Friday, April 28, 2006

Welcome!

If you are reading this then you are enjoying the first posting on the brand new Trumansburg Main Street Project Blog! Before we get to any of the postings, it would be good if we could clear up a few things for readers like you.

First, is everyone familiar with the concept of a blog? If not then that is ok since I can provide a quick description of this new word in our digital lexicon.

Blog is a combination of the words "web" and "log." A blog is essentially and online journal that works like a simple website. The blogger (i.e. the writer) brings up a blank screen every time he or she wants to write and goes from there. Most blogs are public so they are like putting your journal out on the worldwide web for all to see.
Blogging is a huge enterprise with thousands of people having one and many more just reading them. Bloggers range from young kids looking for self-expression to first-time writers trying to put their work out for their for potential scouts. Blogs have revolutionized journalism by allowing immediate on the spot postings directly from the primary source. They are big in political and government spheres and act as the medium for discussion and debate. If you want more information on blogs, blogging, bloggers, or any other funny sounding words, just type the word "blog" into your prefered search engine. No matter what you are into, there will be a blog out there for it.

You might be asking what is the purpose of a blog when the MSP has a website. The MSP blog will not replace the MSP website and, in fact, actually complement the website. Since this blog is hosted by a third-party (i.e. someone outside of our own T-Burg server) it can be updated from any computer. This allows any member of the MSP to immediately post a late breaking update from anywhere. This convenient access works well with the MSP's volunteer nature as the accessability lets folks update from home or their office. The easy accessability means that the public can always turn to this blog for the latest updates. While I am in charge of the formal MSP website, if there was ever a time where I was unavailable to update the website this blog would allow for that information to become public. Hence, look to this blog for any late-breaking updates and look to the website for polished news articles, calenders, schedules, and downloads. This blog acts as another communications vector between the Main Street Project and the village.

Until later, see you on Main Street!

-Andres