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.

 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. 

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.

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