The Colchester Chronicle is a hyperlocal blog that covers Britain’s Oldest Recorded Town. It was launched in January 2012 by Jason Cobb, a local resident living in the borough. The aim of The Chronic is to capture Colchester in a snapshot each day, covering local council matters, arts, traders and anything else that comes our way.
The idea behind the blog came about from the belief that this is a great town in which to live and work. It is a town with a tremendous sense of history, and a future that is already mapped out with developments such as firstsite, the growth of the football club and the continued ability to attract both new visitors and residents.
In short, Colchester is a place that needs celebrating right now. Sure, not everything is perfect, but there’s no point in making a list and then just moaning about what might have been. Colchester is a town that somehow continually manages to punch above its weight, and to also provide a very decent way of life for most residents.
As a hyperlocal blog, The Chronic is keen to capture something of this spirit. We hope to offer a fair and balanced view of Colchester Borough Council developments, but we are equally keen to help to promote anyone in Colchester that is doing something really interesting in the town.
This may be as blatant as a plug for an independent local business, or perhaps a profile for a local artist or band. Towns that continue to develop are often the ones that tend to be able to talk themselves up. There is no harm in self-promotion and The Chronic is incredibly keen to offer a platform for folk who want to celebrate this place in which we live.
Currently The Chronic is published as a labour of love in-between any spare working hours. If you are interested in discussing possible sponsorship opportunities with The Chronic for your Colchester business or group, please contact us for an informal conversation. We don’t operate off rate cards; we would rather talk about ways that The Chronic can help to raise the profile of your organisation. Contact us for a chat, or invite us out for an informal coffee. We can provide user stats, but would rather talk about co-operation.
And finally…
If you feel inspired / aggrieved / short changed by what you are reading in The Chronic, please do think about starting up a similar hyperlocal project. Co-operation and collaboration is what it is all about at this level. The greater number of hyperlocal blogs for a particular patch can only lead to positive ways of working. Starting a network helps to bring about change; building a formal organisation often slows this process down.
There is a superb guide to starting up a hyperlocal site that has been put together by @4journalism. You can download the PDF over here. Much of what is contained inside explains the tech infrastructure and the editorial ethos behind The Chronic.
Welcome to the world of hyperlocal.
