The Arizona Republic has an article on the Phoenix Metblog and their one-year anniversary countown of 30 things they love about the city:
Blog counts reasons to love cityPhoenix-centric site celebrates first birthday
Ruth Liao
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 24, 2006 12:00 AM
Your first haboob. Light rail in other cities. Where to see good art.
These topics are regularly hashed out on a collective blog focused solely on the Valley. The site, Phoenix Metroblogging, turned 1 year old Wednesday. And to celebrate, the Weblog has been counting down 30 things to love about Phoenix.
And yes, haboob is on the list, with loving the transient nature of residents as No. 1.
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Metroblogging is one of several hyperlocal, city-specific Web sites in 49 cities around the world. The site generates a daily feed of headlines from its members, so one could read postings from Dubai to Houston to Tokyo. Content isn't filtered or edited.
In Phoenix, the blog draws together different perspectives from throughout the Valley. Many of the bloggers work in some kind of Web or computer-related industry. Others are local writers.
Seven bloggers regularly contribute to Phoenix Metroblogging. They keep their own personal sites, too.
Five of the bloggers recently met - many for the first time - at downtown Phoenix gallery Eye Lounge. Blogger Lloyd Asato listed First Friday, a monthly art walk in downtown Phoenix, as favorite thing No. 6.
Here's a behind-the-scenes look at some of the bloggers in Phoenix:
Lloyd Asato, 41, is an independent technical writer. He's the blog captain (think blogging cheerleader and party host). Asato describes a successful city blog as a "vibrant, rich, dinner party conversation."
Chris Murrell, a web designer at ASU, lives in Tempe. In her personal blog she writes about encounters she has commuting by bus to work. Murell has a subsidized bus pass as an ASU employee, but she jokes that she'd pay Valley Metro for the experiences that she witnesses on the bus.
"I don't know what's more fun, riding the bus or writing about it," she said.
May Yin Giang, 34, of Gilbert, didn't see herself as a blogger at first but regularly chronicled the benchmarks of her now 4-month-old daughter, Katherine, on her personal Web site.
She's lived in the Valley for almost two years. Now as a member of Metroblogging, Giang looks forward to adding family-friendly events and activities to share on the site.
Mesa resident William J. Nash-McGavin said the site's a good opportunity to let people know about fun, quirky things to do in Phoenix. One of Nash-McGavin's favorite activities is eating lunch on top of a parking garage near Sky Harbor and watching planes take off and land.
"People know about great little places I've learned about and hard-to-find entertainment in the Valley," he said.