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Who are the Utah Tech Bloggers on Twitter?

Posted on September 9, 2010 by jessestay

I had this long-winded post on how I thought startups, entrepreneurs, and investors in Utah aren’t reading enough Utah based tech blogs, hoping to start a “Read Utah” campaign, but I figured I’d do something about it instead. I’m looking for every Utah Tech blogger you know on Twitter. The Rule is they have to post new blog posts at least somewhat regularly on their Twitter account. I’ll put all those you list on this Twitter list: http://twitter.com/Jesse/utahbloggers/members – please tell your friends about it, get them to follow it, subscribe to it in TweetDeck and FlipBoard, etc. Add their blogs to Google Reader (anyone want to create an OPML file of their blogs?).

My hope is that we can create a list of who these bloggers are so that a) startups can invite them to their press events, and b) so that we can start to get the Utah tech scene “Reading Utah”. I think it’s too often we default to Silicon Valley when we think of blogs to read. How many Utah blogs do you read?

I realize I’m preaching to the choir here, but if you can please forward this to a Utah tech entrepreneur or investor that you know, I’d really appreciate it. Retweet this, share it on Facebook, Google Reader, and Buzz. Send it in an e-mail or print it out. Truth is I don’t get a ton of people from Utah reading this blog – my audience is mostly outside Utah. I’d like to change that. I’d like to change that for every Utah tech blogger. Let’s grow this community from the inside out! It’s time we “Read Utah” – our community will never grow if we don’t.

If you’re not in Utah, maybe you could do the same for your community? Share with me your own community lists, as well as any Utah blogger you’re aware of that I can add to mine in the comments.

UPDATE: Will King has created an awesome list of not just tech bloggers, but tech companies in Utah here.

The National Bloggers Blood Drive – How You Can Get Involved

Posted on July 30, 2008 by jessestay

My good friend, Phil Burns (@phil801), whose daughter was recently diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, has organized a cool concept that is starting in Salt Lake City today, but could be organized soon in your area as well. The idea is organized by his foundation, The Serenity Foundation, in conjunction with Takes All Types, who you may have heard about on TechCrunch and the New York Times, and is intended to organize bloggers in different areas to donate blood in honor of the need to donate and give blood in the USA. Did you know that only 5% of those eligible to donate blood actually donate?

The first of the blood drives is to take place as I am writing this, until 8pm MST in Salt Lake City, Utah at Twelve Horses, 13961 Minuteman Dr. Suite 125. You can help organize your own however by simply contacting Phil, or editing the Wiki they have set up with your own organized efforts. The Serenity Foundation will be there with you to help you get it organized and announced.

If you are a blogger, microblogger (aka Twitter, FriendFeed, or Identi.ca), or just like to donate blood, I highly suggest you look into organizing one of these for your own area. In fact, if you do, let me know and I’ll feature you here – I think this is a great, Web 2.0 way of allowing bloggers to unite in an effort to combat the shortage of blood in your area and our nation. Also, please help spread the word by blogging, twittering, “dent”‘ing, FriendFeeding, or whatever – the more exposure we can bring to this cause the better (and please, don’t feel like you need to link to me for it – go ahead and link to the Serenity Foundation’s site!).

You can learn more about how you can get started with a Bloggers Blood drive in your area via the Serenity Foundation’s website at http://theserenityfoundation.org/national-bloggers-blood-drive/. If you’d like to donate to the Burns family (Kevin Rose and Gary Vaynerchuk, this is as good an effort as any to shave your heads for!), you can do so on Serenity’s website at http://www.liftingupserenity.com/blog/donate/. I’m looking forward to see what comes of this.

The TechMeme Factor – is it Good for Blogs?

Posted on July 28, 2008 by jessestay

I received a lot of criticism for my post recently stating my reduction in use of the service Twitter towards other services like Identi.ca and FriendFeed. In a series of personal attacks through both Twitter and the comments on my blog, people called me names, said I was pompous, and almost seemed offended as to my proposal to reduce my use of Twitter in hopes to eventually move away from the service. (Ironically, the discussion on FriendFeed was much more constructive)

Well you know, sticks and stones will break my bones and such, but I did begin thinking as to why these attacks were occurring and what I may have done to bring them on. In a discussion on a post on Dig, I suggested the following in response to why I had written the post to begin with:

“vmarinelli I wrote this mostly for those that were existing readers of my blog and followers of mine on Twitter. I had people asking why I was doing it. I didn’t expect it to make headline on Techmeme, so wasn’t writing it for an external audience. Had I been prepared for that I would have been much more 3rd person, and I would have written it entirely different.”

That post was intended to be a personal post, to the readers of my blog, and possibly some of my followers who had already asked as to why I was and why I was not posting much on Twitter any more. The post reached TechMeme, and soon many more people completely unaware of who I was or what the context was were reading the post.

This post wasn’t the first of mine to be a headline on Techmeme – I definitely heard my share of criticism as to my post on developers bailing on Twitter. Ironically, there wasn’t much criticism at all on the guest post I wrote on LouisGray.com which made it as a headline on Techmeme – it seems with him being on the Leaderboard, people might be more used to who he is and what his blog is about.

It has gotten me thinking however, when you reach that status where you are being indexed by Techmeme, do you need to watch what you are writing, or even write differently, as I was suggesting on Digg, to speak to that audience? Is it even possible to keep your posts personal as you used to when your blog is reaching a much larger audience?

My brother, Luke, had a great argument when he mentioned on FriendFeed:

“I don’t get it, why can’t you talk in the first person if you’re featured on Techmeme. This was an editorial of sorts and most editorials are written in first person even if they’re written for the New York Times. Could also be considered a review of Twitter. Reviews are also often written in first person.”

I think many blogs may be getting corrupted by Techmeme, becoming too “newsy”, in the 3rd-person, and less personal when they begin to get indexed by the service. I’m wondering in the end if Techmeme really is a good thing for blogs. It certainly has an effect on any blog it begins to index. Many blogs do seem to be influenced.

However, I’m pretty sure there has to be a way to stay personal, reach that larger audience, and stay interesting at the same time. In the end you can’t abandon your existing user-base, so a strong balance is important.

My goal is to keep this blog personal, stay myself, and be informative at the same time. I don’t think you should have to change your writing style completely (note I said “completely”) when you start reaching that larger audience. Being yourself is important, and I won’t abandon that.

I’m curious though – have you seen any other blogs reach this stage, and how do you see them adapting? Do the majority of them lose their “personal touch” in order to be able to adapt? Let’s discuss via comments and FriendFeed below.