Blog-a-thon

I've been on a bit of a run of late, meeting fellow bloggers that I've watched from afar. The latest one being Mark LaFlamme, of Sun Journal crime beat notoriety, as well as the popular blog, The Screaming Room.

I actually met LaFlamme back in 1996, while working one of the worst gigs of my working life, up to that point. He was already creating a signature style of reporting that he's continued to hone over the subsequent years. I was just looking to get the hell out of my position. In all fairness, I met some great people at the paper, I just had a crappy job, overseeing delivery of the newspaper, which is a thankless job.

As a member of the Empower Lewiston board, I had been thinking of ways to engage residents of downtown Lewiston. Since I view blogging as a great way to get your writing, and ideas to an audience, without alot of outside control, I thought this might be a way to give voice to a group of people that often don't have one. Hence, the idea for a blog-a-thon was hatched.

The attendance was a bit disappointing, but all was not lost. LaFlamme and I got to chat about blogging, baseball (found out he's a KC Royals fan), and the role of newspapers in the digital age. I was pleased that he took the time to come out and help support our efforts.

Mayor Gilbert, of Lewiston, also was in the house, providing opening remarks. Gilbert also has a blog, and he informed us that his two daughters are behind the popular Rumor Girls podcasts.