About
Apr 26th, 2007 by Shields Bialasik
HyperLocal 101 is the professional blog of Shields Bialasik.
Shields is the creative director and founder of LocalsGuide.com, a monthly hyperlocal web2print publication. The newspaper first launched in the fall of 06 and has quickly grown using the LocalsGuide portal and techniques discussed within this blog.
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2007 INTERVIEW:
MK: What do you think the biggest mistake people are making is when they are approaching the hyperlocal equation.
SB: I really see two serious issues. The first issue is that local is treated in isolation when in actuality there is no such thing as an isolation…. unless that is you live on a remote island or iceberg. My point being that people travel and you need to look at the hyperlocal equation more from the point of view of how people move and where they move to.
The second issue I see is simply about engagement. If you just think about what hyperlocal means you need to consider two aspects. The first aspect is intimacy because this implies that you get to at least know a little bit more than you might than if you were taking a top down approach.
The second aspect of this is that with this intimacy you also achieve some sort of reality. So two things have now occurred. You have now engaged your audience with reality and intimacy. You no longer see ants, but rather people.
Most hyperlocal portals offer a sliced view of the community which is a close up, but lacks the reality, and intimacy which mimic society… thus creating literally no engagement.
MK: What role does engagement play in hyperlocal.
SB: Everything… if you can’t engage, you can’t get the proximity and access you need to create intimacy and thus deliver reality.
This is the problem with mainstream media’s approach to the hyperlocal equation. They create engagement out of negatives.
You let them upclose and personal to your life and then they exploit you!
Are they really gonna improve your life?
Do they Care?… of course not they are out to SELL a product!
So how you engage people on a hyperlocal level will not only dictate the quality of media you are able to deliver but also the sustainability, participation and acceptance you will receive.