The 411 On uwishunu.com
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) has completed work on the first phase of the uwishunu initiative. To date, much of the effort focuses on the blog, uwishunu.com:
Outdoor enthusiast
Photo courtesy of Red Tettemer
WHAT’S A BLOG?
“Blog” is short for Weblog, a frequently updated online journal that anyone can view.
WHY A BLOG?
The blog allows for “many voices” compared to the “one voice” of a traditional Web site. The blog format encourages and facilitates an ongoing conversation about Philadelphia through contributors, comments and incoming and outgoing links to the site.
The blog also gives uwishunu an online home with its own look and content, different from that of GPTMC’s popular gophila.com.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
uwishunu.com is where dialogue among locals and visitors occurs. It reveals the undertold, new Philadelphia story. It takes the guesswork out of experiencing the city like a local and shares its secrets so anyone can experience what’s freshest, most creative or most under-appreciated here.
WHO WRITES IT?
uwishunu.com has more than 30 enthusiastic contributors (and counting) who are genuine Philly insiders. They have written more than 200 blog posts in eight major categories, including retail, restaurants, arts, nightlife, outdoor activity and music. (See list of contributors.)
The blog is edited by Brennen Lukas and anyone can submit posts or tips at iknow@uwishunu.com.
WHO READS IT?
In addition to lifelong Philadelphians and new residents, the blog reaches potential visitors who are characterized by their desire to “stay like a local” and their near-total use of Internet-based tools to research, purchase and plan their travel. These are tech-savvy urban adventurers who wish to know the best a city has to offer, and they trust their peers on uwishunu.com rather than slick ad copy to tell them how to play in Philly.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO ON THE BLOG?
The blog encourages dialogue among bloggers and blog readers. uwishunu.com readers are given tools to be “citizen journalists”—that is, to tell everyone else on the Web the insider things they know about Philly. These interactive features include:
- Leave a Comment: Readers can react to a post and converse with the author and other readers.
- E-mail This Post: Readers can pass along their favorite posts to friends.
- Add to Del.icio.us: Del.icio.us is a social bookmark manager, allowing users to search sites that other net-savvy users have flagged as relevant.
- Digg This: Digg is a community-edited news site that puts stories in front of a wide variety of readers. If a reader likes a post, he or she can “Digg it.”
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE READING?
Since its soft launch on October 23, there have been more than 7,000 unique visitors to the blog, with 242 average visits per day.
According to blog-tracking firm Technorati, uwishunu.com has risen to 216,000 among the world’s top blogs—out of an estimated 63 million blogs. And that’s without any advertising.
uwishunu.com has also been linked to by 17 other blogs, indicating that the site is very much on the radar of the Philly blogging community.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
“In-the-know” Philly residents who can suggest where to hear the most up-and-coming DJs spin, the corner bar with the best food or where to find the best view of the city are encouraged to share their Philly photos, videos and thoughts at uwishunu.com.
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside™ a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit http://www.gophila.com/ or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.
Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery. On the pressroom, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates on topics that are specifically of interest to you: What’s New, Dining, Events, Seasonal Travel, Hotel Packages and Tourism Research.
CONTACT:
Joe Grace, Mayor’s Press Office
(215) 686-6212
Anthony Malerba, GPTMC
(609) 922-3537, anthony@gptmc.com
Ellen Kornfield, PCVB
(215) 636-3471, ellenk@pcvb.org
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