Talk About Local and Guardian Local unconference
26/04/2010
by: Sally Paddock
Bloggers from across Britain came together to talk about all things local. Leeds was the host city for this years Talk About Local (TAL) and the Guardian Local 'Unconference', where bloggers, website owners, photographers and a host of others with a passion for promoting their neighbourhoods, met up at Old Broadcasting House to raise questions, knowledge, and ideas surrounding hyperlocal bloggers.
The Guardian Local's Sarah Hartley, Hannah Waldram, John Baron & Tom Allan all contributing to the live blogging throughout the day which is available to read here.
The morning kicked off with sessions that included a 'geek session' that talked about the more technical aspects of managing a website. Interesting ideas were then discussed between the partnership between hyperlocal blogs and regional media giants.
Discussions, questions, and concerns facilitated the sessions to give regional bloggers the chance to develop, and answer some of the reasons for attending the event. Over a delicious lunch there were discussions and questions, and ideas that continued to be exchanged by all the nation wide bloggers present, getting to know each others area of expertise and types of blog experiences.
The afternoon saw talks from John Popham who presented a session on social networks and social surgeries. Others included how to set up your own community website, how to monetise your hyperlocal site and how to write about the personality of a place.
Topics that were explored included the gathering of website data via Google Analytics, the current web trends, changing business models, and good programming for beginners. It was a really interesting and knowledgeable day for everyone present.
The evening Talk About Local Un-Awards were held in the evening to recognise the achievements of hyperlocal blogs that are becoming increasingly recognised as a source for the latest regional news. The overall award went to the Ventnor Blog, that also won an award for the Best Hyperlocal Story on Vestas industrial dispute. Best Community Engagement went to w14London, and The UnTourist Board Award for a site that attracts visitors went to Parwich.org. When your ever in need of some inspiration, The Most Inspirational site went to SR2. The awards are full reported on The Guardian Local.
Find out more about Talk About Local at the website available here.