Slushpile Links: No Gas-Out, Listserves and BostonNOW

Hi folks -- I still have to finish talking about the milblogs conference (in the meantime, I uploaded some more pics into my public gallery), as well as talk about some other things.

It'll have to wait until tomorrow (for real this time) -- for now, here are a couple items in my slushpile, the list of links that I might want to blog about:

* "Why one-day gasoline 'boycott' won't work" -- this MSNBC article looks into the proposed one-day gas boycott meme that surfaces periodically in e-mail chain letters (and now blogs -- this one is scheduled for May 15), and the economic reasons why it simply wouldn't work, even if  by some miracle everyone did it.

* E-Mail Listserves: Still Kicking -- This Washington Post article examines the use of neighborhood e-mail listserves, which still thrive for local discussions.

Blogs and mobile messaging are the sexy topics du jour, but there's still a place for good old-fashioned e-mail listserves in the mix of online community and social media, especially centered around a neighborhood (with additional risks of nosy neighbors and nasty spats with the people down the street)

* "A Boston Newspaper Prints What the Local Bloggers Write" -- A New York Times article that talks about a Boston paper, BostonNOW, a free daily print newspaper that is featuring works submitted by local bloggers.

It's a trade (hopefully fair) -- the newspaper gets hyperlocally relevant content and the bloggers get attention to their words and blogs (though no money -- though the paper is looking at ways to compensate contributors).

It's another experiment in both citizen journalism and how to keep print papers relevant.

(As an aside, tut-tut NYT, for hyperlinking every site mentioned in the story except for the BostonNOW site.)

Thanks -- Joe

Tags: slushpile, citizen journalism, listserves, online community, bostonnow, gas out