For the 2012 SXSW Interactive festival we have submitted a panel on local blogging  - Local Legit: Who Blogs Local Best? Thank you to everyone who has suggested themes, ideas and questions around the idea of local coverage.  Here is a brief summary of the panel (read the full description here)

This panel will explore the idea of who covers local communities best, the rise of local blogging and the impact on those communities as well as what the local blogging landscape might look like in the future.

The Panelists – We have put together a great group of of panelist who can offer unique perspectives not only as bloggers, but also as  journalists who have covered local topics.  We are honored that each of these panelists has enthusiastically agreed to participate.  This panel also has some geographic diversity to look at local blogging in large cities like New York and more regional cities like Pittsburgh.

• Anthony De Rosa
  • Co-founder of Neighborhoodr – city specific Tumblr blog network
  • Social Media Editor at Thomson Reuters
  • past speaker at SXSW
• Kate Giammarise
  • Co-Founder of Rust Wire – a blog about the industrial Midwest
  • journalist covering the steel industry
  • former newspaper reporter Chillicothe, Lorain and Toledo, Ohio
• Angie Schmitt
  • Co-Founder of Rust Wire – a blog about the industrial Midwest
  • Manager of the Streetsblog.net – a consortium of more than 400 active transportation blogs
  • former newspaper reporter
• Erich Schwartzel
  • reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who has been working on the PG’s Marcellus Shale blog – Pipeline.
  • Pipeline combines community contributions with newsroom content to cover a story that’s rewiring much of Appalachia. Pipeline has been featured by the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard and was a Notable Entry in the 2011 Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism.

Help us take the conversation about local blogging to SXSW and beyond!

1. Vote for Local Legit: Who Blogs Local Best in the SXSW panel picker before September 2, 2011.  To vote you need to create an account, log-in and vote.
   • Click here for Step-by-Step Instructions for SXSW Panel Picker voting
   • Click here for a direct Link to the Local Legit Panel
2. Comment - join the conversataion.  Have questions about local and blogging? What do you want this panel to address?  Please add to the conversation in the comments section of the Local Legit panel on the SXSW panel picker website here.
3. Share – Please help us spread the word by sharing the link to the Local Legit panel on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.
   • Local Legit: Who Blogs Local Best? http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/11344

If you are a Pittsburgher and currently live here – this might not be so exciting for you.  But if you are new to town, or coming here for a visit – this is hopefully good news.  The 2nd Edition of Moon Pittsburgh, a travel guidebook has just been published.   And we are honored to report that IheartPGH is included in this book as a local blog.  The author of Moon Pittsburgh is Dan Eldridge, who does not currently live in Pittsburgh.  He did live here and was a writer for the Pittsburgh City Paper.  The first edition of Moon Pittsburgh was nominated for a Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award.

Moon Pittsburgh, 2nd Ed. Powell’s Link | Amazon Link

Good guidebooks can be hard to find here are two that I have found helpful.  Thanks to the Access Las Vegas guidebook I have been to the first pawn shop in Las Vegas.  The Access Las Vegas book also led me to one of the most amazing off the strip dining establishments Carluccio’s Tivoli Gardens at the Liberache Museum.  This place was frozen in time and also held Liberace‘s mirrored piano in the bar area.

For starters, the restaurant was designed and built by Liberace. That fact alone should put the place on the “Vegas locations that need to be preserved” list.

“Liberace bought the shopping complex in the late 1970s,” Hosier said. “First he put the museum in, then in 1983 the restaurant.”

Back then, it was called “Liberace’s Tivoli Gardens, he liked the word Tivoli because backwards it spells,” I-lov-iT”

I know the Liberache museum closed last year (more on the closing from NYTimes here) and it looks like Carluccios has closed this location but reopened in another location.  This is especially sad for Pittsburghers because both the Liberache Museum and Carluccios were located just down the street from Noreen’s Lounge.  Noreen’s is a Steelers bar with an authentic Pittsburgh feel and connection.  I think owner is the niece of the late Pittsburgh mayor Bob O’Connor. I have been to Noreen’s – this place is Pittsburgh – not just because it is painted black and gold but it was just like walking into a bar in Pittsburgh.

