Image: Trumpet Vine on Block 832Funny, with more ways than ever to share information and viewpoints, Plainfield seems to have fallen asleep this summer.
Bloggers aren't blogging so much and fewer commenters are posting on what used to be a busy online forum. Maybe folks are on vacation or just otherwise occupied, but the community buzz that led to the start of nearly two dozen Plainfield blogs is now lacking.
One new social media entry is Plainfield NJ Community Connect on Facebook. You have to be on Facebook to access it, but more and more local people are on it.
Why is any of this important? Print media coverage is shrinking. Online connections have the advantage of not only informing people, but encouraging action in a more direct way than the so-called "legacy media." That is, if anyone is paying attention and cares to get involved.
The Plainfield YMCA and the Plainfield Vulcan Pioneers are two examples of groups using social media to their advantage. Maybe autumn and the back-to-school season will bring a little more liveliness to the online scene and coverage of city issues. The New Jersey Hyperlocal News Association has information on becoming a "citizen journalist," if you are so inclined.
Let's hang out over the electronic back yard fence a little more this fall, say what's on our minds and maybe organize around some current city causes.
--Bernice
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