Tomorrow evening, the MIT Enterprise Forum of NYC will present a panel entitled ‘Hyperlocal News: A New World of Journalism, Sustainable Business Models, and the $30B Local Ad Market.’

Hosted and sponsored by The New York Times, the panel is being moderated by Beacon Trust’s Stephen J. Balog and boasts a strong line-up of speakers:

• Mark Josephson, CEO, Outside.in
• Jim Schachter, Associate Managing Editor, The New York Times/NYTimes.com
• Michael Shapiro, Founder and CEO, TheAlternativePress.com
• Warren Webster, President, Patch Media

According to the MITEF, the panel aims to address the ever-changing business of journalism and media via the lens of hyperlocal news:

With the steep decline in advertising revenue for hard copy newspapers and increase in expenses, the world of journalism is undergoing massive changes in short order including the advent and surge in hyperlocal news. As everyone from the largest of media companies to independent local hyperlocal news sites seek to capitalize on the $30B local advertising market, which hyperlocal business models are succeeding and why? How will hyperlocal news change the world of journalism?

The issues MITEF hopes to address include:

• Why Hyperlocal News is poised to become a major business very soon.
• The changing journalism business model. How we got where we are and what does the future hold what kinds of companies will be winners, what business models, incumbents versus upstarts.
• How technological advances have caused profound changes in the world of journalism and what the future of technology might hold for the profession of journalism, including mobile devices/iPad and including economy of scale in content and ad sales fueled by technology.
• How will the changing world of journalism impact advertising and marketing for businesses throughout the country and the world?
• How will recent and developing transactions affect this space (such as Groupon’s $6B offer from Google, rejected)?

The schedule for the evening is as follows:

5:30pm – 6:00pm: Reception
6:00pm – 7:30pm: Panel Discussion
7:30pm – 8:30pm: Networking

The event will take place at The New York Times building at 620 Eighth Avenue. For more information or to register, please visit the MITEF website. We hope to see you there!

If you’re interested in the future of hyperlocal — and, since you’re reading this, we’ll venture you are — you’ll want to hear Mark and Rob’s insights into the local advertising market. Significant growth in local online ad dollars is on the way and Outside.in is poised to help our partners take advantage of this fact. Watch the videos posted by Borrell Associates for more details:

P.S. Mark will be speaking on ‘The New Hyperlocal Mavericks,’ at Borrell’s Local Online Advertising Conference on Friday, March 4, alongside other hyperlocal trailblazers (including Rick Blair from Examiner and Warren Webster from Patch). It should be a lively discussion, so be sure to register if you haven’t already. Don’t worry, we’ll remind you again as the conference approaches.

When Steven gets going, it gets interesting fast, so I took a video of the conversation. It may be a shaky iPhone video, but I’m confident that if you watch all 5 parts, you’ll be really happy that you did. You might even be inspired to innovate in your own life and work (I know I was).

Just another day at Outside.in’s HQ. You might say it’s where good ideas come from

So, without further ado: Steven Johnson, ladies and gentlemen! Pull up a chair, grab a slice of pizza and enjoy…

Sophie's: The Bar That Started It All. Image: AHistoryOfNewYork.com.

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing the anonymous blogger (aka ‘E.V.G.’) behind E.V. Grieve, a hyperlocal blog that covers the East Village neighborhood here in New York City. As we spoke, I found myself hearing echoes of that famous monologue from Arthur Miller’s classic play, ‘Death of Salesman,’ (about how attention must be paid to a man upon his death, even if he wasn’t a famous man or a rich man) and I couldn’t help but think about the monologue in the context of the East Village and all the changes its seen in the last half-century.

If you’re at all familiar with New York City, you know that it’s not only “The City That Never Sleeps,” but that it’s also a city that’s constantly in flux— perhaps the most reliably constant thing in New York is change itself. The East Village is no exception to this phenomenon, as Wikipedia notes:

The East Village […] was once generally considered to be part of the Lower East Side, but began to develop its own identity and culture in the 1960s, when many artists, musicians, students and hippies began to move into the area, attracted by cheap rents and the base of Beatniks that had lived there since the 1950s. The neighborhood has become a center of the counterculture in New York, and is known as the birthplace and historical home of many artistic movements, including punk rock and the Nuyorican literary movement. It has also been the site of protests and riots.
The East Village is still known for its diverse community, vibrant nightlife and artistic sensibility, although in recent decades gentrification has changed the character of the neighborhood somewhat.