And another amazing travel book to check out if you find yourself in Hawaii is Hawaii The Big Island Revealed by Andrew Doughty (Powell’s Link | Amazon Link
).  I read this entire book cover to cover.  Not only was it very well researched but it was incredibly interesting with lots of history and we would have never found What’s Shakin’ and the best smoothie ever .  A good friend of IheartPGH has lived Hawaii for years and this book had plenty of places she had not explored yet as well.

What's Shakin'

Are there any guidebooks that made your trip a success? Any that should be avoided?

Image by Evil Erin via Flickr

I am having a hard time getting my brain around the fact that summer is here.  I have been out of town for much of may – and it seems like spring just merged into summer.

I have also been inspired by reading some other works and I am thinking about a little blogging challenge for the summer.  I would like to compile a big list of things to do here in Pittsburgh this summer and blog my way through the list.  These things need not be expensive.  I have a few ideas but I wanted to see what you would put on this list.  I hope that many of you will join some of the fun too – would love to collaborate with other bloggers, photographers and Pittsburgh lovers on this!

Here are some ideas that came in from Twitter on Friday:

• Plan a Tweetup at PNC park with Twittsburgh
• Attend the Mattress Factory’s Urban Garden Party
• Visit Paige’s Dairy Mart
• Kayak with Kayak Pittsburgh (I thinking of setting a goal of miles to kayak)
• Take a sewing class at Cut & Sew Studio
• Attend an outdoor yoga class
• Run some neighborhood 5ks – which ones?
• Dine at Curry Away – just learned about this place and have heard great things!
• Drive the entire Red Belt (how long would that take?)

About Us:
We are a new start up company in Pittsburgh that is focused on building a community of local bloggers all across the US.  Our goal is to put local blogging on the map.

About the Internship:
We are seeking interns to help with a variety of projects – lots of research and lots of brainstorming.  We are also looking for interns to help us build our online community – which includes writing for our corporate blog and to managing our Facebook/Twitter accounts.

About You:

• We are looking for interns who
• can wear many hats – we are a start up company and there are lots of different projects to take on.
• are interested in learning more about blogging and social media and how to use those tools in a business setting
• like geeky things
• are passionate about local communities
• are excited about the idea of working with a start up company and sharing ideas with the CEO
• are looking for an unpaid internship (school credit is available)
• are a currently a college student or have a college degree

Internship Duties Include:

• researching local blogs and updating the database
• writing descriptions for local blogs
• writing blog post for the BlogLocal blog
• selecting the local blog of the week
• outreach to local blogging directories
• researching vendors

How to Apply:
Please read these instructions carefully.

1. Find 3 local blogs that you like – 1 blog that is about Pittsburgh and 2 blogs that are about other cities

2. Print out and mail your resume and cover letter to

BlogLocal
c/o pairNetworks, Inc.
Suite 210
2403 Sidney Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203

3. Fill out this form with your name email and 3 blogs - http://bit.ly/internship-2011

Dates and Times:

Internship dates can be flexible – we had to enter a date below – but we are open to interns year round.  We ask that you be ably to commit a minimum of 10 hours per week to be in the office.

Will I have vacation time? Of course – we understand that trips get planned – and it is summer – just let us know ahead of time and we will be happy to work out a schedule that works for everyone.

Have Questions?

Drop us an email - internshipfun@bloglocal.net

Image by Theresa Thompson via Flickr

If you really love Pittsburgh – you will vote.  The May 2011 Primay Election is May 17.   Today – APRIL 18 is the last day to register to vote before the May election.

You can use the super easy registration tool from Rock the Vote here.  Fill out the form, print it out, sign your name and put this in the mail before the end of today.

Follow this link –  Register to Vote Here or click the logo below to get started.

You may have noticed some new authors here on the blog – I wanted to take a moment to point out our newest writers.

Amanda has been writing about some new places in Lawrenceville and a hilarious post about hot yoga.

