright, poet, musician and author of the Obie-award winning “Talk” as well as essays about Fort Greene’s history.

–Jonathan Butler, founder of Brownstoner and co-founder of Brooklyn Flea market.

WHEN:
Tuesday, April 28 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM

WHERE:
Dr. S. Stevan Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture,
Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn

ADMISSION: FREE

Marty Markowitz and his staff invited a group of bloggers for breakfast on Thursday morning. It was a mostly convivial event held in a large conference room at Borough Hall. Coffee, bagels and muffins, courtesy of La Bagel Delight were provided. In attendance were: Atlantic Yards Report, Brownstoner, Flatbush Gardener,
Pardon Me for Asking, Noticing New York, Gerritsen Beach, The Local
(the New York Times' blog) four representatives from Brooklyn Heights
Blog, which is soon going to roll out The Brooklyn Bugle, Self-Absorbed
Boomer (who is also with Brooklyn Heights blog) and Ditmas Park Blog

I think the event was an effort by Marty and his staff to say to bloggers: we want to work with you, we want you to call us for information about what goes on in the BP's office, etc. Maybe even:  we take you seriously. 

The first half of the meeting was "off-the-record."  I know whatever
Marty said was supposed to be off the record but what about all the
interesting things the bloggers said? We talked about journalistic
ethics, advertising, and the role that blogs play in Brooklyn. In the last half-hour or so, Marty took questions from the gathered group and that was on the record. Topics covered included access to the Brooklyn budget, Dock Street (the tower in DUMBO that could block views of the Brooklyn Bridge), Superfund status for the Gowanus Canal, Lundy's, digitizing of the Brookyn Daily Eagle at the Brooklyn Public Library, the use of Bloomberg's non-profit  for Marty's charities and more. 

In answer to Katia Kelly's question about the EPA's possible designation of the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site Marty said. "I am trying to get a grasp of what it would all mean. Trying to get a handle on it."

About Dock Street, it was mentioned that historian David McCullough, author of a book about the Brooklyn Bridge will be meeting with Marty next week.

I was impressed and surprised that Marty invited Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report to the breakfast. Oder, who describes his blog as "a watch dog blog that offers analysis, commentary, and reportage
about Forest City Ratner's planned $4 billion Atlantic Yards project,
the largest ever in Brooklyn, to build a basketball arena plus at least
16 high-rise buildings," has been a real thorn in Marty's side about the Atlantic Yards. But not inviting Norman would have been a serious omission, of course. So give credit where credit is due. Needless to say, there was some tension and even conflict during the event between the two.

But I can't remember if that part was on or off the record.

It's always fun to attend blog gatherings because it allows you to put a face to a blogger that you know only on-line. The bloggers were asked to introduce themselves to the group and say a little bit about their blogs and whether we think of ourselves as journalists or not. We were also asked to describe our business model…

What business model?

I could tell that Marty is somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of blogs. He says that he "does email" but that's about it when it comes to computers. "I don't do Facebook, blogs. I don't have time." He said that his wife is the one who reads the blogs and told Oder that she even reads Atlantic Yards Report every day. Marty's staff also feeds him information about the blogs and what the commenters are saying. His staff members did seem to have an intimate knowledge of most of the blogs present. 

Find out why Brooklyn is the Bloggiest place in the US at this year's Brooklyn's Blogfest on May 7th at 7 p.m. at powerHouse Arena in DUMBO.

And check out the Blogfest website which is now chock full of information about the Blogfest. You can also register online.

Alao: be on the look out for cool Blogfest posters designed by Mike Sorgatz.

This is a call for entries for the video montage of photoblogger's work, to be projected at the May 7th  Blogfest event in Dumbo. This is a great way to share and see your work on a big scale, and the entry criteria is pretty simple.

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO FRIDAY APRIL 17th

Any format of capture is fine, digital or film, but the images must be emailed to us as RGB jpgs.

You can submit up to 10 images, at a minimum size of  1920×1080
pixels each, but try and keep the overall package less than 10
megabytes.

Each filename must start with your real name, so something like joe_sixpack_redhook1.jpg

All the images should be 'zipped' into one folder with your name and blog, like this:
joe_sixpack_blogging_about_brooklyn.zip

The email should contain your full blog name and URL, as well as
your own name and any special instructions as to how you would like us
to credit the images. Ideally the images you submit will have appeared
on your blog, but you do not have to be a dedicated photoblogger.
Either your blog is based in Brooklyn, or the images will have been
taken in or of Brooklyn.

