The headline: Down And Out In The ‘Burbs: Turns out it’s tough to make local work on the Web.
Well, yes. It’s difficult to make any content model work on the web, and it’s even tougher for a start-up business just because starting any business is hard and fraught with multiple points of potential failure.
The Jon Fine column is primarily about the woes of Backfence, but at least he covers some hints about what works.
It’s easier for sites driven by a talented, semi-obsessed writer or two, likebaristanett, to gain traction: Readers return for a stylish voice or a dependable hit of news.
Gannettt, is now enabling anrampingng up local participation on its sites. It’s easier for a local daily to promote these efforts than a new face with a new name.
Howard, I posted a different view from Fine’s of the same world here.
I covered a bit about BackFence on my blog as well. I found that it did not have a lot of community features that connected the reader to the site/locality in a meaningful way. Also, trying to capture an established community takes some time before it is self-sustainable.