YourArlington.com

About

YourArlington.com is an experiment in community journalism dedicated to reporting news about Arlington, Mass., and the Arlington-related views of its residents. The experiment not unique but is part of a nationwide movement called "citizen journalism." The phrase gained currency through We the Media, a 2004 book by Dan Gillmor. This kind of journalism encourages members of a community to write about that community. The writing may be reporting, or it may be opinion.

Bob Sprague (sprague.bob at gmail.com) , an Arlington resident since 1989, acts as a liberal guardian about what is posted on the site.

He encourages factual reporting, honest opinion and overall fair play. He urges town residents to register and tell the public what they know. When you sign up, provide your first and last name as well as your Arlington address. On this site, the public has a right to know the sources of information. Anonymous sources may be used in some cases, but when you post to this site, public should know your full name.

The site launched Dec. 10, 2006. As of March 28, 2010, 434 people had registered, allowing them to post to the site. On Jan. 14, 2010, Boston.com added Arlington to its Your Town links and began linking to YourArlington stories. In November 2009, the site migrated to Joomla 1.5.15. In May 2009, it added a new opinion site, called Your View, after beginning to use a new template in May. In April 2008, the OpenX online-advertising system was installed.On June 9, 2008, the site was incorporated in Massachusetts. In July, the site activated its newsletters and in September its automated e-mail update -- both via Acajoom.

In 2007, the site's blog went live in July. Google ads were added the following month. The ability for users to post comments was added in September. A new site template was activated in late October that year.

Those who would like to help with the site should inquire. If others volunteer, the photo above could become smaller, and other photos may be added, making the site a better representation of "us."

Credits

Arlington residents who help this site as volunteers are:

Scott Samenfeld. See his work at www.samenfeldconsulting.com. Contact him at info@samenfeldconsulting.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . He heads a group that meets monthly in Malden to discuss Joomla issues. Find out about that at www.samenfeldconsulting.com/bjoomug/index.php;
Colin Campbell, a student at Suffolk University; and

* Various advanced students from the classes of Kim Eudenbach, a journalism teacher at Arlington High School.

First kachingled on:
Mar 29, 2010

Photo Credit:

Medallion