Someone just called this to my attention. It’s a three-minute promotional video made by the Boston Globe to promote its Boston.com Newton hyperlocal site. In it, you will see Boston.com’s Bob Kempf explain that the plan is eventually to expand the Newton idea to 120 cities and towns.
When it comes to news you can use, though, it looks like Boston.com still has some bugs to work out. (Via Adam Reilly.)
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Excellent. Way to go!
This is very interesting news, but…they will never capture the macabre tone of the Lancaster town paper’s Polic Log.
I’d heard of the Newton site but never clicked through it…until now.I don’t think I’ll click through it again. The site is a joke. It’s been up for about a month, but the only content a resident can contribute is in the discussion forums. The wiki is not a wiki; the wiki is a directory to other sites, e.g. government agencies. And the forums have no more than 10 comments per issue. Moreover, people are using anonymous names, which is fine, but cuts down on the authenticity. And where is the value if anyone with an email address can participate?Oh, wait. People can also post comments on the “blog” articles, which are no more than linkified stories from boston.com.Maybe I’m off base. Maybe this concept has merit. Personally, I’d rather visit a Newton site on its own domain where Newton is in control, not on boston.com where some editor is in control.