What was once the epicenter of the counterculture movement has, like many parts of Manhattan, become increasingly gentrified. There are now fewer artists, higher rents and more college students and affluent young professionals in the East Village than there once were. Of course, there’s also less crime and many, many new vibrant businesses as well.

Whether you like it – or not – development happens in New York City. Neighborhoods grow, change, evolve and re-invent themselves. A resident of the East Village for roughly two decades, E.V.G. has seen a lot of changes: some for better, some for worse. On E.V. Greive, he’s documenting it all and, perhaps most importantly, paying attention. That’s why he’s a Blogger We Love.

We hope you find his reflections on hyperlocal blogging as fascinating as we did.

ON WHY HE CHOSE THE EAST VILLAGE

While he didn’t grow up in New York City, the East Village is the only New York City neighborhood E.V.G. has ever lived in:

I’ve been here for about 20 years. Some people might say, ‘hey, who are you to judge [development], you’ve only been here 20 years!’ I’m well aware of that, and there’s really nothing I can do about it. I got here as soon as I could! I think it’s [because of] my father, really – he had never lived here, but he was an Allen Ginsburg fan, and it really rubbed off on me— [the East Village] seemed like such a magical place.

ON WHY HE BECAME A HYPERLOCAL BLOGGER

“I started the blog after reading an item on Page Six – it said that Sophie’s was going out of business. [Before I read that], I was really just moving around in a blur. I wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on in the neighborhood. I wasn’t really noticing. But Sophie’s – that was the last straw. I was so pissed. I just thought, you know what, I’m going to start putting together all these [news] items about [Sophie’s], and then I was just going to go to the Sophie’s people and create this great time capsule about this great bar, this great place. So, that was the plan.”

ON THE EAST VILLAGE, THEN

I think we do make things better than they were—sometimes you only remember the good parts. It’s like High School. There’s a danger in romanticizing these things. Even Sophie’s – back when the bars would open at noon, and men would go there because they had no better things to do — they were waiting there to die. A lot of places along The Bowery were like that. Just ask someone who’s been to The Bowery in the late 1960’s: this was an awful place. It’s nice to look at these old vintage photos and say, ah, look at this great bar. But this was skid row. People were drinking themselves to death and it wasn’t anything to celebrate. But, at the same time, we don’t need to tear down the whole G*ddamn boulevard and build $2 million condos.

ON THE EAST VILLAGE, NOW

I think I like living here more now than I ever had before. I still think there’s a lot of energy here, now. Maybe a different kind of energy. There’s not that menacing undercurrent now—with [a lot of] the drug dealers [gone]. Sure, there was something cool about it [before], but it’s safer for my wife now. I don’t miss that [menacing energy].

ON THE YOUNGER GENERATION OF EAST VILLAGERS

These kids don’t care at all – I kinda feel that way. Some of the new generation living in the neighborhood… they don’t give a sh*t. They’ll throw up on your stoop, they’ll pee in your stairwell. So, I don’t necessarily see the respect as much as I did before. But I don’t hate NYU students. I speak to a lot of NYU students who love to live here.

ON DEVELOPING YOUR VOICE AS A BLOGGER

I don’t know, sometimes I take the attitude that we’re all in this together. I think it’s important to speak in a regular, everyday voice. I think people come to see you as a friend, as a trusted friend. I mean, how do you choose a movie to see? Do you go by the critics, or do you go by a friend’s recommendation? I personally always go by a friend’s recommendation. I think it’s important to be nice, too. You create more of a rapport with the readers that way. Sarcasm in small amounts is fine, but the world can only take so much. You have to be careful.

ON BLOGGING ANONYMOUSLY

It was never supposed to be about me. I like to think I’m pretty fair, I’m not just blasting people and taking pot shots. So I don’t fee like I’m hiding behind an anonymous pseudonym. Someone offered to send me a review copy of the new Keith Richards book, which I do want to read… but then someone would have my address. That would be awkward.

ON REPORTING AND BLOGGING REVENUE

I work in publishing. I like being a reporter, so it’s fun— it doesn’t seem like work to me. I started out in journalism, too, so cranking out a lot of copy on a short deadline [comes naturally to me]. I’m sort of in the volume business right now— though this isn’t a business. I don’t have any advertising. It doesn’t really matter to me. Even with good traffic, I could only make like $100 a month. It doesn’t really seem worth it, so it’s not a priority.

