First of all, I want to say a big thank you to all of you, my readers. When I started this blog last year, I had no idea the type of interest there would be in my perspective in Camden, or that you would so generously share your own perspectives. I appreciate that, and it’s one of the things that keeps me coming back to this little blog day after day. 

I’ve been working with my team to enact some exciting changes here at the Local Knowledge Blog. A big shout-out to Rutgers student Marcus Biddle (@biddle_marcus) who has been helping me and writing the Camden Chatter pieces and other writing/community projects. 

Here’s what we have in store for the summer. 

1) More cross posting. I’ve been hearing from a lot of really talented writers whose material overlaps. I’d love to connect those folks to my readership. I’m thinking of South Jerseyist, SJPlanner, Camden Writes (Marcus’ new project) and more.

That group tends to be pretty wonky, so we’ll also be continuing our mission of providing a megaphone for Camden voices as well. The focus there will be on “meeting people where they’re at.” That leads to: 

2) Continuing our Camden Chatter series, which gathers comments from social media to highlight local opinions and thoughts on recent news. PhD Candidate Christopher Wheeler did an amazing job with that series all year, and Marcus Biddle picked up right where he left off. But Marcus and I are also reaching out to others for guest posts. One of the most exciting opportunities is with Hopeworks ‘n Camden, where we are working on a project to highlight youth in videos about their trauma projects over the summer. 

3) “Meeting people where they’re at” also means finding more mediums to share and comment on material. Our most read posts are shared primarily through Facebook. That’s why we’ve launched a Local Knowledge Blog Facebook page, which we’ll be updating. “Like” us if you want – it’s another way to get your daily fix of local knowledge.

4) The wider education community is increasingly looking to some of the very problematic things happening in Camden. I think it’s exciting to see folks such as Mother Crusader, Diane Ravitch, Edushyster and others taking a closer look at Camden, and it’s even better when local voices find their way to those forums. It’s been an honor to connect to these and others doing heavy lifting on education. I hope to continue to connect with these authors, and help connect them to the issues of Camden residents. 

Photo by April Saul. Check out her Facebook page: Camden, NJ: A Spirit Invincible

5) I’ve also been working to link to other platforms, to help connect some of the issues here to national and state audiences. Part of that happens at Next City, my favorite urban news and analysis source. And I’ve also been invited to cross-post over at Blue Jersey, the mecca of all things Jersey and Progressive. It’s an exciting opportunity to step back from the minutiae and connect the dots to wider trends.

6) I’ve really enjoyed a couple of writers who have sent in their city stories. It’s some of the best writing on the site, and a nice change of pace from policy analysis. More please!

7) Lastly, this blog will continue to try to address key policy issues, key events through the city, and be a place for local voices to get their thoughts out. Please consider writing!

I’m super excited to see where the summer takes us, and to share all of these exciting announcements with you. If you have any ideas about where this project can go, please drop them in the comments or send me an email. Thanks for reading!