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Week of Thursday, March 4, 2004Blogger defining By CHARLIE KONDEK If you’d like to know what the coolest things about Ypsi are, you might just find them on the Internet. A few tech-savvy individuals have created Ypsi-centric "blogs" or web logs, online journals of their thoughts and experiences. And now one of them, Seat of the Revolution, is hosting an online survey of the Coolest of Ypsilanti. Voting runs until March 15, at which time the totals will be tallied, so steer your web browser to www.seat.defcode.com and scroll down to participate and make your voice heard. Seat of the Revolution gathered more than 600 nominations via the web for the various categories in the survey, which include Coolest Radio Station (WEMU and WSDS are among the nominees), Coolest Festival (including Elvis Fest and Heritage Fest) and Ypsilantian of the Year (including Mayor Cheryl Farmer and historian James Thomas Mann). It also includes categories for Creepiest Cemetery (did you know there was a cemetery in Prospect Park?) and Most Depressing Storefront (like the former Cross Street Station and Gianni’s Coney Island). Steve Cherry, Ypsi resident and creator of Seat of the Revolution, got the idea for the survey together with Laura Bien, who maintains her own blog, Ypsi~Dixit (ypsidixit.diaryland.com). "We found the ‘Best-of’ lists in Metro Detroit and Washtenaw County publications lacking in things Ypsilanti," Cherry said. "I decided to seize this opportunity and make the whole thing happen." The survey is indicative of a phenomenon in cyber-space. All across the world, millions of people use web logs to publish items about their personal life or ideas on everything from hobbies to politics. The Ypsi survey shows that a few blogs with common interests have formed the basis of an internet-based community that cares about Ypsilanti and has plenty to say about it. At both Seat of the Revolution and Ypsi~Dixit, visitors can post messages commenting on the items that appear there, and these frequently amount to large conversations about the topics covered. Cherry certainly sees his blog as having an impact on the future of his community. "I created the ‘Seat of the Revolution’ to be a focal point for young, progressive, politically aware people to learn what’s possible through grassroots participation and communication on a local level," he said. And he feels, judging by the participation at his and Bartlett’s site, that his efforts come at a crucial time for Ypsi. "The fear is that Ypsilanti will rapidly swing from ‘edgy’ and ‘blue collar’ to a gentrified country-club-bedroom-community with corporate anchor stores, over-funded police, and soul-less building codes," Cherry said. Bien shares Cherry’s passion for Ypsi and his belief in the power of the net. She described Ypsi~Dixit as "a smoky back room where discontented activists, armchair activists and proto-activists can gather to compare notes and Planning Commission meeting dates in order to try and make a voice heard in the public sphere." Bien also believes Ypsi’s blue-collar character is in danger of being "gentrified." "There’s another side to the not unlikeable scrungy aspect of Ypsi – it’s the kind of environment where something like the 555 gallery-studio complex can grow, which I recently rapturously commented on on my blog," she said. Mark Maynard is another blogger with his heart in Ypsi (MarkMaynard.com). Maynard, publisher of the arts magazine Crimewave USA, uses his blog as a way to "capture his thoughts without them getting lost." He believes it’s a "great time to be an Ypsilantian" and describes his hometown this way: "Ypsilanti is like Twin Peaks without the beauty. At its best, it is a wonderful, magical place, full of potential and heart." Maynard said, "I like the spirit of Ypsi. I like the history. I like the fact that it hasn’t, for whatever reason, been overtaken by the sameness that seems to run rampant elsewhere. There’s a sense of community here, and I think that’s reflected in the blogs that have sprung up the last few years, like YpsiDixit and the Seat of Revolution. People care about this community, and they’re willing to put the work in to make it even better." |
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