Using social media to activate local communities Brad Flora Founder, http://windycitizen.com

About Me Founder, WindyCitizen.com Lives in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood @bradflora on Twitter College Admissions Officer -> Summer Camp Counselor -> Journalist -> Start-up guy

Founder, WindyCitizen.com

Lives in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood

@bradflora on Twitter

College Admissions Officer -> Summer Camp Counselor -> Journalist -> Start-up guy

What makes something “local”? Anything that appeals to people specifically because they share a connection to a geographic region.

Anything that appeals to people specifically because they share a connection to a geographic region.

How are these communities being reached now? Two approaches

Two approaches

How are these communities being reached now? Two approaches Editorial approach Create content that attracts an audience, Vertical Newspaper/Magazine sites, blogs, TV, radio, newsletters

Two approaches

Editorial approach

Create content that attracts an audience,

Vertical

Newspaper/Magazine sites, blogs, TV, radio, newsletters

How are these communities being reached now? Two approaches Editorial approach Create content that attracts an audience, Vertical Newspaper/Magazine sites, blogs, TV, radio, newsletters Social approach Create a place where people can interact with each other, create their own content, Horizontal/bottom-up Yelp, LikeThis

Two approaches

Editorial approach

Create content that attracts an audience,

Vertical

Newspaper/Magazine sites, blogs, TV, radio, newsletters

Social approach

Create a place where people can interact with each other, create their own content,

Horizontal/bottom-up

Yelp, LikeThis

How are these communities being reached now? Two approaches Editorial approach Create content that attracts an audience, Vertical Newspaper/Magazine sites, blogs, TV, radio, newsletters Social approach Create a place where people can interact with each other, create their own content, Horizontal/bottom-up Yelp, LikeThis Trend Editorial businesses looking to go social Huffington Post’s new Facebook page NYTimes letting you track who’s reading what, connect with other NYTimes readers

Two approaches

Editorial approach

Create content that attracts an audience,

Vertical

Newspaper/Magazine sites, blogs, TV, radio, newsletters

Social approach

Create a place where people can interact with each other, create their own content,

Horizontal/bottom-up

Yelp, LikeThis

Trend

Editorial businesses looking to go social

Huffington Post’s new Facebook page

NYTimes letting you track who’s reading what, connect with other NYTimes readers

My approach Problem Local media fragmenting

Problem

Local media fragmenting

My approach Problem Local media fragmenting Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day

Problem

Local media fragmenting

Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day

My approach Problem Local media fragmenting Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp Reverting to situation 100 years ago

Problem

Local media fragmenting

Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day

City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp

Reverting to situation 100 years ago

My approach Problem Local media fragmenting Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp Reverting to situation 100 years ago How do you find what’s hot right now and meet people who also like it?

Problem

Local media fragmenting

Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day

City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp

Reverting to situation 100 years ago

How do you find what’s hot right now and meet people who also like it?

My approach Problem Local media fragmenting Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp Reverting to situation 100 years ago How do you find what’s hot right now and meet people who also like it? Windy Citizen Surface the best of Chicago, offer a central place to talk about it

Problem

Local media fragmenting

Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day

City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp

Reverting to situation 100 years ago

How do you find what’s hot right now and meet people who also like it?

Windy Citizen

Surface the best of Chicago, offer a central place to talk about it

My approach Problem Local media fragmenting Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp Reverting to situation 100 years ago How do you find what’s hot right now and meet people who also like it? Windy Citizen Surface the best of Chicago, offer a central place to talk about it Crowd-powered city guide

Problem

Local media fragmenting

Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day

City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp

Reverting to situation 100 years ago

How do you find what’s hot right now and meet people who also like it?

Windy Citizen

Surface the best of Chicago, offer a central place to talk about it

Crowd-powered city guide

My approach Problem Local media fragmenting Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp Reverting to situation 100 years ago How do you find what’s hot right now and meet people who also like it? Windy Citizen Surface the best of Chicago, offer a central place to talk about it Crowd-powered city guide Launched proof-of-concept site Jan. 2009

Problem

Local media fragmenting

Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day

City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp

Reverting to situation 100 years ago

How do you find what’s hot right now and meet people who also like it?

