The conference focused on the community of independent, hyperlocal news sites and how the market for such businesses has progressed. A lot of the discussion among attendees was about the support network for small (even one person operations) and what the future looks like for these hyperlocal businesses.
After reading this piece, I really saw the tangible benefits of having a conference for and organization like LION. Being able to meet with others who are on the same path or have similar goals offers encouragement, boosts morale, and allows for an exchange of ideas.
The conference event that I liked the most was the "round-robin where
publishers took turns sharing tips about business strategies, branding
and operations." David Boraks of DavidsonNews.net and CorneliusNews.net talked about hosting profitable interaction events like a pub crawl while Kim Clark of NoozHawk suggested getting a mascot (like her stuffed hawk, Scoop) to build a brand. This session seems like a great way to cover a whole host of topics in an open and welcoming setting.
The overall theme of the article is that hyperlocal is a tough field that often gets a lot of coverage when business is hurting and very little coverage when business is going well. Hyperlocal publishers seem happy about working in a world without Patch and plan to continue working their butts off to achieve their goals and keep hyperlocal news strong.
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