Important

By emailing us images your are confirming that:

• You are the photographer and you own all copyright, license or usage rights to all of the images you send
• You are granting us permission to use your images to publicize this
  year's Blogfest, and future Brooklyn Blogfests, online and in print
  through a variety of publicity materials
• You grant us permission to show a detail of your image, or reproduce it in full, alone or with other photographers work

Email entries to:

photobloggers AT brooklynblogfest DOT com

To plan Brooklyn Blogfest 2009, a great group of bloggers have come together to make it the best Blogfest yet. In the past, I was generally in charge of planning the program and choosing the speakers. That may account for the somewhat overlong line-up of speakers.

Okay, so I had a hard time saying no and everyone sounded so interesting (and they were!). This year we're trying to streamline the show and give it a more focused feel.

The centerpiece of this year's program will be a panel discussion, Why We Blog: Voices, Visions and the Realities of the Blogosphere. The moderator and the panelists will be announced in the coming weeks.

The planning group has been brutally honest about what worked and what didn't at past Blogfests. Creating a more diverse  Blogfest, one which represents  more neighborhoods in Brooklyn and a more diverse group of people, was a top priority.

Interactivity was another priority.  That's why we added Blogs-of-a-Feather, breakout sessions at the end of the program that will give particpants a chance to meet with other bloggers who share their interests. These groups will be facilitated by notable bloggers in each category of blogging (place, social activist, photo, political, popular culture, food, home & garden, historical, and others).

Like last year, video segments are being produced for the show. Brit in Brooklyn is creating a video tribute to the photo bloggers of Brooklyn. Blue Barn Pictures is creating an opener, as well as short videos about interesting bloggers in Brooklyn. Blue Barn also created the Brooklyn Blogfest 09 teaser video, which is already circulating and was directed by Sharon Dowdell.

And what about the Shout-Out, that fun and democratic portion of the program, when new bloggers are invited to get up and share their blogs with the world? That's been moved to the after-party at Galapagos, where there's a great stage. There are strict rules of course: speakers are limited to a certain number of sentences (we talked about Twitter length lol). Say what you absolutely need to say, give out your URL and be on your way. Last year, 60 people got up and it was fantastic (and long). This year it will be just one element of the party at Galapagos, where there will be a cash bar and free snacks and lots of time to hang out and network.

The Blogfest is on May 7th at 7 p.m. at PowerHouse Arena in Dumbo. Please register online at brooklynblogfest.com. Admission is $10, $5 for students and seniors. We're encouraging people to bring exact change so that the line will move quickly. The afterparty is at Galapagos, which is right across the street. Directions and information at the website.

Find
out why Brooklyn is the bloggiest place in America at the Fourth Annual
Brooklyn Blogfest on May 7, 2009 at powerHouse Arena in DUMBO.

The Details

Fourth Annual Brooklyn Blogfest
May 7, 2009
Doors open at 7 p.m.
powerHouse Arena
37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Admission: $10

Brooklyn Blogfest after-party
Galapagos Art Space
16 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
(right across the street from powerHouse Arena)
Cash Bar and refreshments

Find
out why Brooklyn is the bloggiest place in America at the Fourth Annual
Brooklyn Blogfest on May 7, 2009 at powerHouse Arena in DUMBO.

Brooklyn Blogfest 2009:

Here's an excerpt from Brooklyn Optimist's interesting posts about the two newspapers of Greenpoint:

I guess it's Women's History Month because this Thursday, March 12, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz
and Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham
will host the annual Woman’s Herstory induction ceremony and reception at
Brooklyn Borough Hall, honoring women who have made invaluable contributions to
their communities, Brooklyn and New
York City .

And the winners are:

Winner of the Lucy Burns Activist Award:

Susan Anderson,
chair, Towns Square, Inc.

Winner of the Shirley Chilsom Leadership Award:

Pamela E. Green,
executive director, Weeksville
Heritage Center

Winner of the Emily Roebling Business Award:

Monique Greenwood,
president & CEO, Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns

Winner of the Betty Smith Arts Award:

Susan Feldman,
artistic director, St. Ann ’s
Warehouse

Winner of the Lady Deborah Moody Founders Award:

Dr. Nicoletta Pallotta,
founder, Women Against Violence:

Winner of the Dr. Susan Smith McKinney
Humanitarian Award:

Dr. Nancy Talavera,
director of psychiatry & neurology, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Cente

There's  a cool blog out there produced by a Brooklyn resident, which makes it a Brooklyn blog even though its subject matter isn't Brooklyn at all.

