All Life is Local

In the past few weeks I've been introduced to the term "hyper-local". Those who know me may say "perfect fit - Kate's a bit of a spazz..." but it's not that kind of hyper. What it means, as I've come to understand it, is (mostly) online journalism that is focused on a very small geographical market. Actually, hyper meaing "very, VERY small". Like your hometown newspaper, or your high school newspaper, but online and presented as professionally as any of the large, national news outlets. These hyper-local sites don't compete with the New York Times, they compliment the NY Times and, in most cases, beat the NY Times, by bringing local news and information to their local audience over the internet, which has become the source for many of us. As the ink and paper news outlets trudge off to the tar pits, creative former staff members are re-inventing themselves by starting their own journalistic web sites.

I've met some wonderful folks in hyper-local news, CT's own Christine Stuart of CTNewsJunkie.com ; Carson Coots of OnlyKaty.com from Katy TX; and Debbie Galant of Baristanet.com from NJ are just a few who have made me feel welcome in this new venture.

When I first came up with the idea of Hartford Woman Online I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I took it one hurdle at a time: get the blessing of former Hartford Woman Publisher Terry Gamer; get some local friends to agree to write monthly columns; tell my family ... and, one by one, these hurdles were cleared and, at last, my dream came true and I was a Publisher. A month into it I can't say my vision of what Hartford Woman Online will be is any clearer but I'm starting to get a clearer picture of what it won't be. Hartford Woman Online won't be stagnant. It won't feature loooong articles that you don't have time for. It won't be overtly radical or political (that's whay my personal FaceBook Page is for). And it won't ignore women througout the Greater Hartford Region, past, present or future, who want their opinions and concerns heard and their favorite topics addessed.

So, what does all this mean? It means that I need YOUR help to make HWO your women's news site. Please make comments, send in your news and articles and support our advertisers. Ready? Let's go!