South Florida Blogging

This past Monday I had the opportunity to sit down with some of Miami's local bloggers to catch an early bird of Miami Herald's new section that showcases bloggers in South Florida.
The site, an aggregator, features more than 200 blogs across South Florida, to include blogs from the New Times, Miami Herald and the Sun-Sentinel along with local bloggers like yours truly.

You may be thinking, "yeah, well, so what?" Yes the Sun-Sentinel already has something similar, but this is far more interactive than a list that is lost on a website. Each blog is in a category (or two) and if you are interested in a certain blog, like parenting, you can click on that section and it will bring up all the blog posts that have recently been updated. You can rate the entry, see the ones with the most comments, etc. And if you click on the "read more" section, it takes you too the blog. So those of you fellow bloggers don't have to worry about your traffic going down.

"How do I know the Herald isn't publishing blogs it approves of?" The system is automated to pull from rss feeds. And if the Herald is willing to post blogs that are critical of it, like Herald Watch then you can be rest assured that you will be included as well. As long as your blog isn't focused on selling things/advertising things.

It's really cool to see that the mainstream media are becoming more accepting of social media now. Don't get me wrong, nothing can replace tried-and-true successful journalism, but that industry is not just tied to paper and ink anymore. Plus it was nice to sit down with Vice Queen Maria, Carlos Miller, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Mango and Lime, Brickell Life, and Dayngrous Discourse and hear everyone's idea.

Miami needs to get creative

On August 9, the Miami Herald reported that hotel taxes dropped 24% in February, compared to a 17% drop in January. This is serious guys. With all the economic worries, it's assumed that tourism will drop, but when it's a lifeblood of the local economy, this spells disaster. Looking at the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor's Bureau's, 2007 Economic Impact study 17,117.9 billion dollars was generated by tourism in 2007, feeding jobs and economic growth. With these numbers dropping through the floors, not only will South Beach be a bit quieter, but so will all the rest of the city, as monies dry up for community improvement.

If that's not enough, the bureau's findings on employment in the tourism sector shows that jobs have been steadily declining since March of 2008.

What does that mean for the 5th poorest city in the United States? It means that we have a huge problem looming over us. This is not the time for one of our primary industries to tank. So what does Miami-Dade and the State of Florida do about this? This is what I think. The city and state need to work together to create a long-term strategic plan to bring people back into Miami. We can no longer rely on our pretty beaches and palm trees to make money for us. We need to become a city that lures businesses in, but that is going to take more than tax breaks.

I challenge anyone to tell me why someone would want to relocate a business to an area with a bleeding school system, one of the lowest levels of college graduates in the country, a transient work force and a prime location for hurricanes. Of this list, only one is out of our control. If we create a system where education and community service are priorities, and skilled workers are compensated on the same average as their peers in other parts of the country, we will see more people remaining in our community. We will cultivate future community leaders who will give back in time, volunteerism or donations to organizations that reach out to under-served communities. We will also show the rest of the country that Miami is worth investing in, bringing business to our shores and thus bringing in a long-term thriving work force, who realize we are more than Wet Willies, Miami Vice and South Beach.

Clearly these are not the only things that need to be done, but we need to be proactive and look at the first things that need to be changed now in order to bring long-term stable profitability into our community.

/rant

Baby, it's cold outside

I am sure that all my friends in the northern part of the country will appreciate that This is the main story on the Miami Herald's website.

It is, by our standards, pretty bloody cold outside though. I went back for my jacket for sure. But is it cold enough to be the main story in all the news outlets? I'm not so sure...

Not Cool

I understand that sometimes crocodiles freak people out. I also understand that people will do stupid things for a variety of reasons, but This is just disgusting.

Yes I graduated from UM and at times saw the crocs. I understand they are freaky to see, but to butcher one, especially one that big, that's sick. And it also suggests that there were multiple people involved.

All I know is if this is a joke about our rival, the Gators, it's not funny.

Another only in South Fla Story...

The Miami Herald crime blog is reporting this one and it's pretty good. It didn't happen in Miami but it's close enough! The composite sketch is fantastic too. And it's a great headline:

Cross dresser snags purse, loses "breast"

Port St. Lucie, home to the NY Mets Spring Training and cross dressing purse snatchers.

Miami-Dade Transit - Anyone can drive!

This is one of the best stories lately to come out of Miami-Dade. James L. Harris, a metrobus aficionado, has been arrested TWICE for taking metrobuses and driving them around the greater Miami area. He not only drove to Florida City, but picked up passengers along Collins Avenue and I hear only charged 25 cents per passenger. What a deal! I say, good for Mr. Harris! He's not hurting anyone and really likes buses - and is willing to give a discount in these tough economic times. He's been involved in bus disputes and routes for years and he's only 18! Who knows what the future holds for him - but I think it's in transportation. I know this story has been mentioned elsewhere, but it's definitely a misadventure in my book and unique to Miami. A "Only in Florida" moment as I like to call them. Click here to read today's saga in the Herald of Mr. James L. Harris, "bus fanatic."

Iguanas, part deux

so apparently everyone hates iguanas.

Only in Miami would this be on the front of the local newspaper's website.





They do get freaky big though. I spotted these guys over at the little house in Coral Gables, across from the golf course.

South Beach nonsense

Of course this would happen on South Beach.

What else do you expect from an area promoted as a den of clubs, sex and drugs. Really

South Florida Crime

I realize strange things happen everywhere, but really, this is rediculous.

I wanted to have a mini-blog within a blog about odd news in South Florida, but But the Miami Herald has one already

Enjoy!

Weird SoFla legislation

Sometimes reading the news makes me shake my head

Seriously? This is what we are talking about between education budget cuts and the South Florida brain drain....