What’s this, free Internet service and stronger community? Sounds like a winning combination. Steve Pierce and Brian Robb are working diligently to make this a reality in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and I had the pleasure of hearing them speak recently at my neighborhood association meeting. Wireless Ypsi is calling on businesses and citizens to participate, and they’ve made great strides in recent months. Learn more about the organization, and the Meraki technology it uses.
I’m pleased to annnounce that a new feature will appear in The Pulice Report, beginning in May: “Arresting Site or Blog of the Month.” (Couldn’t resist that play on words) I’m doing so to help deserving online destinations generate publicity and increase traffic, and I’ll award Web sites and blogs that, like The Pulice Report, have a Michigan theme or connection. Note that I’m the sole judge and jury, so the pressure is on…me. Other criteria include content, layout, timeliness, and wit.
Nominations for May are due on Monday, April 28, and I’ll reveal the inaugural “Arresting Site or Blog of the Month” award winner on Monday, May 5. Sorry, no cash or prizes are involved, but it’s difficult to put a price on extra attention, isn’t it?! I’ll present future winners on the first Monday of each month, with nominations due one week prior. Please e-mail nominations, with 50 words or less on all the great things readers should know about your site or blog. Good luck, and thanks in advance for participating. Read the full press release.
It’s always one of my favorite events of the year: The Webby Awards. Nominations were announced on Tuesday, and the list holds a trove of worthy contenders in categories that range from Art to Youth. There are plenty of familiar faces represented but, as usual, lots of new, rich offerings. I loved visiting Type City and leafing through The Footprint Chronicles. I’m keeping an eye out for nominees with a Michigan connection, so please let me know if you spot one. Enjoy and explore.
DJ Afrika Bambaataa, Larval, Niagra, and The Polka Floyd. Oh, and Flint’s own Sandra Bernhard as host. That’s only part of the exceptionally diverse, compelling lineup that will take the stage at the 2008 Detroit Fringe Festival, which celebrates “Experimental Music, Art & Fashion” and takes place tomorrow (Saturday), April 5 at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts. Check out the full schedule, and try to get yourself downtown.
Connecting the blind and print-imparied with vital information, the Detroit Radio Information Service continues to do magnificent work in the community. Volunteers read newspapers, magazines, and other material to listeners who hear the broadcast over special radio receivers that tune in this sub-channel of WDET-FM, Detroit Public Radio. I was a volunteer DRIS reader myself, and later was lucky enough to work as Volunteer Coordinator, where I met a host of wonderful people, including longtime director, Kim Walsh. The organization is celebrating 30 years of “Audio Information Excellence” in 2008, so consider supporting this important service by making a donation today.
Belated kudos to the University of Michigan women’s gymnastics team for a resounding victory last Saturday at the Big Ten Championships, its 16th conference title. I took my 4-year-old daughter to the event, and she loved it, as did so many other kids and (mostly) young women. We sat in a section filled with Iowa fans — two of whom (men) were in black & gold face and body paint! — and the enthusiasm for all seven competing teams was terrific to experience first-hand. I’m a huge sports fan, but I’m used to hearing terms like “screen pass” and “icing.” Here it was “fly-aways” and “back walk-overs.” Good stuff, and I hope to take in this event again. Check out these photos.