The blog is called Women and Hollywood:  News and commentary about women and Hollywood from a feminist perspective. I for one find it very interesting. Here  blogger, Melissa Silverstein explains what the blog is all about:

Ever notice that most of the films in mainstream Hollywood are by
and about boys? Women & Hollywood does and is tired of it. Women
& Hollywood will focus on bringing attention to the films, TV
shows, theatre and other entertainment that highlights women and our
contribution to the culture.

This blog will focus on what’s going on for women in Hollywood: what
movies are being made; what directors are getting jobs; what projects
actors are working; and will call attention to the continuous disparity
that dominates Hollywood.

You can listen to yesterday's podcast of Brian Lehrer's show about The Local, the new Brooklyn blog run by the New York Times here.

So the New York Times is blogging in Brooklyn. The new blog is called The Local and it's based out of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, already two of the bloggiest communities in America. But that doesn't mean they don't need more local coverage. More is more.

The Local is an experiment in hyper-local journalism by the Times run by seasoned reporter Andy Newman. They are also staffing it, I believe, with students from the CUNY School of journalism.

In that familiar Times Roman type we all know and love, The Local's mission statement blurbbage says that "it provides news, information, entertainment and informed
conversation about the things that matter to you, your neighbors and
your family, from bloggers and citizens who live, work and create in
your community — as well as journalists from The New York Times." 

The editors of The Local were on Brian Lehrer, like, 2 seconds ago.
They wanted to put me on when I called in but the segment ended before
I could get on.

What was I going to say?

I was going to say what I say to all new bloggers. Welcome to the neighborhood. Glad that you're here  because the more coverage of Brooklyn the better. I'll even bring the welcome wagon by if you want. Some advice: keep it real, do it with passion, love and a true interest in the community that you're covering. And post frequently.There are some hungry blog readers out there.

I heard from Caroline McCarthy, one of the speakers at Tuesday night's Mashable: Next Up NYC event at the 92YTribeca.

A technology reporter for CNET, that's her on the right in the picture on the left from Moblogic on Flickr.

She had this to say about my post, State of the NYC Blogosphere: A Bunch of Twittering 20-Somethings.

On your mark, get set, MEMOIR!

Brooklyn Reading Works presents the annual Memoir-A-Thon. Curator Branka Ruzak has gathered together a stellar group of memoirists, whose work touches on: incest, teenage psychiatric incarceration, an AIDS sanitorium in Cuba and more,

Robert Goolrick reads from "a blistering family memoir of a life deformed."

Mindy Lewis writes in honest, unflinching prose of a teenage stay on a psychiatric ward.

Elena Schwolsky shares her experience working in an AIDS Sanitorium in Cuba.

Erica Silberman gives us nuts in her pockets and tissue up her sleeve.

Robert Goolrick is the author of The End of the World As We Know It, described by the New York Times, as "a blistering family memoir." His novel A Reliable Wife, will published by Algonquin Book on April 7th. He worked for many years in advertising and lives in NYC.

Mindy Lewis is the author of Life Inside: A Memoir (Washington Square
Press), named a 2003 Book of the Year by the American Journal of Nursing and
an ELLE "Must Read". She is also the editor of Dirt The Quirks, Habits and
Passions of Keeping House, forthcoming from Seal Press this spring. Her
essays have been published in Newsweek, Lilith, Poets & Writers, and Body &
Soul magazines. She teaches at The Writer¹s Voice of the Westside YMCA, and
has also taught at Brooklyn College and the Metropolitan Center of Empire
State College/SUNY.

Elena Schwolsky public health educator in NYC who is writing a memoir
about her experience working in an AIDS Sanatorium in Havana, Cuba in the
mid 90's.  Elena spent ten years on the frontlines of the AIDS epidemic as a
pediatric nurse in Newark, NJ.  When her husband died of AIDS in 1990, she
found her voice in writing and began to explore the intersection of her
personal and professional experience.  In 2001, Elena was honored with an
award for her writing from the Barbara Dane/Money for Women Fund.

