h/t to local writer Jane Muder for pointing out another local queer blog …. http://www.tonystimeout.outonline.com/ written by OUT publisher Tony Molnar-Strejcek. It is more of a personal blog than a newsy blog, but it is good to have another perspective on life in queer Pittsburgh out there.
I had suggested to Jane that it would be great to see OUT utilizing Web 2.0 resources to provide more up to date content on local LGBT news. They do a pretty good job using podcasts to cover the entertainment/events aspect of local queer life, but tackling that news component would be great. Still, someone has to pay for it. It being content written by local professional writers.
Let me add that I'm not talking about myself. I like my opinions too much to tame them to the demands of any local newspaper. But Jane and other local gays should be writing online.
Plans are underfoot on a national level to organize and train LGBTQ bloggers as advocates, with funding someone connected to the Progressive Insurance company (my insurer – yeah!). They are only accepting 35 applicants this year. That's not even one per state so the odds of Pittsburgh being included are pretty slim. Yet, the dearth of online queer voices makes it even more imperative that we find ways to better utilize web technology to promote our agenda.
It would be nice.
I liked reading Tony's blog, but I agree that we need more timely sources of news. The local orgs get the word out on events and potlucks, but there is little in the way of informed commentary or analysis. In fact, they tend to shy away from issues.
The Post-Gazette is supposed to be bringing on board a whole slew of bloggers. Maybe they will beat OUT to the punch and start something gay.