Seeking Storytellers Who Love Pittsburgh

I originally titled this post “Writers Wanted” but we are really looking for anyone who wants to share Pittsburgh stories.  This fall, IheartPGH will turn 10.  I have been thinking about where this blog has been (you can read a not-so-brief history of IheartPGH here) and where it should go next.

One of the things that I would like to do is build the community of people who write and create content for this site.  It was never my intention for IheartPGH to be just my take on Pittsburgh.  There are a lot of great stories about this city that need to be told, and I am hoping a few of you will help me with that task.

Earlier this year, I had the chance to meet one of the founders of the Tacoma blog, Post Defiance, and we had a great discussion about running local blogs.  One of the things that Post Defiance does, that I would like to try out for IheartPGH is a regular meeting of bloggers.

Over the past few months, I have been checking out the website Assembly, a tool for finding other people who want to help you build a web app, or working on someone else’s web app.  Yesterday, the Assembly email blast linked to this article – Just Keep Making Stuff by Mike Buzzard @mbuzzrd who is a designer at Google. The title caught my eye, because I want to highlight more people in Pittsburgh who are just doing stuff and making things happen. But the article also has a whole section on collaboration.

This is when I realized the power of collaborating with likeminded makers, when I began to understand how augmenting your own skills with the complimentary talents of others can produce results far greater than you might ever imagine on your own.

I want to find more people to write stuff for this blog and I want to find more people to collaborate with.  A few years ago I set out to build a startup around local blogging, the project is not dead, but I decided to step back, I like to think of it as a step sideways. After some thinking, some part-time jobs and a cross-country train trip that was funded by the readers of this blog, I realized that what I really needed was to learn how to build a team and that I probably needed to start by learning how to be a part of someone else’s team. When I think about what I really like doing –  the things that keep me glued to my computer and cause me to loose track of time – it is writing content for this blog. So that is why I am on the hunt for a team, a cohort a gaggle or some other word that means group of folks to collaborate on the future on this website.

Writers Wanted-image

Here is what we are looking for…

If you are interested in writing (or creating some other form of content about Pittsburgh – video, podcast, photo essay, etc) we are looking for writers/content creators who

  • love Pittsburgh (or want to learn more about Pittsburgh)
  • will commit to publish 1 post per month
  • will attend our monthly blogger meeting
  • want to meet other bloggers/content creators
  • share ideas, best practices, tools and apps with the other writers

Developers, designers business folks and advertising gurus are also welcome to apply.  We are open, skeptical, but open to any thoughts on how to improve this website and generate some revenue.

Is this an internship?

Not so much.  In the past, IheartPGH has had awesome, amazing interns. The interns have produced some amazing content, have introduced me to their friends across the country and have taught me about new social media tools. In thinking about where IheartPGH should go next, we are looking for more than interns.  Students are welcome to join the team. But we are looking to build a team of Pittsburgh loving content creators.

(If you really REALLY want to, I will consider internships for credit, but I will not sign an internship form if you haven’t done any work.  If you are thinking about an internship, go back and read the article I linked to above about making stuff, if you want an IheartPGH internship for credit, you are going to have to create something.)

What’s in it for you?

I have met some really great people through IheartPGH.  In addition to meeting great folks and learning more about Pittsburgh, we get lots of invites and free tickets to events.

So you wanna join the team?

Sound like something you would be interested in?  I don’t have a date for the first meetup yet – but I would like to get started before the end of the month.  If you are interested in joining the blogging team request to join the IheartPGH bloggers group on Facebook here.

In the interest of getting the ball rolling and some current scheduling issues, our first meeting will be Monday, May 4, 2015 at 6:30pm, location TBD. RSVP on Facebook here.

 

 

Pittsburgh’s RedRaven Studios one of 25 Artists at NASDAQ for Etsy IPO

Congrats to Amy Hamley, a Pittsburgh artist who runs RedRaven Studios, who was one of 25 artists from around the globe that joined the executives of Etsy.com in Time Square today to ring the opening bell in honor of Etsy’s IPO.

https://instagram.com/p/1jD69ySMdu/

Canyon Series: Bryce Hand Painted Porcelain Espresso Mug with 14K Gold Luster

Canyon Series: Bryce Hand Painted Porcelain Espresso Mug with 14K Gold Luster

RedRaven Studio has been making porcelain jewlery and home decor in Pittsburgh since 2006. You can purchase RedRaven’s wares on their website, from Etsy and at the annual Pittsburgh craft marketplace Handmade Arcade.  RedRaven was also one of the artists to have their items included in the LOCAL collection at West Elm last fall.  Last year, Amy was also the first artist mentioned in the New York Times article about Etsy ‘s expansion into the wholesale market.

Learn more about Amy and see some of the other beautiful RedRaven items in this post by DesignCrush (and I just learned that DesignCrush is also a Pittsbrugher)!

Follow: @RedRavenShop @Etsy

Read more about the Etsy IPO…
dave and andys ice cream pittsburgh

Don’t forget about Dave & Andy

dave and andys ice cream pittsburgh

Today, Tuesday, April 14, 2015 is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s locations around the US.  That means everyone who walks into the shop (usually after standing in line) get a free ice cream cone of your choice.

I like to use Free Cone Day (I wrote about this last year) to everyone in Pittsburgh about Dave & Andy’s Ice Cream in Oakland.  This fine ice cream establishment has been making and serving ice cream to Pittsburghers since 1983.  If you want to skip the lines and spend a few dollars at a locally owned business, head over to Dave & Andy’s on Atwood Street in Oakland for an ice cream cone instead.

