The Ramble: Bloggers in Birmingham and what it means now

The Magic City is definitely buzzing with conversation. These conversations don’t just take place at Art on the Rocks, sitting at Lucy’s Coffee & Tea, hanging out at the Bottletree Café or taking in the view from atop Vulcan’s viewing area. Or just in Five Points West, Ensley or Roebuck Springs. There are several people in cyberspace that are working towards making sure that people know about the Magic City… all of it.

We’ve talked before about the power of blogging and the influence that we have on how an area is perceived from the outside. Many of us focus on the positive that is taking place in the area, and some of us are quick to offer suggestions as to how to make our city better. The number of people with a blog and a comment continues to grow. I figured I’d take a look around the web and see who else has joined talking about similar topics since I joined the blogging universe nearly a year ago. The results are surprising.

For those regular readers of the Ramblings, there are some that you are already familiar with. Wade Kwon is probably the most read on the list, as Wade on Birmingham provides the perspective of a Birmingham newsman born and raised in the metropolitan area. Curtis Palmer’s Musings on Birmingham provides snippets into the happenings of our region. Trav of Bryants of Bham visited the site yesterday asking a question about the Neon in Birmingham series. BTW, I will be adding links to map locations to all of the previous entries that do not currently have them this weekend. While I admit that I have not been a frequent reader of their blog since its creation in April, I am intrigued by the similarities in comments made on several issues in recent months. We also recently posted about Charles Buchanan’s recently joining in on the blogging parade with Pop Goes the City. Plan B for Birmingham seems to have an insider’s perspective on some of the political wrangling taking place, but occasionally tries to shine the light on what’s going on. And there are numerous people that inhabit the list of the Birmingham Combloggerator that choose to occasionally write about the city in their online diaries.

There always seems to be a focus on the negative in society. Maybe it really is a factor in selling newspapers; if you don’t talk about the bad, then there’s no point. Or is there something more? In this town, most bloggers are trying to make a difference as to the perceptions of the city and of all that it has to offer. It’s probably a weird concept, but it is something that is desperately needed. Hopefully with all of us writing from atop our perches, we can help change those old perceptions. We may be able to also change those perceptions that people don’t want to see a change. Similar to that new altruistic site, Linkie Winkie, the idea sharing links to share the information is helping Birmingham regain its magic.

Cheers.