News-Record.com

The L.A. Times is not the largest news organization or even the most recent newspaper to report on the online revolution occurring here. (A side note: The Times' story was written by staff writer Martin Miller, a Greensboro native and the son of Dr. Robert Miller, a retired UNCG dean and professor.)

The Associated Press wrote about blogging in Greensboro a couple months ago and sent its story out to its thousands of newspaper subscribers. People from around the world sent me clippings, including three from the Shanghai Daily.

The New York Times also sent a reporter here for two days last month. Her article hasn't appeared yet. We've also been covered by the Wall Street Journal Online and mentioned in Business Week.

Most of the news coverage focuses on the News & Record's online initiatives because journalism is an incestuous business and, when we aren't cannibalizing each other, we like to write about each other.

The real story, though, originates with the local blogosphere, where
engineers and contractors, techies and poets, students and waiters,
and, yes, journalists, use their Web sites to report news, spout
opinion and talk with their readers about issues that interest them.

Local bloggers have quickly grasped how the Internet has changed
journalism and public affairs. A Web log's ease of use and interactivity gives citizens the ability to become reporters and publishers with the click of a few keys. No newspaper press or newsprint required.

We at the News & Record are part of that revolution, too, as many of us use blogs to bring additional insight into their areas of specialty. (You can find us here.)

Not insignificant, elected officials are getting into the act. Greensboro City Council member Sandy Carmany is a first-rate blogger, bringing her unique insight to write about the city's business. She's not afraid to take tough positions or to engage with readers. She breaks news, announcing on her Web log, for instance, that the council has agreed upon a budget, as she did last week. Her blog is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in the public's business.

This is a big deal and it's a growth industry for Greensboro.

Which brings us to ConvergeSouth, a two-day conference in October at N.C. A&T, which staff writer Richard Barron wrote about several days ago. The conference is intended to help people explore news ways to use the Internet for expression and communication. It will join journalism, blogging and entertainment in ways that the conference organizers haven't even figured out yet. And the A&T connection is important because of our interest in bringing more diverse voices and perspectives to the blogosphere.

Because of the national publicity, newspaper readers around the nation may well know more about Greensboro as an Internet hotspot than people in Greensboro. I've written about our online efforts on several occasions. Sunday columnist Ed Cone has been writing about blogging and how it is changing news and communication for three years.

But many people who should know about it still don't. A few weeks ago, I went to lunch with two people heavily responsible for the region's economic development.

I asked them if they were aware of all the publicity Greensboro was getting around the world for its leadership in online journalism. They looked at me blankly.

Perhaps Converge South will help change that because I'm proud to be from "Blogsboro."