ON HOW TO WORK THE NEIGHBORHOOD BEAT AS A BLOGGER

Reach out to store owners here and there. It’s important to go to community meetings, too— you can’t always link to other people. You can’t always say, ‘Oh, Eater will be there,’ or ‘DNAInfo will be there.’ Sometimes you have to sit through the 9 hour meeting yourself.

ON GETTING BREAKING NEWS TIPS FROM READERS

There was this terrible fire on 14th Street at Avenue A – I was at work, stuck in an office. Someone from the scene kept sending me photos and providing a narrative of what was happening. Those breaking news stories are always really big.

ON BREAKING NEWS AND GETTING PICKED UP BY MAINSTREAM MEDIA

I got a lot of pick-up on Labor Day weekend. There’s this place called Diablo Royale, and I started getting all these emails about a ‘Boats n’ Hoes’ party they were having— it’s a reference to a movie with Will Farrell: they pretend they’re rich, famous rap stars. It’s funny— anyway, somebody who lives near there was sending me all these photos of 19-year-old NYU students waiting in line in really appalling, suburban outfits. It got picked up by Eater, Grubstreet and someone at The [Village] Voice, I think. It was just one of those things. A lot of people found that delicious. It’s kinda fun when you find out your blog is being linked to by crazy celebrity blogs in, like, Italy.

ON WHAT MAKES IT ALL POSSIBLE

I couldn’t do this website without the encouragement of so many people— people who are as passionate about the neighborhood as I am: people sending in tips and photos, people commenting and keeping the conversation going. I’m amazed, too, that people take the time to comment. The people that take the time— to me, that’s really the best thing. I really appreciate that passion and I certainly couldn’t do it without so many contributions. I’m really thankful for that. It really speaks to the passion of the neighborhood.

ON WHAT MAKES IT ALL WORTHWHILE

What makes it all worth it? [Interviews] like this. I really appreciate it. I know that sounds really corny, but it’s true.

As we mentioned yesterday, Outside.in has a strong presence at BIA/Kelsey’s Interactive Local Media conference this year, culminating with the event’s final keynote address, which will be delivered by Steven Johnson, our Co-Founder and Chairman. If you’ve ever heard Steven speak, you know that, as BIA/Kelsey so aptly put it, “attendees of Interactive Local Media 2010 are in for a real-treat.”

Steven will take the stage at 8:45 A.M. on Thursday, December 9 and will be talking about where good ideas come from (for instance in the interactive local media space, which he knows well). As the conference agenda further explains:

Steven Johnson, the urban scholar, bestselling author (and cofounder and chairman of Outside.in) has identified seven key patterns behind genuine innovation, and traces them across time and disciplines. A brilliant speaker, Johnson applies the seven patterns for “good ideas” to his intimate and hard-earned knowledge of interactive local media. His presentation, which is followed by a book signing, will surely be a highlight of ILM:10 and will include many valuable takeaways.

We simply couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Hope to see you out in Santa Clara!

About ILM:10

Interactive Local Media 2010 (ILM:10) is BIA/Kelsey’s annual conference devoted to digital media with a local focus. This event features the true innovators of interactive local media and marketing, encompassing directories, search, mobile, social and direct marketing. For more information, please visit the conference’s official site.

Local media leaders will gather in Santa Clara, CA this week to take part in BIA/Kelsey’s annual conference on Interactive Local Media. Outside.in will have a strong presence at the conference, beginning with our CEO, Mark Josephson, who’ll be participating in a 9:15 A.M. panel on Day 2 of the conference (Wednesday, December 8th) entitled “The New Local News.”

According to BIA/Kelsey,  “the shift to the Internet and mobile is perhaps most apparent in the presentation and aggregation of news.” As an aggregator with a unique approach to the hyperlocal space, we couldn’t agree more. We believe the future of news is a bright one.

Like the other companies on the panel, Outside.in is definitely “vying to turn news into a commerce driver for the next generation and beyond,” as BIA/Kelsey puts it. Of course, Mark will share how Outside.in is making this a reality.

