But, even with the lack a truly local blogger, all in all, not a bad first version. It has a nice look and function to it. Good competition for the realtor based local blogs. The one thing I found disconcerting was the linking of content. I click on a post asking about restaurants, and all the comments talk about restaurants in the Pearl. Turns out it was a post from the NW Portland blog, so why is it on the Sherwood one? If I wanted to read about NW restaurants, I’d go to that blog. Anyway, I’m sure the kinks will get worked out the cross-community content will get labeled better.

@Aaron, if you still reach the intended audience, and that audience is important to you, does it really matter where the sales department is? Still, I agree, what a pain to have to call.

(We’ve said it before.. ) Neighborhood Notes values hyperlocal news, because it provides neighbors with the opportunity to make informed, proactive decisions about where they live—rather than react. To that end, we welcome any news organization that endeavors to improve the quality of life in Portland neighborhoods by sharing information that will create opportunities for neighbors to communicate and connect.

There are so many great stories at the hyperlocal level, we’re glad that there are so many [well funded] resources—like KATU’s community blogs and KOIN’s “Keep It Local”—springing up to give them coverage. After all, this *is* all about the neighborhoods—not the competition, right?

The more the merrier. If we have to step things up as a result, we welcome the challenge to improve our efforts.

I am glad to see more attention on Portland and hyperlocal news from the likes of Fisher. Hyperlocal news/blogs are turning into the holy grail of online media and advertising.

Unfortunately, I don’t think KATU’s new neighborhood blogs live up to the spirit of hyperlocal or blogging in general.

First, someone living in your hood is not necessarily writing about your hood. Take Hillsboro for example (my city). Someone named “B. Scott Anderson” is the most frequent author. His bio says he lives in Tigard. He also writes posts appearing in many other local KATU blogs, like downtown Portland and even Gresham. Of course there is no requirement for an author of a hyperlocal blog to live in that locale, but it is important to many people…including me.

My second issue is that many of these authors are simply KATU employees. B Scott Anderson, whom I mentioned above, is web producer for KATU.com. Other authors include Anna Song (reporter and anchor for KATU news), Thom Jensen (reporter for KATU news) and Shellie Bailey-Shah (KATU reporter).

The last point I’ll make (for now) is that much of the content on these neighborhood blogs is just regurgitated from KATU.com Take these stories, for example:

http://northeastportland.katu.com/content/police-hunt-river-rat-associate-ne-pdx
http://www.katu.com/news/local/63952267.html

Exact same stories, word for word.

So, what I believe Fisher Communications has created here is just another delivery method for the same news, produced by the same people as KATU.com. Putting this new under unique URL’s hardly makes it hyperlocal.

Ultimately, I don’t think anyone has figured out hyperlocal yet….including ThePortlander. But we do know what it is not.

Example: http://www.b-townblog.com/2009/09/18/an-open-letter-to-komo-and-fisher-broadcasting/

In my opinion, what Fisher is doing here reeks of corporate “me too” coattail riding in its purest and most transparent form. While it’s obviously nice to see big media doing something to be a little more in touch with their audience, I have to question their approach and the statement that they intend to “help grow traffic for other neighborhood blogs by providing links and creating partnerships” – this simply hasn’t been the case in Seattle so far, at least not from what I’ve read. It would be naive to expect anything different here.

We’re fortunate enough to have a couple of very (very) good local blogs here, more importantly we have a wealth of extraordinary bloggers. What Fisher doesn’t realize is that blogging is simply a distribution method, not a “product” unto itself. They’re approaching blogging in a common and corporate way – ignoring that it’s the content that’s important, not the delivery method. Until they realize that, and hopefully they will, they’re doing nothing more than devaluing everything the rest of us hold near and dear and treating it like a commodity.

Remember, television thinks of us as numbers (viewers) and not as people. Do we really trust that they’ll look at our small, local communities as anything more than that?

I’m sorry Rick, I completely understand why you’re trying to be positive about this and honestly that’s one of the reasons I love Silicon Florist as much as I do, but I just don’t think that this is a good thing – not at all.

Apparently their sales department doesn’t have email. The whole “call Seattle to talk about hyperlocal advertising in the Couve” thing is kind of a turn off.