byMatt McGee
Guest Top Ten List
Matt McGee is a small business marketing consultant who's been blogging since 2004, and started four hyperlocal blogs with his wife in 2008 to write about things going on in their area. Shortly after, he started Hyperlocal Blogger, a growing community of local bloggers who share ideas and tips about reaching local blog readers.
10 Cool Hyperlocal Blogs
Baristanet
I don't know what the first hyperlocal blog was, but I have to think this is one of them -- it dates back to 2004. Whereas a lot of local bloggers are one-(wo)man-bands, Baristanet lists more than a dozen people on its ABOUT page, which also happens to talk about things like venture funding, media partnerships, and more. A model for how hyperlocal can be done.
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Capitol Hill Seattle
I'll confess to a certain bias here: As a Washingtonian, I really love to see what's going on in my state with hyperlocal blogging. Seattle has a deep, thriving hyperlocal scene and this – along with My Ballard and West Seattle Blog -- each covering separate parts of the city -- are all great examples. On one hand, I'm jealous that they have so much more to write about in their big city environment compared to my small-town home. On the other hand, I'm not sure I could keep up with them if I lived in Seattle, too.
Go Burley
Mike Ramsey's been very creative in finding local content for his blog, even partnering with the local high school and having members of the student council write stories about what's happening with the local school system.
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Live Here Oak Park
I'm breaking the rules with this one. It's not really a blog. It does all the same hyperlocal stuff you'd expect from a blog, but it's built on the Ning platform and a great example of what a hyperlocal community looks like, blog or not.
Monroe Scoop
About six weeks after launching his blog, Steve Sherron wrote a guest post for me on HyperlocalBlogger.com. He credited me with being a "positive influence" to local bloggers, but in reality I've learned a lot more from Steve since then than he has from me. Smart guy and a hard worker -- a very dangerous combination for hyperlocal bloggers!
My Ballard
One of my favorite Seattle hyperlocal blogs.
Parwich.org
There are a LOT of great hyperlocal blogs in the UK, and I feel bad about only including one. I'll pick Parwich.org because this blog produces a remarkable amount of local content for an area that I'm told has fewer than 1,000 residents. If they can do it, why can't you?
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Republic Tiger Sports
Hyperlocal blogs can be about anything that people care about locally. Here's proof: David Brazeal created this site to cover the high school sports scene in the town of Republic, Missouri. It's great evidence that tapping into a passion -- your own and your audience's -- is a recipe for success.
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St. Paul Real Estate
Teresa Boardman is a real estate agent in St. Paul who's ostensibly using a hyperlocal blog to promote her business, but she goes about it the right way: by promoting the town more than anything. The real estate posts are few and far between compared to random photographs and posts about what's happening in St. Paul.
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West Seattle Blog
Another favorite Seattle hyperlocal blog.
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