Erica Silberman reads from her collection of essays, Nuts in My Pockets,
Tissues Up My Sleeve. She is a playwright, essayist, and screenwriter. She has written
sixteen times for theAtrainplays, a twenty-four hour theatre project. Her
plays have been produced or developed at The Ensemble Studio Theatre, New
World Stages, Playwrights Horizon, the Stonington Opera House, and the
Metropolitan Playhouse. She is published in Teachers and Writers, and will
be published in Playscripts, and Sunday Salon 'zine. Erica has been featured
on NPR's PRI. She is a mentor at Girls Write Now and the co-president of The
New York Coalition of Professional Women in the Arts & Media.

The Where and When

Thursday March 12th at 8 p.m.

The Old Stone House

Fifth Avenue and Third Street

On Tuesday night,  I found my way into a noisy cocktail party at the 92YTribeca, where I knew no-one in the crowd of twittering 20-somethings.

Billed as a night of networking, conversation and new ideas, I entered the buzzy, jargon-filled world of Mashable NextUp NYC .

But it was too noisy for conversational networking and most attendees were too busy staring at their iPhones to bother reading each other's name tags. I was, however, approached by a very nice PR woman for Gerber and Nestle, who remembered me from another event and we had an interesting chat about the delicate business of approaching bloggers about product giveaways. 

The state of the NYC Blogosphere was the question of the night and a line-up of "high-profile" speakers tried to tease out an answer.

Mostly, the speakers, some who came prepared, some who spoke off the cuff, approached the topic circuitously but some revealed themselves to be savvy mediafarians, unable to fathom a world where people don't spend their day staring at an iPhone.

Maybe that cool rectangle is the brave new world.

But if Twitter is the state of the blogsphere I feel alienated—even if I do spend my day staring at my iPhone (and maybe I should actually activate my Twitter account).

Still, disappointment pulsed through my veins. I was hoping for something really exciting and visionary. But there was no vision in sight: The NYC new media world is just like the old media world dressed in cool tech clothing.

For me this event was the opposite of the Brooklyn Blogfest as it had none of the local fervor, social
activism, entrepreneurial passion or nutty creativity of that event. And there was
absolutely no mention of Brooklyn, which is KNOWN to have more blogs than anywhere else in the USA.

For this crowd, New York blogging is Gawker and Nick Denton. End of story.

It's all about page views, ad sales and how to drive people to your site with clickable headlines. Which isn't to say that I didn't learn a hunk about what's going on in the big city. Because I did.

In fact, I much enjoyed adorable Nicholas Carlson's spiel about how to write a headline. A senior editor of Silicon Alley Insider, he was funny without being snarky and quite smart about this twittering, new media world.

The word aggregation was in high usage. But Carlson did say humorously, "It is a good idea to bring something original to the Internet from time to time."

This was not an entrepreneurial group of self-starters. These were bloggers and publicity folks who probably studied new media at college and actually get paid to work for some of the larger blogs like Gizmodo, CNET, Gawker, The Daily Beast and Silicon Alley Insider. They graduated into a world where "print is dead" and they have little sentimentality about that and no intention of going to journalism school.

Which is fine by me. But some old-school-types find that vexing. Like the 30-year-old guy sitting next to me, who grumbled, "Would you want to see a doctor who didn't go to medical school."

A communications professor, he sneered at the idea that anyone can be a journalist. "This generation is so entitled," he told me.

I did enjoy Caroline McCarthy, a staff writer of CNET News/CBS Interactive, who told a funny story about posting a photograph of a hula hoop in the hallway of her East Village apartment building to Twitte. The next day, she heard from her downstairs'  neighbors, who twittered back with:  'Hey that's our hula hoop.'

"That's how you meet your neighbors in 21st century Manhattan," she told the crowd. That got a big laugh and I loved it.

We bloggers in Brooklyn are always wondering where all the local Manhattan blogs are. But I guess the Manhattan scene is, like Manhattan, younger, glitzier and more fame and fortune-oriented.

Hyperlocal it ain't. This crowd wants to reach the millions out there who read Boing Boing and watch You Tube. They want the hits and the ad revenue.I know, I know, you gotta make money somehow. But still…

When new media becomes status quo it does lose its edgy eccentricity. Maybe that's why it's still so scrappy and fun out here in Brooklyn. Even better, Manhattan doesn't even know we exist.

Ond day soon they'll find out about us. Just like the Manhattan-centric, once upon a time, discovered the clubs, restaurants, and art spaces of Williamsburg, the great restaurants of Fifth and Smith and the brownstones of Park Slope.

Feeling under the weather like everyone else I know AND eager to get home to Obama's speech, I dragged my sorry and misunderstood Brooklyn self out onto the streets of Tribeca.

