FlexRex: Fictional Blogger

“When I feel mean, I think, ‘If you have something to say, why aren’t you blogging? And if you don’t have anything to say, why are you talking to me?’” says Mike Merrill of urbanhonking.com, a collection of 50 active bloggers posting everything from writing to visual art and music to movies. “You don’t need a reason to blog, you need a reason not to blog,” he adds. Urban Honking began as a web magazine, but according to the site, getting people to write articles was difficult. “The blog phenomenon started and breathed new life into UrHo,” explains Merrill.

A blog may still call to mind its original mainstream use: an online diary, the place an individual could rant and rave, sometimes about political issues, often about daily injustices and delights considered trivial. That kind is still popular. J.D. Roth, the creator of the personal finance site getrichslowly.org/blog, says that his favorite blogs belong to his family and friends. “I love the added glimpses into their lives. It’s a way to keep in touch when we go weeks or months at a time without seeing each other,” he says. But the medium is growing and changing, and Portland is home to some polished blogs—and bloggers—of which Merrill and Roth are just two.

When asked to name the blogs she reads the most, Lisa Radon of ultrapdx.com—which examines the intersections of fashion, design, culture and fine art through features, photo editorials and a blog—noted that none are personal journals. Her favorites “employ the technology to make interesting online publications...We used to call these online publications ‘webzines.’ The technology changed and they’re called ‘blogs.’ But I still call what I do ‘writing.’”

Indeed, the bloggers we interviewed dissected the meduim as they might any written communication. People interested in moving businesses to the Rose City “have seen ultra as a barometer of what’s happening in Portland in fashion, design, culture, as well as the creative entrepreneurial climate,” Radon says.

Nick Zukin of foodie favorite extramsg.com explains that because there are no space limitations on a website, he can share a lot more information than print publications can: “I can post ultra-detailed reports about each and every dish I eat, if I want. I can show a photo of each. I can post a copy of the menu...And little dives, taquerias, pho shops, etc, that are only occasionally reviewed in the mainstream media are as likely to be reviewed... And that makes a real difference to those often struggling businesses.”

Chris Smith started portlandtransit.com, a nonprofit blog that “cross-pollinates” the “modal silos” from bikers and pedestrians to drivers and bus riders along the Portland transportation landscape. He knows his site is playing a role in local government: “Several members of the Metro Council are regular readers [and a couple have contributed posts]...I’ve also seen material from our site printed out and carried into government meetings by elected officials.”

Does it offer new useful perspectives or information? Brian Libby, a journalist who created portlandarchitecture.com, “wanted to be able to respond within minutes to a breaking news story if applicable, but also to say, ‘I rode my bike past this old building and took a picture. Doesn’t it look cool?’” The American Institute of Architects offered to sponsor his blog if it would “stimulate dialogue about local design,” a mission AIA members believed could be accomplished through blogging.

Radon observes that there is little to no conversation about design online or in print—a problem ultra seeks to address. “When it comes to fashion, primarily you’ll find talk about shopping, which is not the same thing. Apparel design deserves the same kind of serious consideration in Portland that it receives elsewhere,” she contends.

Rich Brueckner started overheardinpdx.blogspot.com, to which people can post unusual snippets of conversations overheard around Portland. Bruecker refers to the bumper sticker motto “Keep Portland Weird” when saying that his site “really brings it home.” Sun Microsystems, for which he also blogs as a fulltime employee, calls blogging a “competitive weapon” in marketing. “People don’t buy big expensive things from companies—they buy from people with whom they have relationships,” Brueckner reasons. This is probably why big corporate Web sites and shopping pages are now incorporating blogs more and more.

Still, blogging will always be fueled by the grassroots spirit. “However small your readership may be, the technology allows your writing to be commented upon and potentially continued conversationally,” Libby observes.