While we try to support as many local businesses as possible, the local Pittbsurgh Ben & Jerry’s is a pretty cool story too.  You can read about the Pittsburgh Ben & Jerry’s partner shop that provides job training to at-risk youth here.

You can read our post from Free Cone Day 2014 to learn more about free stuff in Pittsburgh here.

What is your favorite local ice cream stand to visit in or near Pittsburgh?

What would be a good story for a Serial-like podcast about Pittsburgh?

Pittsburgh-serial-podcast-sLast week I finally started listening to the uber popular Serial podcast.  I know, I know, I am late to the part on this one. I did a bunch of driving around Easter and all of that time in the car finally gave me the chance to listen to most of the episodes of Serial.

It seems like every one I know (or at least most of my Facebook friends) are huge fans of the podcast. Since I have started listening to the podcast, I’ve been asking everyone I meet if they have listened to Serial as well.  I was surprised to learn that not everyone has listened to the podcast or even heard of it.

Serial is a podcast that debuted last fall that looks at one story over several episodes.  The first season of Serial focused on the 1999 murder of a Baltimore high school student.  Her ex-boyfriend was arrested and convicted of the murder, but he maintains his innocence.  Serial was a hit and has become one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes. The Serial podcast is co-produced by Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, who are both producers on This American Life, another popular NPR radio show and podcast.

From the a November 13, 2014 WSJ article – ‘Serial’ Podcast Catches Fire:

In the normally low-profile world of podcasting, “Serial” is a certified sensation—a testament to the power of great storytelling. It’s quickly become the most popular podcast in the world, according to Apple, and the fastest to reach 5 million downloads and streams in iTunes history. “Serial” is the top podcast in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia, and in the top 10 in Germany, South Africa and India.

The popularity of Serial has led to a whole range of Serial spinoff websites and podcasts:

The first season of Serial is fascinating.  I have not yet listened to the final episode, but even though I already know the conclusion of the show, I have found every episode worth a listen.  

Serial does an incredible job of using storytelling to engage listeners in the story. By telling the story through first person interviews and interviews with experts in the field, Serial gives listeners an in depth look at this particular case and some of the challenges on the US legal system.

The other thing that I think is really interesting about the Serial podcast (and this applies to many of the episodes of This American Life as well) is how this very local story has had the ability to engage the listeners in not only a Baltimore story, but issues that are much bigger than Baltimore.

Serial Podcast + Pittsburgh = ???

Since the toy drive back in December, I have been doing alot of thinking about storytelling. Especially storytelling on the local level.   So as I was listening to Serial last week, I started thinking about how the format could be applied to Pittsburgh.

What would it look like if there was a Serial-like podcast about something in Pittsburgh?  What story would be good to dig in and research, and what would be the impact of having lots of people in Pittsburgh (and outside of Pittsburgh) listen and research this topic?

If there was a Serial-like podcast cast about a Pittsburgh story – what story would you want to see covered?  It doesn’t have to be a crime, is their a neighborhood or a place that you want to know more about?  What local stories could use a deep dive on research?

I have some ideas for stories, but I am curious to see what stories are suggested and if there are other bloggers and armchair sleuths in Pittsburgh that would be interested in researching a story that is local to Western Pennsylvania.

Please share your story ideas below in the comments or on Twitter with the hashtag #serialpgh.

Serial & Long Form Local Journalism

I am also interested in the idea of local journalism that goes deep into a particular story.  There are many times when I have been talking to someone else about a local story and we have wondered why the local media has not done a better job of providing an in-depth look at the issue.  Sometimes the Post-Gazette has done a lot of stories on a particular topic, but the PG and most local news sites don’t do much to link those articles together.  There have been several blog posts written about if Serial is storytelling or journalism, regardless of what category Serial is or is not, I am interested in seeing how an in-depth story can have a local impact.

If you are interested in the discussion about Serial and journalism check out some of these posts:

Serial Links & Twitter Accounts to Follow

Serial Podcast & Related Links:

Follow on Twitter:

All of these have been added to the Serial – Season 1 Twitter list.

Read more about the new ‘Undisclosed’ podcast:
Yuri's Night Pittsburgh

Celebrate space with Yuri’s Night Pittsburgh tomorrow!

Yuri's Night Pittsburgh

Space is pretty awesome. Blockbuster hits like Gravity and Interstellar, privatized space exploration such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, and incentives like Google’s Lunar XPRIZE, which awards $30 million to the first private company to send a robot to the moon, have renewed our interest beyond our atmosphere.

And Pittsburgh has great representation with local NewSpace company Astrobotic leading the race to the moon, having won initial milestones of the Lunar XPRIZE and currently accepting payloads to be sent to space on their first launch.

And lucky you– you can get in on some space-related fun tomorrow evening with Yuri’s Night! From 4-7pm (don’t worry, plenty of time before the Game of Thrones season premiere) the Livermore will be hosting Pittsburgh’s celebration of mankind’s achievements in space, named after Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who was the first human to journey into outer space.

The event is totally free to attend, and there will be space-related drinks, stellar beats, complimentary snacks, and tons of space talk, videos, and fun. The event will also serve as the afterparty for the NASA International Space Apps Challenge, brought to Pittsburgh by SpaceChallenges.org, a local non-profit aiming to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education through charitable competitions using space exploration as inspiration.

What: Yuri’s Night Pittsburgh
When: Sunday, April 12, 2015 from 4-7pm
Where: The Livermore, 124 S Highland Ave
Cost: Free, including light appetizers