As I write this, I’m at 30,000 feet headed to west to attend SXSW V2V. It’s a conference about all kinds of things related to start-up businesses, technology, how people interact on the web, and so on. We’ll learn a ton and probably be inspired to try some crazy new things. Some will work, others will undoubtedly tank; but we will try them anyway and let the data we gather from you tell us what to try next.
Not surprisingly, there are no specific sessions that will provide the magic formula for how to start and run a successful local news site in Richland County, but that’s okay by me. We would rather work with the Richland Source team and our readers to figure that out.
Here’s something I figured out this week: 4-H is awesome. I grew up in the suburbs, which means that livestock was not a part of my upbringing. In fact, when my daughters got two rabbits for Easter several years ago, I was amazed to discover that bunnies make “number two” while hopping through the living room. At the precise moment of that revelation, I made the decision to make our rabbits disappear a few weeks later by giving them away to a magician. True story.
Given that contextual starting point, I was amazed by what I saw at the Richland County Fair livestock auctions last week. For whatever reason, I had never put together all of the things that 4-H teaches young people. Caring for a dependent being, business and sales skills, budgeting, hard work, the value of deferred gratification… it goes on and on. As a result, these kids undoubtedly become better human beings. Bravo to all the volunteers, members, and supporters of 4-H. I hope our coverage made you happy. You sure made us proud of you.
In line with our emerging theme of things that are awesome, make sure you check out the new sections dedicated to our educational and military communities. The people they concern are enormously important to the health of our community. Educators and students all over this county are doing remarkable work every day that goes deeper and farther than any state test can possibly measure. The soldiers in our community? What to say, really? We live among thousands of patriots and heroes who deserve our attention. Look for our best efforts as we cover these two lynchpins in our community.
Thanks for all of your support these past two months, and please don’t be shy. If there’s something going on we should know about, drop us a line at contact@richlandsource.com.
