I’ve given the incident much thought since it happened a few days ago and have concluded he was angered because I had on a previous day asked his wife if they sold orange juice. She was totally confused and that might have ticked him off. Or else “orange juice” means or sounds like something lewed in Chinese or Korean? Idon’t know. At my own risk I simply walked out imagining that this fellow might come charging out after me.

My advice is that they learn English before someone winds up getting hurt. Not me. I’m not going there again. It’s that little corner store on third street accross the street from the Broad Street Market on Sixth street. Beware! YIKES!

I’ve been wrestling with the idea of how to give exposure to the local bloggers on blogHarrisburg, because I think that by definition any site that’s “about” Harrisburg must also include the local blogging community, even if they themselves don’t necessarily write about the region. How the implement this without breaking up the “about Harrisburg” news is what I’m working on now, and I think I’ve got it straightened out. I’m getting ready to add another batch of blogs, and I’ll be emailing you shortly (incidentally, the blogHarrisburg gmail address is unbelievably easy to figure out).

And you’er spot-on about the change in culture. That needs to happen. It’s a whole new game now; the publishers who haven’t embraced online publication are the ones in big trouble.

I came here through blogHarrisburg via my Google Reader, and for some awful reason thought the blogHarrisburg creator wrote this entry.

How ironic that I make a mistake that dumb while trying to claim that I understand blogging. Yikes. It’s been a long day.

Anyway, take a look through my blog and you’ll see I’m really trying to figure out this stuff that you and floor9 raised. I’m definitely not the only one at the PN, either, but damn are there a lot of hurdles.

A lot of it has to do with changing newsroom culture. For example, any journalist can sign into Movable Type, but understanding how blogging is different than the I-talk-you-listen format most journalists are used to is a whole different issue.

I could ramble for a while, but I’ll stop. Just know that even though I’m sure it doesn’t look like it, there are people working on it.

The most important line in that Alterman piece, by the way:

“Traditional media just need to realize that the online world isn’t the enemy. In fact, it’s the thing that will save them, if they fully embrace it.”

I’d like to see them use their online real estate to supplement the Patriot’s standard faire with the things that are simply too “minor” to fit into print. I’d also like to see them make timely, real updates throughout the day. They should use the Internet to overcome the limitations of print media — limited space, hard deadlines, irrelevant advertising, no accurate metrics, printing & delivery expense — instead of just as an online placeholder. And it’s not just the Patriot that’s guilty of failing to do this. Apparently, LOTS of newspapers are failing to grasp that we live in a 24-hour world.

I’m not questioning the professionalism and news-gathering abilities of the Patriot’s journalists. Rather, I’m stating that I’d love to see their talents put on display on a continual basis. Even though we’re a secondary market, there *are* newsworthy events happening at all hours — to say nothing of the events that are simply too niche to receive precious print space. PennLive has been taking a stab at things like liveblogging lately, and that’s a good start. But it’s a few years too late. While the veracity or trustworthiness of blogs can be discussed in volumes, the frank reality is that people are flocking to non-traditional content in droves. Until newspapers adopt, they’ll continue hemorrhaging subscribers and wondering why.

Print and the Internet are totally different animals, and the mass amateurism of bloggers will never fully replace professionally-printed material. As consumers, we will continually look for media makers willing to invest in someone else’s work. It’s that endorsement that tells us that the material is professional enough–and that at least another person besides the writer believes it is worthwhile.

As far as what blogHarrisburg is doing, I love and subscribe to the feed. However, I question the reasoning behind a Harrisburg-based wiki and forum. Frankly, the wiki feels like using the technology for technology’s sake (what is its purpose?), and I fear the forum will befall the same fate as the one on Friends of Midtown.