Join the conversation on this blog and our other social platforms
If you attended Block by Block, you are welcome to post to this blog. You may also be eligible to join if you didn’t attend the conference. For an invitation, contact Michele McLellan, michele dot mclellan at gmail.com.
We also are trying out a wiki and a google group for the Block by Block crowd. Susan Mernit has set those up and you can contact her at mernit at gmail.com
Wiki: http://blockbyblock2010next.pbworks.com/
Google group: http://groups.google.com/group/blockbyblock2010next
John Hawbaker of Chatterati started a LinkedIn group as well: Community News Producers
“Where’s the Money?” — Tracey Taylor, Co-Founder, Berkeleyside
We launched Berkeleyside in Berkeley, CA, in October 2009 as a for-profit local news and community resource. Six months after launching we started selling advertising on the site, from local businesses and non-profits. Around the same time we were approached by an investor and we took on board investment funds, principally in order to be able to hire an ad director, do marketing and redesign the website. We aim to become a sustainable business drawing from a range of revenue sources, including advertising. Events for example: we are holding our first event in January 2011 — a forum for local businesses with guest speakers. We will not make (or lose) money on our inaugural event, but we aim to do so on future events on which we will work with sponsors. We have editorial partnerships (with the San Francisco Chronicle and the Bay Citizen) which bring in small amounts of revenue. We are currently exploring other revenue opportunities including sponsorship and merchandising.
Tracey Taylor
January 13, 2011 at 11:36 pm