 I left before the keynote,which meant I didn't get get to hear Bryan Keefer, who is director of product for The Daily Beast.(what does that mean?) and co- authorr  All the President’s Spin: George W. Bush, the Media, and the Truth.
The book grew out of Spinsanity.org, a group blog he co-founded that
was devoted to debunking political spin.

The Daily Beast, isn't that Tina Brown's new blog? I wonder if she's ever been to Brooklyn?

It was a full house at Sunday's Blogade at Delicious on the Slope, a very hospitable restaurant located at 641 President Street (between 5th and 4th Avenues) in Park Slope.

The Brooklyn Blogade is a montlhy get-together of bloggers, blog readers and those interested in becoming bloggers.

There were 30 people there, including City Councilmember David Yassky, who is a blog reader and is  running for City Comptroller.

The following are the bloggers who joined the festivities. And check out their cool blogs.

hipslopemama.blogspot.com
artinbrooklyn.com
bluebarnpictures.com/blog
fallinglight.wordpress.com
sheepheadbites.com
saucytart.typepad.com
twobitsofstring.com
ttstone.com
thisbarsucks.com
Luna Park Gazette
spacecadetgirl.com
newtoyork.com
seeinggreen.typepad.com
washingtonsquarepark.wordpress.com
midnightcowgirls.blogspot.com
rosemariehester.com
womenandhollywood.com

otbkb.com

You are going to love this blog. It’s called Brooklyn Mabel and it captures the many moods of Mabel, who is funny and shy—but not that shy. She’s also introspective and oh-so-neurotic.

She even wrote about birthing the blog:

Push………………………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Puuuuuuuuuuuuuushhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! Just
one more big push and she’s out!!! Congratulations, you’ve just given
birth to your first blog. Oh, my god, now what do I do? Do I have to
take care of it? Feed it? Pay attention to it when I’m tired and just
want to space out?

Why do people write blogs anyway? As soon as
I made the decision to write this blog it started freaking everyone
out. My 10-year-old son Trevor was stressing out, "Are you going to
write negative things about me? If I get in trouble are you going to
post it on your blog?" Trevor asked in a worried voice. I think he’s
scared that the whole frigging world is going to know about his self
conscious prepubescent life.

When I told my sister Wanda I was
writing a blog, she felt threatened. "That’s so selfish, why do people
write blogs? They should spend more time outside getting some exercise.
You’re just going to sit inside and be a shut in? What are you going to
write about? You want everyone to read about your life, your private
business? I hope this isn’t going to cut into our chatting time."

But Brooklyn Mabel is determined to blog. She comes from family of journalists and majored in journalism in college—and hated every minute of it. She even worked in public relations and advertising post college, which she detested.

But she’s a born writer and her blog covers many things, ncluding painful and honest stories about her mom, who has Alzheimers and lives in nursing home.

Most times when I visit Renaissance Gardens, my mother and the
other residents are in their wheelchairs in front of the television.
Their eyes are not looking at the screen, but at some random spot on
the rug or the arm of their wheelchairs.

Today when I walked
into the activity room next to the dining room, I scanned the back of
the heads of the patients to find my mother. One woman looked like her
and I had to stare at her a few times to make sure that my mother’s
appearance hadn’t changed drastically. No, that wasn’t my mother, just
someone who resembled her.

I walked to her room, and she was laying in her bed.  I thought she was asleep, but she wasn’t.

"Hi
Mom! Happy Birthday!" I said. "Happy Birthday!" my mother repeated. She
often mimics what is said to her and doesn’t initiate much conversation.

Vagina World, a post about her family’s visit to WACK!: Art and the Feminist Revolution at PS 1 (closed May 12th) is certainly worth a read

As I walked into the feminist art exhibit last week, there was a
painting of people entering an art show through a giant psychedelic
vagina. As you walked further down the hall, there was a huge piece of
red fabric resembling the vulva and clitoris. This was Vagina World.

My
son Trevor and husband Kevin were not really digging the exhibit. "I
guess I can’t really relate to it," they both chimed in together. Well,
they could still support female power even if they weren’t female.

My
parents Ruth and Phil considered themselves liberated feminists. They
had a couples women’s lib party. They thumbtacked slogans written on
cardboard on the groovy corkboard wall in our living room. The only
saying I recall was, "Herstory not History." I remember my mother
wearing a purple psychedelic dress and holding a gin and tonic.

Brooklyn Mabel, welcome to the block. You can bet that we’ll be reading