Now and then I’ll be going about my business around Downtown, and people will stop me and ask to talk to me for a few minutes. Lately many of the conversations have gone like this:
“Downtown will never be a real neighborhood until we have a grocery store. I think you should make that the main focus of your blog, lobbying to get a grocery store down here.”
“What’s your opinion on the push to open Main Street back up to traffic? I think it’s a terrible idea, with all the cruisers on the weekends. I think you should use your blog to fight to keep Main Street closed.”
All great ideas. But the thing is, this is MY blog. I have to decide what issues I’m going to push. Up ’til now, the fight against panhandling has been my main one. The work there is not done yet, although the situation has improved. I have to decide for myself which topics to stress.
We need more voices Downtown. Let a thousand flowers bloom! If you feel passionately about an issue, maybe it’s time to start a blog of your own. It’s not hard, and if you do and it’s relevant to Downtown, I’ll link to it. To help you get started, this morning I skipped brunch and created a 4-part tutorial on starting a blog:
- Part 1: Pick a blogging engine to use
- Part 2: Decide where to host your blog
- Part 3: Tips for post ideas, traffic, and links
- Part 4: Trackers and search engine optimization (SEO)
Hope that helps. It’s time for everyone with a passion for Downtown to let their voice be heard about neighborhood issues.