Windy Citizen

Surface the best of Chicago, offer a central place to talk about it

Crowd-powered city guide

Launched proof-of-concept site Jan. 2009

My approach Problem Local media fragmenting Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp Reverting to situation 100 years ago How do you find what’s hot right now and meet people who also like it? Windy Citizen Surface the best of Chicago, offer a central place to talk about it Crowd-powered city guide Launched proof-of-concept site Jan. 2009 3-5k uniques/day 100-150 comments/day 550-600 votes/day cast on stories and comments Sending ~2k/day visitors away to local sites Ad-supported Just received grant from Chicago Community Trust to develop real deal

Problem

Local media fragmenting

Chicago has 150+ sources creating local content each day

City blogs, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, local guides, flickr, yelp

Reverting to situation 100 years ago

How do you find what’s hot right now and meet people who also like it?

Windy Citizen

Surface the best of Chicago, offer a central place to talk about it

Crowd-powered city guide

Launched proof-of-concept site Jan. 2009

3-5k uniques/day

100-150 comments/day

550-600 votes/day cast on stories and comments

Sending ~2k/day visitors away to local sites

Ad-supported

Just received grant from Chicago Community Trust to develop real deal

Why go after local communities? Pros: Passionate users: People who care, care A LOT Can leverage the power of beer to connect with early adopters Creating social capital, making the world better No one’s figured it out yet It just feels awesome Cons: Market deceptively small Getting press coverage works differently, if at all Won’t get you laid (unless it’s a dating site)

Pros:

Passionate users: People who care, care A LOT

Can leverage the power of beer to connect with early adopters

Creating social capital, making the world better

No one’s figured it out yet

It just feels awesome

Cons:

Market deceptively small

Getting press coverage works differently, if at all

Won’t get you laid (unless it’s a dating site)

Deceptive Market Size 3 million people in a region != 3 million audience

3 million people in a region != 3 million audience

Deceptive Market Size 3 million people in a region != 3 million audience Local isn’t a niche, it’s a niche inside of a niche

3 million people in a region != 3 million audience

Local isn’t a niche, it’s a niche inside of a niche

Deceptive Market Size 3 million people in a region != 3 million audience Local isn’t a niche, it’s a niche inside of a niche e.g. (sports(Chicago)) or (bars(Chicago)) or (politics(Chicago)) RedEye devotes < 4 pages/day to local coverage for a reason

3 million people in a region != 3 million audience

Local isn’t a niche, it’s a niche inside of a niche

e.g. (sports(Chicago)) or (bars(Chicago)) or (politics(Chicago))

RedEye devotes < 4 pages/day to local coverage for a reason

Deceptive Market Size 3 million people in a region != 3 million audience Local isn’t a niche, it’s a niche inside of a niche e.g. (sports(Chicago)) or (bars(Chicago)) or (politics(Chicago)) RedEye devotes < 4 pages/day to local coverage for a reason Kevin Rose: “There’s not enough content in any one city to require a solution as drastic as crowdsourcing. The local sites do a good enough job already.”

3 million people in a region != 3 million audience

Local isn’t a niche, it’s a niche inside of a niche

e.g. (sports(Chicago)) or (bars(Chicago)) or (politics(Chicago))

RedEye devotes < 4 pages/day to local coverage for a reason

Kevin Rose: “There’s not enough content in any one city to require a solution as drastic as crowdsourcing. The local sites do a good enough job already.”

Deceptive Market Size 3 million people in a region != 3 million audience Local isn’t a niche, it’s a niche inside of a niche e.g. (sports(Chicago)) or (bars(Chicago)) or (politics(Chicago)) RedEye devotes < 4 pages/day to local coverage for a reason Kevin Rose: “There’s not enough content in any one city to require a solution as drastic as crowdsourcing. The local sites do a good enough job already.” Metafilter guy: Critical mass for a community= 100 active users When your potential audience is 100,000, getting those 100 people is a lot harder than when it’s 5 million

3 million people in a region != 3 million audience

Local isn’t a niche, it’s a niche inside of a niche

e.g. (sports(Chicago)) or (bars(Chicago)) or (politics(Chicago))

RedEye devotes < 4 pages/day to local coverage for a reason

Kevin Rose: “There’s not enough content in any one city to require a solution as drastic as crowdsourcing. The local sites do a good enough job already.”

