802 Online Archives

I apologize for not having posted sooner about the blogger meetup last month. I've been swamped. Here, at last, is my report.

A small crew gathered at VT Technical College in Randolph on Saturday Oct. 23. I was joined by librarian Jessamyn West, and the indefatigable gay gun nut Jeff Soyer. VTC prof Jeanne Eichs also stopped by to talk tech.

I was somewhat disappointed by the small turnout--what did I expect, you ask, organizing this event in only three weeks!--but the four of us ended up having a great conversation about technology, blogs, and the difficulties of getting broadband in VT. It was great to meet Jeff and Jeanne, and to see Jessamyn again. I really appreciated getting schooled on the finer points of web hosting.

As a reporter, I'm required to be a generalist. In the past few weeks, for example, I've written about defense contractors, Vermont secessionists, Ani DiFranco, a cello shop, Burlington's town-gown relations, and a 100 year-old pianist. This week I'm writing about the New England Culinary Institute. I'm constantly having to absorb massive amounts of information and regurgitate it in a way that outsiders can understand. That's my job, it's what I study and practice, and I enjoy it.

But in order to do it well, I rely on mavens, experts who can tell me what's going on in their field and why it's important. Ideally, I'd like to use this blog as a channel for mavens and the reading public to get in touch with me and tell me what I should be covering and why. That's one of the things I wanted to talk about at the Bloggercon. But I guess I'll just say it here on the blog. If there's a story you think I should write--about blogs, tech stuff, whatever--use this blog to let me know. I can't promise to cover everything, but I can promise to listen to your suggestions and incorporate them whenever possible into my work.

So if there's something you want to see in the news--at least in Seven Days, or the Winooski Eagle--this is a chance to suggest it.