Mark will be sharing the stage with three other players in the hyperlocal space: Satbir Khanuja (President and CEO, Datasphere Technologies), Darian Shirazi (Founder and CEO, Fwix) and Warren Webster (President, Patch). It should be a great conversation, so we truly hope you’ll be there.

PS. Pay us another visit tomorrow for more details on Outside.in’s presence at ILM:10!

About ILM:10

Interactive Local Media 2010 (ILM:10) is BIA/Kelsey’s annual conference devoted to digital media with a local focus. This event features the true innovators of interactive local media and marketing, encompassing directories, search, mobile, social and direct marketing. For more information, please visit the conference’s official site.

Our CEO, Mark Josephson, will be speaking at Business Insider’s first annual IGNITION Conference this Thursday, December 2, at the Time Warner Center in New York City. The conference centers on ‘the Future of Media,’ and will “celebrate and explore the amazing new companies and business models that are taking advantage of this vast new digital opportunity.”

The panel, entitled ‘THE NEW EDITORIAL: Who Do You Want Telling You What to Read? Friends, Algorithms, or… Editors?’ will take place at 1:35 P.M. and will also feature John Borthwick (CEO of Betaworks), Garrett Camp (CEO of StumbleUpon) and Patrick Keane (former CEO of Associated Content). The panel will be moderated by Rachel Sklar, Mediaite’s Editor-at-Large.

According to Business Insider, “the Web has evolved from portals, to search, to social sharing, and back.” With that in mind, this panel will explore the following questions:

• What’s the value of unexpected discovery in a friend’s Twitter feed, vs. finding exactly what you want on Google?
• How much curation do consumers want around their content?

Outside.in has plenty of experience both with algorithmic and human curation, so Mark will have plenty of useful insights to share at the panel – we hope you can make it!

The full agenda for the conference can be found here. The hashtag for the event is #Ignition2010.

If you’re not attending the conference, you can watch the whole thing on LiveStream or check out Steven’s Ted talk on the subject:

Of course, you can always pick-up your own copy of the book, or follow Steven on Twitter, where a great conversation has started using the #goodideas hashtag.

As we mentioned yesterday, Steven Berlin Johnson, one of our founders and a bestselling author, will be giving the keynote at AdTech New York tomorrow at 9:00 A.M. In his keynote, Steven will be talking about ‘Where Good Ideas Come From: The Patterns of Innovation in a Networked World.’ As the AdTech website explains:

Drawing on insights from his acclaimed new book, Where Good Ideas Come From, bestselling author Steven Johnson will discuss the power of new technology platforms that are changing the rules of advertising, from location-based technologies to social networks, and explain how you can use those platforms to create innovative new products, services and work environments. From the individual level to large-scale corporations, Johnson will show how entities of all sizes can create environments where we can have, recognize and share good ideas.

If you’ve ever heard Steven speak or read one of his books, you know that the folks at AdTech New York are in for a treat. I think it’s safe to say that this keynote will be one of the highlights of the conference. Here’s the trailer for the book, in case you’d like a preview:

Lucky for the rest of us at Outside.in, Steven will be giving us our own private ‘Where Good Ideas Come From,’ keynote over lunch soon. Jealous? Don’t be! Just be sure to make it to AdTech bright and early tomorrow, or pick-up your very own copy of Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation.

Rob DelaCruz, our new CRO, will be on the 2:30 P.M. Geo-Loco panel at AdTech New York tomorrow, aptly-titled ‘How Big Brands Will Make Money with Location-Based Services.’

I say ‘aptly-titled,’ because I know that Rob DelaCruz knows a thing or two about the ways big brands can make money in this space— which, of course, is one of the major reasons we’re all thrilled that he chose to leave Microsoft (where he launched new businesses across Microsoft’s online portfolio in Search, Advertising and MSN), move his entire family from Seattle to New York, and join us here at Outside.in (the fact that Rob is an all-around great guy wasn’t lost on us, either).

In just a few short months, Rob has already forged key partnerships and shaped new advertising opportunities in 57k+ neighborhoods across the country. He’ll be sharing more about these at AdTech, to be sure.

P.S. Don’t forget to arrive at AdTech bright and early on Thursday morning to catch Steven Johnson, our co-founder and a bestselling author, who’ll be giving the 9:00 A.M. keynote address. He’ll be drawing insights from his new book, Where Good Ideas Come From, and discussing ‘The Patterns of Innovation in a Networked World.’