Metafilter guy: Critical mass for a community= 100 active users

When your potential audience is 100,000, getting those 100 people is a lot harder than when it’s 5 million

Media can only help so much When you go local… Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things

When you go local…

Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things

Media can’t help you so much When you go local… Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things Leaves you with local media

When you go local…

Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things

Leaves you with local media

Media can’t help you so much When you go local… Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things Leaves you with local media The “pipes” are owned by 1-2 players

When you go local…

Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things

Leaves you with local media

The “pipes” are owned by 1-2 players

Media can’t help you so much When you go local… Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things Leaves you with local media The “pipes” are owned by 1-2 players They’re finally realizing that every web site on the web is competition

When you go local…

Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things

Leaves you with local media

The “pipes” are owned by 1-2 players

They’re finally realizing that every web site on the web is competition

Media can’t help you so much When you go local… Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things Leaves you with local media The “pipes” are owned by 1-2 players They’re finally realizing that every web site on the web is competition They’re backwards about linking out Chicago Tribune wrote story about launch, no backlink in online article Reporters have told me they won’t cover WC since it hits too close to home

When you go local…

Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things

Leaves you with local media

The “pipes” are owned by 1-2 players

They’re finally realizing that every web site on the web is competition

They’re backwards about linking out

Chicago Tribune wrote story about launch, no backlink in online article

Reporters have told me they won’t cover WC since it hits too close to home

Media can’t help you so much When you go local… Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things Leaves you with local media The “pipes” are owned by 1-2 players They’re finally realizing that every web site on the web is competition They’re backwards about linking out Chicago Tribune wrote story about launch, no backlink in online article Reporters have told me they won’t cover WC since it hits too close to home Limited news budget for techie stuff

When you go local…

Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things

Leaves you with local media

The “pipes” are owned by 1-2 players

They’re finally realizing that every web site on the web is competition

They’re backwards about linking out

Chicago Tribune wrote story about launch, no backlink in online article

Reporters have told me they won’t cover WC since it hits too close to home

Limited news budget for techie stuff

Media can’t help you so much When you go local… Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things Leaves you with local media The “pipes” are owned by 1-2 players They’re finally realizing that every web site on the web is competition They’re backwards about linking out Chicago Tribune wrote story about launch, no backlink in online article Reporters have told me they won’t cover WC since it hits too close to home Limited news budget for techie stuff Local blogs Still too small for any 1-2 to be able to help you much

When you go local…

Bye-bye tech blogs, reddit, Digg, other apps that announce new things

Leaves you with local media

The “pipes” are owned by 1-2 players

They’re finally realizing that every web site on the web is competition

They’re backwards about linking out

Chicago Tribune wrote story about launch, no backlink in online article

Reporters have told me they won’t cover WC since it hits too close to home

Limited news budget for techie stuff

Local blogs

Still too small for any 1-2 to be able to help you much

What’s worked Giving users ways to connect with each other

Giving users ways to connect with each other

What’s worked Giving users ways to connect with each other Monthly meetups Focusing on making social activity easy More important to improve commenting system than our posting process

Giving users ways to connect with each other

Monthly meetups

Focusing on making social activity easy

More important to improve commenting system than our posting process

What’s worked Giving users ways to connect with each other Monthly meetups Focusing on making social activity easy More important to improve commenting system than our posting process Partnerships with fish too small for big fishermen CBS2 Widget Buttons on prominent local blogs, news org sites

Giving users ways to connect with each other

Monthly meetups

Focusing on making social activity easy

More important to improve commenting system than our posting process

Partnerships with fish too small for big fishermen

CBS2 Widget

Buttons on prominent local blogs, news org sites

What’s worked Giving users ways to connect with each other Monthly meetups Focusing on making social activity easy More important to improve commenting system than our posting process Partnerships with fish too small for big fishermen CBS2 Widget Buttons on prominent local blogs, news org sites Face to face meetings with users Easier to sell a vision over beer and burgers

