Category Archives: *IheartPGH.com Updates

Our New Yinz Resolutions – Better Late Than Never

an old post card

an old post card (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A belated happy new year!  I know – I am a little late with the new years resolution post.  Better late than never.  Back in November – I started making a list of all sorts of things that IheartPGH could be covering.  I have used the first few weeks of the year to refine this list and to plan out a few things for the coming year.  I started writing this post the first week of January – but it seems even more important to share this list now that the excitement of the holidays is starting to wear off.

Here a few of the things I hope this little blog will cover in 2013:

More posts about Pittsburgh Non-Profits

One of the best things that happened in 2012 was rallying the readers of this blog to support some local non-profits that really needed some help.  When Light of Life Ministries ran out of clean underwear – the bloggers and blog readers of Pittsburgh raised money and donated new clean underwear to meet the need.  In 2013 – I hope we can profile more Pittsburgh non-profits and continue to work together to raise money to support Pittsburgh organizations.

Some of the non-profits we want to feature in 2013 include:

What Pittsurgh non-profit organizations would you like to learn more about in 2013?

Profile 100 Local Blogs

My other blogging project is BlogLocal – which is a map of local blogs all across the US.  Some of the most popular posts on the BlogLocal blog have been the interviews with local bloggers – the goal for 2013 is to profile 100 local bloggers on the BlogLocal Blog.

Voting & Civic Engagement

English: Mayor of Pittsburgh, Luke Ravenstahl ...
In just 4 months – Pittsburghers will have a chance to vote in the primary election for Mayor, City Council and a bunch of other elected offices.  Elections are not just about electing a leader – but the election process is an opportunity to have a conversation about what is working and what can be improved in our communities.

Community Spaces & Church Re-Use

Over the past year – I keep finding myself in having conversations about

  1. Public Spaces – where to have a meeting/party/event wedding
  2. Old Churches – what is happening to them and how to preserve them

There is a need for space and at the same time there are lots of amazing spaces – some in excellent condition  some that need some work (and some that need alot of work) – but I hope to explore and highlight public spaces  here in Pittsburgh and examples from other cities.

A Pittsburgh Book Club

Cover of "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh"

One of my personal new years resolutions is to read more books.  I spend lots of time reading blog posts but not a ton of time reading things offline.  I started chatting with our friends at East End Book Exchange and we’re working on a year long book club of Pittsburgh related book.  A book-of-the month, a monthly meet-up and even some guest appearances by authors.

What Pittsburgh books would you like to see on the reading list for 2013?

Do you have any New Yinz resolutions? What would you like to see more of on IheartPGH in 2013?

Join Our Team: Writers Wanted

Help wanted sign

Help wanted sign (Photo credit: andjohan)

We’re looking for some new interns to join the team to help us with writing and social media for both IheartPGH and BlogLocal.  We have had some great interns in the past who have moved on to new jobs and we would like to expand the blogging team.

We are looking for interns who:

  • like to write
  • 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 looking for an unpaid internship (school credit is available)
  • are a currently a college student or have a college degree
  • are able to spend a minimum of 3 hours at our office (we’re located on the Southside and have unlimited coffee)

Current Openings:

Here are the positions we are looking to fill.  If you have an idea for a different weekly column or project that you think would work well on IheartPGH we would be happy to talk about adding an additional position.

