The news partnership is described a little better at this page, Networked Journalism Project. My hyperlocal sites are one of 5 local sites selected by the Charlotte Observer to participate in this year long experiment. To say I was honored, would be an understatement. There are 5 newspapers across the country participating and funded for this joint venture between newspapers and hyperlocal bloggers.

The Charlotte Observer held a Social Media conference this weekend to a sold out audience and I was on the panel speaking about building community websites. It was a lot of fun and the questions from the audience were fast and furious. There is a lot of interest and the audience was quite diversified.

Of course I carried my iPod Nano 5th Generation and shot a clip of our closing session. One of the interesting things I noticed about the event was that I saw several local media celebrities attending and they were even a part of discussions in my workshop. The interest in Social Media at all levels is extremely high. I certainly have my own issues with the way so many people use Social Media and have written about it much to the chagrin of others. Since I have now officially spoken at a Social Media Conference, can I claim that I am a Social Media Guru now? Don’t laugh out loud Allyn & Josh & Griz.

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