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A class of Depaul University students spent two weeks in December blogging the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (aka COP-15.) The students attempted to explore the dangers of a warming climate--and the politics behind finding a fix. Unfortunately, they spent much of the conference locked out of
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Today, Beachwood Reporter editor & publisher Steve Rhodes announced he was walking away from his paid gig as an NBC5 Chicago news blogger. According to Rhodes, earlier this month NBC5 removed specific posts of his from its local news blog without his knowledge or consent, allegedly due to personal r
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My ChicagoNow online-media byline, Chicagosphere, has been all good cheer this month. From the unexpected saving graces of a social-justice shoutout to a few local blogs and bloggers perfect for holiday browsing, there's been a lot of festivity over on my Chicago Tribune-funded blog.
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A new survey from comScore this week (reported in TechCrunch) suggests that social media has a positive effect of holiday purchases. Last week, the survey firm asked 425 shoppers nationwide about their buying habits this holiday season. As many as 28% said that social media had affected their purcha
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Chicago Carless and Chicagosphere are both happy to be co-sponsors of tonight's Chicago Ugly Christmas Sweater Party, benefiting the Greater Chicago Food Depository and organized by Brad Flora, editor & publisher of the Windy Citizen.
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Back in January, new-media marketing maven Chris Brogan (@chrisBROGAN) asked whether social media could save a business. In the face of the TARPconomy, He was hoping to help keep a Peabody, Mass., sandwich shop open. He wasn't successful. Last month, however, a local Chicago comic shop in economic d
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(Update 2/23/10) Today, Bill Leff relinquished his weekend gig as host of WGN's ChicagoNow Radio. Here's a look back at my experience with Leff and his former radio show from last November. Back then, an angry Leff told me I was 'replaceable' a minute before air time. Ah, karma.
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This week, former Chicago Sun-Times TV columnist Robert Feder (@robertfeder) managed to stick his foot in his mouth while sticking his tongue in his cheek. The usually scrappy Feder slapped down ChicagoNow's new WGN-AM Radio weekly show from the pulpit of his own new blog at the web-centric Vocalo R
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Local bloggers can lose a lot of sleep figuring out how to boost their traffic numbers. Following a cardinal rule from the world of public relations might help. Don't just know who your audience is today: know who you want your audience to be tomorrow. Answering three simple questions right now will
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While I settle down from the throttling I got from my fellow Mac users over my recently announced decision to migrate to Windows 7, here's a look at the no-less debate-worthy topics I've covered lately on Chicagosphere, my byline about the local blogosphere on the Chicago Tribune's ChicagoNow networ
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Yesterday, I asked why the Chicago Community Trust's recently announced 'Community News Matters' grant awards seem to ignore the future sustainability of online local news. It turns out there may be a reason for that.
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When the Chicago blogosphere's star local news site, Chitown Daily News, suddenly folded in early September due to dwindling finances, editor Geoff Dougherty promised to return 'within eight weeks' with a new, more sustainable local news site. True to his word, this week in Crain's Chicago Business,