When Petra Symister moved from Chelsea to Bedford-Stuyvesant she lost her sense of community - but blogging cured her loneliness.
"I feel more connected to this neighborhood by blogging than I did in nine years living in Chelsea," she said.
Symister created the Bed-Stuy Blog 14 months ago, joining a Brooklyn-based network of citizen and professional writers, photographers and videographers who leave the comfort of their computer desks to meet in person every year at the Brooklyn Blogfest.
Last week, the Brooklyn Lyceum hosted the third annual event, which was started by Louise ("Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn") Crawford in 2006 to put virtual names to actual faces.
"We were calling each other by our blog names," said Crawford, whose blog is four years old. "We're not that sort of cyber-weird. People come out from behind their computers and meet up."
This year's blogfest attracted hundreds of people who blog, want to blog or find blogging interesting. The event also featured guest speakers from online and print media, as well as video montages and a "Shout-Out" where bloggers new to the scene could announce their names - and URLs.
Start connecting with the bloggers of Brooklyn here:
- The Gowanus Lounge (www.gowanuslounge.com): Started by Robert Guskind in April 2006, the Gowanus Lounge covers real estate, development and other news across the borough with original reporting, multimedia packages and links. "I started a blog on a whim," said Guskind. "Now, this is what I do for a living."
- Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn (onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.typepad.com): Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn knows Park Slope particularly well. "My blog is for people who are addicted to where they live," Crawford said.
- Bed-Stuy Blog (www.bedstuyblog.com): Symister started the Bed-Stuy Blog to let people know what was going on in her neighborhood. What started out as a place for events listings grew into a blog about the neighborhood.
- Brownstoner (www.brownstoner.com): Brownstoner tackles Brooklyn real estate from the art of the backyard garden to navigating home sales. The blog, started in October 2004 by Jonathan Butler, includes daily features, original reporting and links.
- Atlantic Yards Report (atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com):Norman Oder's blog chronicles every detail of the Atlantic Yards project, analyzing the media coverage, city involvement and developer Bruce Ratner.
- Bed-Stuy Banana (bedstuybanana.blogspot.com): With camera in hand, Sharon Kwik photographs her slice of Brooklyn. Since 2007, she has chronicled everything from children's Halloween costumes to curbside memorials.
- Kinetic Carnival (kineticcarnival.blogspot.com): Bloggers Omar Robau and Ben Nadler focus on Coney Island past, present and future in words, videos and photos.
- Pardon Me for Asking (pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com): This is the sometimes personal, sometimes political, Carroll Gardens-centric blog of Katia Kelly. "It's nice to know a single voice out there can matter," said Kelly.
- Creative Times (creativetimes.blogspot.com): Eleanor Traubman blogs for women, artists and Brooklyn residents looking for a place to connect with one another. "Blogging is a great vehicle to build community relationships," said Traubman.
- Flatbush Gardener (flatbushgardener.blogspot.com): Chris Kreussling serves as gardener, photographer and writer for this blog that focuses on all things growing and green in Flatbush.
