April 27: Rosie The Writer Says, "YOU Can Blog It"

Good morning, Little Neck! With the weather finally beginning to feel like spring (even summer, with a high yesterday in Central Park of 83 degrees!) and with signs that the economy is finally turning a corner into full-fledged recovery, there's a definite feeling of change in the air of late.

So it is with Little Neck Patch. 

On May 4, things are going to look a bit different around here. For starters, our readers will notice a new feature our site — an asset not found anywhere else in local news:

You.

While we're still providing up-to-date news and information, we're looking for members of the community to add their voices to Little Neck Patch.

So in a special edition appearing today only, here are your 5 Things You Need To Know About Becoming A Little Neck Patch Blogger (wow, that's a mouthful!):

1. There are already plenty of ways to contribute to Patch — by leaving comments on our articles, by posting to our events calendar, by posting announcements and by taking part in our Q&A forum. But now we're introducing a new site section for community blogs. And we want you to be a part of it.

2. We don't have a lot of hard requirements around what we're looking for in a blog outside of this: it's got to be interesting and relevant to Little Neck residents. Got something to say about life in Little Neck and beyond, or news to spread? Need a forum for your community group? Just eager to share your views? Then read on and see if a Little Neck Patch blog is right for you.

3. What kind of blogs we're looking for: Well, just about anything, if there's a local hook. Got perspective on how the community's changed over the years? Want a place to showcase your cool photos from around town? Need an online newsletter for your community group? Got favorite recipes to share, or books to recommend? All of those sound like contenders to us.

4. Opinions are awesome, particularly well-thought-out ones, backed up with facts. But personal insults, unfounded claims and defamation aren't what we're looking for. When opinions get strong and contentious, it's not always clear where the fine lines are drawn, but we're more than happy to help guide you through those murky waters. And as long as your intention is to keep things above-board, we're happy to have you on the site.

5. We see our coming blogs as a bit different than our staff- and freelancer-produced content — which is to say, we don't expect to do a lot of heavy editing. We'll be keeping an eye out for anything inappropriate, and trying to cultivate an atmosphere that's constructive, with a lot of diverse views aired in useful ways —but we're not planning to do a lot of line-by-line tweaking of your material. If we've got a serious concern with a submission, we'll let you know — but other than that, it's your words coming through, not ours.

If that sounds good to you, email paul.leonard@patch.com, and we'll start the conversation. If you've got a sample of the type of writing you'd like to do, send it along as well.