Big in Japan

Weblogs Work for Small Towns

As many of you know, Brian Oberkirch (the CEO of Weblogs Work), is from Slidell and as a result most operations of Weblogs Work have been suspended since Katrina hit on Monday.  Brian and his family left Slidell on Friday, well ahead of the hurricane, and shortly after the storm hit the Gulf coast he decided that he might be able to help the residents of his small town (30,000 residents) just outside of New Orleans by starting a blog.  Our short experience with the Sildell Hurricane Blog has provided us with a unqiue perspective into the disaster as it relates to Slidell.  Some of the stories were heartbreaking, while others have been inspiring.  Here are some of the statistics(August 30-September 5) :

• Total Hits:            316,533
• Unique Visitors:      47,201
• Posts:                         258
• Comments:              2,000+

Most of the comments were from families and friends looking for each other.  In several cases the blog helped people find their loved ones.  Was the blog successful?  I think it was.  It helped Brian keep his mind on something positive.  It helped some people find one another.  It helped some people understand what happened to their homes.  It helped some people vent.  At the end of the day, the Slidell Hurricane Blog is a great example of Chris Anderson’s Long Tail - very narrowcast information for a very small group of people (30,000). 

Interestingly, bloggers from around the country pointed readers to the Brian’s Slidell blog including:  Doc Searls, NevOn, PrSpeak, BusinessWeek, AVC, Scobleizer, Ochman, Tyler, Windley, and many many more…

Posted by amuse | September 5, 2005 - 2:11pm
Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Media 2.0, Micromarketing, Social Media, Web 2.0, Weblogs Work