Giving users ways to connect with each other

Monthly meetups

Focusing on making social activity easy

More important to improve commenting system than our posting process

Partnerships with fish too small for big fishermen

CBS2 Widget

Buttons on prominent local blogs, news org sites

Face to face meetings with users

Easier to sell a vision over beer and burgers

What’s worked Giving users ways to connect with each other Monthly meetups Focusing on making social activity easy More important to improve commenting system than our posting process Partnerships with fish too small for big fishermen CBS2 Widget Buttons on prominent local blogs, news org sites Face to face meetings with users Easier to sell a vision over beer and burgers Syncing into social media Mainstream media “owns” Digg, trying to do same with Twitter, not there yet Successes: Twitter/Facebook alerts for stories that get voted up/down Publish once on WC, push to Facebook/Twitter

Giving users ways to connect with each other

Monthly meetups

Focusing on making social activity easy

More important to improve commenting system than our posting process

Partnerships with fish too small for big fishermen

CBS2 Widget

Buttons on prominent local blogs, news org sites

Face to face meetings with users

Easier to sell a vision over beer and burgers

Syncing into social media

Mainstream media “owns” Digg, trying to do same with Twitter, not there yet

Successes:

Twitter/Facebook alerts for stories that get voted up/down

Publish once on WC, push to Facebook/Twitter

What’s worked Giving users ways to connect with each other Monthly meetups Focusing on making social activity easy More important to improve commenting system than our posting process Partnerships with fish too small for big fishermen CBS2 Widget Buttons on prominent local blogs, news org sites Face to face meetings with users Easier to sell a vision over beer and burgers Syncing into social media Mainstream media “owns” Digg, trying to do same with Twitter, not there yet Successes: Twitter/Facebook alerts for stories that get voted up/down Publish once on WC, push to Facebook/Twitter E-mail strategy Newspapers don’t own inboxes, product can get a fair shake Thrillist, Daily Candy, Groupon have build large business just on e-mail products

Giving users ways to connect with each other

Monthly meetups

Focusing on making social activity easy

More important to improve commenting system than our posting process

Partnerships with fish too small for big fishermen

CBS2 Widget

Buttons on prominent local blogs, news org sites

Face to face meetings with users

Easier to sell a vision over beer and burgers

Syncing into social media

Mainstream media “owns” Digg, trying to do same with Twitter, not there yet

Successes:

Twitter/Facebook alerts for stories that get voted up/down

Publish once on WC, push to Facebook/Twitter

E-mail strategy

Newspapers don’t own inboxes, product can get a fair shake

Thrillist, Daily Candy, Groupon have build large business just on e-mail products

Fin. The local web is virgin territory still waiting to be claimed

The local web is virgin territory still waiting to be claimed

Fin. The local web is virgin territory still waiting to be claimed Though substantial, the territory is smaller than it looks

The local web is virgin territory still waiting to be claimed

Though substantial, the territory is smaller than it looks

Fin. The local web is virgin territory still waiting to be claimed Though substantial, the territory is smaller than it looks Current media conditions make it harder to get known

The local web is virgin territory still waiting to be claimed

Though substantial, the territory is smaller than it looks

Current media conditions make it harder to get known

Fin. The local web is virgin territory still waiting to be claimed Though substantial, the territory is smaller than it looks Existing media conditions make it difficult to get a foothold If your product has a local focus or angle, events, social media, and e-mail will do more for you than mainstream local media coverage

The local web is virgin territory still waiting to be claimed

Though substantial, the territory is smaller than it looks

Existing media conditions make it difficult to get a foothold

If your product has a local focus or angle, events, social media, and e-mail will do more for you than mainstream local media coverage

Fin. The local web is virgin territory still waiting to be claimed Though substantial, the territory is smaller than it looks Existing media conditions make it difficult to get a foothold If your product has a local focus or angle, events, social media, and e-mail will do more for you than mainstream local media coverage Questions?

The local web is virgin territory still waiting to be claimed

Though substantial, the territory is smaller than it looks

Existing media conditions make it difficult to get a foothold

If your product has a local focus or angle, events, social media, and e-mail will do more for you than mainstream local media coverage

Questions?