I've been at this job, working with all of you on a daily basis, for five months now.  That means that these blogs have existed with a Community Content Coordinator now for the same amount of time that they existed, post-launch, without such a position in place.  While some of you remain wistful for the old days, I am heartened by the occasional comment that grudgingly acknowledges that things are at least a bit nicer around here lately, and that that's not a bad thing.

We come here with different ideas, opinions, experiences, and passions, looking for a chance to talk, to debate, to connect, to express.  Sometimes things can get intense, especially when the subject matter turns to the realms of politics or faith.  But we find points of connection over the little details of life as well, the incomplete home improvement project, the bad day at work, the great meal had at a favorite restaurant, a quiet moment with family.

We build the community we want to be here.  We live the example we want others to follow here.  We don't have to agree with each other, and that's fine.  That's life.  But if we choose to be here, if we choose to participate, then we take responsibility for ourselves and this community.  Just last week, five regular site users, from across the political spectrum, reported the same content as violating our Terms of Use.  They took responsibility for the health of this site, and acted.

Though we have our problematic moments, we're doing pretty good.  I'm writing this at the end of a week that saw the tech-blogosphere up in arms over death threats and sexual threats made against one prominent woman techblogger on a groupblog run by other prominent techbloggers.  In the realm of newspaper.coms, the Orange County Register recently joined the growing list of media sites to struggle with comment boards on news articles taken over by anonymous spewers of profanity and epithets.

Recent events in the blogosphere have prompted some to organize and name tomorrow, Friday, March 30, as Stop CyberBullying Day.  Bloggers from across various segregated niches--the techbloggers, the educationbloggers, the mediabloggers, the mombloggers, the politicalbloggers, etc., etc.--will spend tomorrow talking about how to make their chosen online homes look and behave as they would wish them to, without bullying, without harassment, without fear.

For all our little problems and flare-ups, I know that we're doing pretty well here.  For that, I thank you, and I look forward to continuing the work with you.

Location: 1600 20th St., Bakersfield, CA 93301

Hopefully, chillin' over a cup of coffee with us at Dagny's!

Bakersfield.com Blogger/Commenter Meet-Up

3:30 to 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Dagny's Coffee Company

20th and Eye Streets, Downtown

We provide the drinks and food, you provide the talk and company.  This is the first of a continuing series of B.commer events, so keep watching this space!  And as always, email me with ideas--and to let me know if you think you'll be making an appearance!

BTW, don't forget to sign up for the n-gage e-newsletter to keep up with all things interactive on B.com, in your inbox every Thursday morning after 10 a.m.  If that's not incentive enough for you, click here to subscribe and be entered for a chance to win a $25 Borders giftcard. And to be featured in a future n-gage blogger profile, click here.

Today I had the honor of representing Bakersfield.com, along with newsroom blogger Steve Swenson and interactive media marketing manager Mary Russo, at the United Way of Kern County's 17th annual Professional Development Conference for Nonprofits.  Steve was on a panel about how nonprofit organizations can use blogs for outreach, communication, networking and fund- and consciousness-raising, with professional blogger/nonprofit consultant Britt Bravo.  We were there to encourage local nonprofits to use the B.com blogs to get their message out to a hometown audience of potential volunteers, donors and clients.

We already have had a handful of community organizations and individual activists/volunteers use their blogs here as another tool for publicizing their social change work and garnering support.  Matt Ray has written about his medical mission work with Healing Hands for Haiti.  Leon Conley has written about youth mentoring.  Bakersfield Pet Care has been trying to garner support for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.  David Ebel blogs about the Salvation Army's local good works.  In the past, AnimalMedTeam has blogged about adopting pets from local shelters.  Two local nonprofit organizations, the Fox Theater Foundation and CASA of Kern County, have also started blogs here.  We hope that more local groups working for our community choose to use this forum as a way of both getting their message out and getting feedback from the people of the areas they serve.

Nonprofit blogger Britt Bravo, who writes at Have Fun Do Good and at NetSquared ("remixing the web for social change"), shared "10 ways nonprofits can use blogs and bloggers to support their cause" and "5 tips to start a nonprofit blog" that are great blogger-food-for-thought, even if you don't work in the nonprofit sector.  This morning was a great reminder that, for all the heated discussions that go on here on Bakersfield.com, blogging isn't just about debate and argument--that this technology can help us go beyond mere words, to action, and to change.  There are amazing organizations and individuals, in this community and beyond, doing hard, needed work for little pay or recognition because they believe in working for change.  Check out what they're doing, online and off, and be inspired.

Many of the long-time regulars here may remember "Bakosphere," from our Typepad-hosted staff-blog days.  Started under the radar in December of 2005 by a team of staffers from TBC's interactive media department and the newsroom webteam, Bakosphere was a bunch of different things.  Both a blogroll of locally written weblogs and a sort of Bakersfield-media-watch, where you could find interesting mentions of the city and its denizens from both the mainstream media and the blogosphere from which it took its name, the blog enjoyed a strong run for over half a year, even after we moved all other staff blogs onto Bakersfield.com in June and let our former commenters become bloggers in their own right.  Early this fall, however, we let it fall silent.

That is, until now.  The Bakersfield-centric blogosphere has continued to grow in Bakosphere's absence, and there are still quirky Kern County stories being told beyond our borders, waiting to be linked to.  And let's face it, the name is awesome.  "Bakosphere."  We still love it, and the idea behind it.

And so, we bring it to you, now.  We know we want to bring Bakosphere back.  What we want to know from you is how, and in what form, and for what purpose?  What did you like about the old Bakosphere?  What didn't you like, and why?  What would you want to see in a revamped, revitalized, reborn Bakosphere?  Is it a a blogroll?  Is it a "media watch" at the intersection of Bakersfield and popular culture?  Is it a round-up of what's happening in the local blogopshere, however that "local" is defined?  What do you want it to be?

Comment here, email me, just let us know.  And thank you in advance.

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BTW, two quick reminders:

One, if you haven't already signed up to get n-gage, our weekly e-newsletter of all things interactive on B.com, click here to get on the list before this Thursday's edition.  Last week, you missed a great profile of blogger AudreyB.  Click here if you want to be featured in a future profile.

Two, don't forget that our first in a continuing series of casual blogger get-togethers is scheduled for Saturday, March 17, from 3:30 to 6 p.m., at Dagny's Coffee Company, at the corner of 20th and Eye.  (You could even go with your new real-life friends from the meet-up to Bakotopia's CD release party a few blocks over afterwards!)

Location: 1600 20th St., Bakersfield, CA 93301

We've been talking about it for a while, and now we finally have a date!  The first of a continuing series of Bakersfield.com blogger meet-ups will be on Saturday, March 17 (yes, St. Patrick's Day) at 3:30 p.m. at Dagny's Coffee Company on the corner of 20th and Eye Streets downtown.

Whether you write on the blogs daily or you're an occasional lurker, this is a chance for us to get out from behind our keyboards and monitors and chill and chat IRL (that's "in real life" in computer speak) over coffee and snacks (our treat!).

If you can't come this time, don't worry, because we're planning to make this a regular occurrence.  I'll be posting reminders here and in the n-gage newsletter (click here to sign up to get it)--if you think you'll be coming, let me know via email so we can make nametags with your blog handles on them.  Also, ideas for future offline events (and days and times that work for you) are always welcome.

I look forward to meeting you in person!