Amanda is currently living in Lawrenceville, finishing her Master’s Degree, and loving life. She enjoys writing (obviously!), wine, and long walks on the beach. Oh yeah, and hot yoga.

Andrew is a student at Penn State New Kensington and he has been working on some awesome posts about lots of great local things. I am most excited to read about the local parks – Andrew has done a great job collecting information and links about some of the parks in Western Pennsylvania.  He also has been working on some posts about local businesses.

Andrew  is a journalism major at Penn State New Kensington; he is currently a senior, and after graduating, he hopes to pursue and obtain an M.F.A. in creative writing.

One of the best parts of blogging is the collaboration that comes from bloggers and readers (a recent example of this are the amazing best breakfast suggestions that have been shared in the comments on this post) – please welcome both Andrew and Amanda to IheartPGH and continue to share your favorite things about Pittsburgh with us too.

AOL’s Rented Spaces – “Insiders’ Tips on Top Housing Markets” - March 5, 2010 by Katie McCaskey

Pittsburgh

Searching for a hot neighborhood in the Steel City? Popular Pittsburgh blogger Lindsay Patross of IHeartPGH.com offers three recommendations: downtown adjacent East Liberty (recently profiled in The New York Times), South Side, and Mount Washington.

She recommends a few hangouts, too. The Shadow Lounge in East Liberty offers live music, poetry readings, and African dance, among other events. OTB Cafe (OTB Bicycle Cafe), located in the South Side mixes bikes, beer, and “bloody good food.” Redbeards Bar and Grill in Mount Washington, offers an outdoor patio and fans devoted to their chicken wings.Read up on the city before you move to Pittsburgh, or, to suss out where you’d like to live next. Patross recommends checking out local bloggers Joe and Betsy.com. She also recommends FoodBurgh and Franktuary for notes on the food scene and Should I Drink That for craft beer recommendations around the city.

(Check out more of Pittsburgh’s hot spots here.)

What are your Top 3 Pittsburgh Neighborhoods?  What are your top 3 favorite Pittsburgh blogs?

Pitt Girl’s Back – but just to go Bowl-ing, January 28, 2009

Reports of her demise have been greatly exaggerated.

PittGirl, the anonymous author of the popular Burgh Blog, fully returned to the fray of blogging this week, posting guest entries about the Pittsburgh Steelers on the Web site HaveAGoodSandwich.org.

But, she stressed, the one-week guest-blogging gig is no return from the dead. Since PittGirl ended The Burgh Blog two months ago over concerns about her anonymity, she said she has written for OMGPittsburgh.com and posted comments on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

“I’m enjoying my little ‘guest-blogger’ stint and have other sites offering me to guest-blog for them,” said PittGirl, aka Jane Pitt, in an e-mail exchange with the Tribune-Review. “This way, I get an occasional outlet that doesn’t endanger my job, and it allows me to bring traffic to other worthy ‘Burgh sites that might not have the audience they deserve.”

Her return was greeted warmly.

“I think it’s great,” said Lindsay Patross, 29, the blogger behind IheartPGH.com. “I’m happy to have her back, to see what she has to say about the Steelers going to the Super Bowl.”

“I never thought she’d come back. I’m so surprised,” said Matt Hogue, 24, of Elliott, the author of Pittsburgh Hoagie. “I guess she just couldn’t stay away. She must have been missing the attention. But we welcome her back if she wants to come back.”

MacYapper blogger John McIntire joked that PittGirl’s continued appearances after a pseudo-retirement leaves her among interesting company.

“It’s like Sinatra or The Who — if you say you’re leaving, get off the stage,” said McIntire, 51, of the North Side. “I’m just jealous because she’s the blessed blogger. … She’s like the Myron Cope of bloggers. Everybody loves her.”

And what are PittGirl’s thoughts on Sunday’s big game?

“Prediction: Steelers will win, not due to Benny (Roethlisberger)’s stellar play or (Hines) Ward hauling in pass after pass, but more due to some amazing turnover/gadget play. Something unexpected,” she wrote. “Final score 20-13.”