  • Shop Pittsburgh Blogger – Like shopping? Like local businesses – then this is the position for you!  We’re looking for someone to start and manage a weekly column about local shops in Pittsburgh.
  • BlogLocal – Sports Blog Scout – Do you eat, breath and sleep sports? We are looking for someone to help us find the best sports blogs in Pittsburgh and beyond and to write a weekly column interviewing and highlighting the best in sports blogging.
  • Events Blogger – Do you like to check out local events?  We’re looking for a blogger who will write at least one post a week about an upcoming event and then write a follow up post highlighting an event from the previous week.
  • BlogLocal – Fashion Blog Scout – are you a fan of fashion?  Help us scour the web for the best local fashion blogs and write a weekly profile of the most stylish fashion bloggers.
  • 88 Neighborhoods Scout – We are looking for a blogger to help us plan out a series of posts that visits all 88 neighborhoods in the city of Pittsburgh
  • Web Design Problem Solver – we’re looking for some one with mad CSS skills, who loves HTML and maybe knows a thing or two about wordpress to help make our site shine (and make sure everything is in working order).
  • VotePGH Project Manager  – we’re working on a project to increase awareness about upcoming elections.  If you love social media and civic engagement – this is the job for you.
  • Editor – Are you ready to step up and take charge of one of Pittsburgh’s oldest blogs?  We’d like to find someone to help take IheartPGH to the next level.  If you are interested in managing a motley crew of Pittsburgh lovers and want to take charge of an ever changing editorial calendar – this is the position for you.

About Working With Us:

We’ve been blogging about the burgh on IheartPGH for almost 7 years and we love it.  Last year we launched BlogLocal to make it easier to find and discover local blogs.  We have met a ton of great people around Pittsburgh and beyond through blogging.  We are looking for interns who are eager to use these online platforms to expand their offline networks. We want to help you learn about writing for online publications and how to successfully use social media to build a brand.  Our past interns have been hired by some of the top design firms and brands in the Pittsburgh area.

Dates and Times:

Internship dates can be flexible – but we are open to interns year round.  We ask that you be able to commit a minimum of 3 months with 3 hours per week to be in the office (we can plan some office hours at a local coffee shop if that is a more convenient location).

How to Apply:

We used to have a fancy pants application form – but we would rather hear from you!  Send an email to lindsay@iheartpgh.com with the following information:

  • your name
  • which position or position(s) you would be interested
  • your favorite blog about Pittsburgh other than IheartPGH
  • what you would like to get out of a writing internship

 

Meet BlogLocal – Help Spread the Word About My New Project

I have been working on this for the past year and I am excited to share this with you.   I don’t think I have shared much about this project here on IheartPGH yet, I wanted to get the first version of the website working.  We still have alot more work to do on this – she is in need of a facelift but the site is functional.  I am eager to introduce you to BlogLocal.

BlogLocal is literally a map of local blogs, in the future you will also be able to sort and view blogs by topic as well.  Right now we just have the location feature working.

Please visit BlogLocal and check out the map.  If you have a blog that mostly focuses on a place – a food blog that reviews Pittsburgh restaurants, a Pittsburgh kids blog, a blog about Pittsburgh sports – please make sure to submit your blog to the list here.  You can also follow BlogLocal on Twitter and Facebook.

Here is where we need your help!

I have just submitted an entry to the Knight News Challenge – which is an international contest that supports projects around news and media run by the Knight Foundation.

Please check out the BlogLocal entry to the Knight News Challenge and leave feedback – ask questions, make suggestions.  Also – if you are a Tumblr user – please give us some love and reblog the post.

 

 

Blog Update – New look New Authors and more

Just wanted to post a quick note about some updates to IheartPGH.  We have been working on updating the look a little bit – trying to make it a little bit cleaner and easier to find the posts you want to read.

We are very excited to have some new authors who will be writing for IheartPGH.  Stay tuned for some great blog posts about baseball, theater and great Pittsburgh stuff.

Part of the new look is the authors list on the side bar and a fancy author bio to the bottom of each post.  Make sure to check out the authors blog and links too.

Please let us know what you think about the new look.  We aren’t web designers so we are learning as we go!  We welcome all feedback on how we can improve the blog and what else you would like to see here on IheartPGH.

 

SXSW Panel on Local Blogging – We Need Your Vote!

SXSW (South By Southwest) is an annual music festival held each March in Austin, Texas.  In addition to music, SXSW hosts an interactive festival and a film festival.  The programming for the interactive festivals is submitted and voted on by the community.  The SXSW staff uses the community input to make the selections for panels and speakers for the upcoming festival.

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.
  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.