When I first came to Silicon Valley — like a lot of other people — I kept looking for it. Never came up with anything. It’s not like New York, with Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, the subway, Central Park. Lots of places define it. Or New Orleans with Bourbon Street, cable cars, Cafe du Monde, the Mississippi River, the Audubon Zoo or Superdome. Or Los Angeles with the Hollywood sign.
Okay hold that thought.
Now stop and ask yourself: Where is the blogging capital of the world?
For all we know it could be Berkeley, California, USA.
It’s definitely up for grabs.
Sooooo, if you were going to compete to become the world HQ of blogging, what would it look like? Last night a friend was telling me that I was arrogant, in a nice way — which I took as a compliment. I really think I’m audacious. I learned early in life that the hard part of doing something big is deciding to do it. From there it’s often a lot easier than people think it is.
Anyway — the answer, imho, is to have a public newsroom. A place that bloggers flock to to become part of the real world virtual conversation. A place they can talk their idea over with other bloggers the same way that reporters and editors collaborate in a newsroom.
There certainly are enough empty storefronts in Berkeley. I’d chip in a few thou. Who else? How much would it cost to bootstrap a Berkeley blogging headquarters?
Posted by Dave Winer on October 26, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I’ve had people respond to me on Twitter as if this were an entirely serious post.
I’m not saying one way or the other.