Category Archives: Online

Introducing Birmingham365

Posted on January 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

The latest attempt to launch an all-inclusive online events calendar in the City of Birmingham has quietly launched as we start a new year.

There are a few people that already knew about Birmingham365.org, a partnership between the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, the Birmingham Business Alliance and the city’s convention and visitors bureau, including those in attendance at last month’s BBA annual meeting, but the site was officially unveiled earlier this week.

It serves as a replacement for the Cultural Alliance’s ActiveCulture.info calendar (the old site’s URL redirects to the new one), with that organization serving as the site’s administrator. The site joins 31 others in the Artsopolis Network, a network that grew out of the development of the Arts Council of Silicon Valley’s website in California that is “dedicated to promoting Arts, Culture, and Entertainment in their communities.”

What are your first impressions of the new site?

United Way launches new online initiative

Posted on December 29, 2010 | Leave a comment

The United Way of Central Alabama has launched a new online initiative inspired by the national organization’s long-running “Live United” campaign.

The new “I am United” website presents a new way for the UWCA to “promote opportunity and engagement among those who want to help” while leveraging Facebook accounts.

Visitors must log in using their Facebook account to fully engage with the site, allowing them to potentially cross-post ways they’re engaging in the community, earn badges to let others know about their level of participation and learn about volunteer opportunities via an events calendar. You’ll also be able to nominate “champions.”

It does not replace the organization’s official website, which currently reminds us that they reached their 2010 goal by raising more than $37.2 million. The organization has also re-branded their YouTube and Twitter profile accordingly.

What happened with Roland S. Martin on Twitter last night?

Posted on December 28, 2010 | 1 comment

Roland S. Martin definitely doesn’t like being called the N-word (or seeing/hearing anyone use it). For those not familiar with Martin, he’s a nationally syndicated columnist, commentator and analyst, working for news organizations including CNN and TV One.

Last night, the author of the new book, The First, had a heated discussion on Twitter with several members of Birmingham, AL’s online community after someone sent him a tweet using the N-word – one that has spilled over into parts of today’s stream.

There are several different opinions about how the debate should move forward (we’d even started working on an editorial), but this post written on Mo Better Truths probably sums up some of the opinions and feelings surrounding that conversation specifically (you’ll want to watch the videos included in the post) and the general situation as we prepare to enter 2011.

If you’ve got an opinion, we’d love to hear it.

Photo: Roland S. Martin. Courtesy of his official website.

1 Comment

Posted in Online

Tagged debate, discussion, information, Mo Better Truths, n-word, Roland S. Martin, Twitter

Children, puppies or hipsters? You decide.

Posted on December 21, 2010 | Leave a comment

The folks over at Birmingham, AL-based Luckie and Co. have $6,000 to give away to charity this holiday season – and they want your help to figure out how to divvy it up.

If you visit a special section of their website (click here to get there) before December 31, you can decide how the money is split up.

Your choices are puppies, children and creatives.

No, they’re not going to tell you exactly who’s getting the money until you place your vote (and we don’t know what they are either) but it’s definitely an interesting way to engage the community for the holidays.

Image: Screenshot from holiday.luckie.com

Will a village emerge in Norwood?

Posted on November 17, 2010 | 3 comments

Several Birmingham-area organizations have turned to national online projects like the Pepsi Refresh project to try to secure funding for projects in recent months. One more has joined the fray in recent weeks. As of this posting it was ranked 152^nd; the top two vote getters receive the prize for that month.

The Village, a non-profit ministry started in January 2008, is hoping to win $250,000 from the national program to help the organization secure the former Carraway Medical Center property just north of the city’s central business district – one they’ve been looking at for several months. The property would be turned into a “home and youth center for teens…”

The Village’s executive director, Andy Jenkins, has already asked folks visiting his blog to vote and help spread the word about the grant proposal, which would provide for salaries as well as operating expenses for three months.

The historic hospital complex in question is located amid several residential neighborhoods. These include Druid Hills, Fountain Heights and Norwood, an area that many in the city think will be the next one to see an urban revival.

Area homeowners have told Birmingham City Councilor Johnathan Austin that they oppose such a use of the facility while signs have begun to appear in Norwood voicing concern.

3 Comments

Posted in Online, Take a moment

Tagged Andy Jenkins, Birmingham, Druid Hills, Fountain Heights, grant, information, Norwood, Pepsi Refresh, The Village

UPDATE: Have you found the Droid X yet?

Posted on July 14, 2010 | 2 comments

UPDATE: Congrats to Alex Abenoja, who found the phone at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame earlier today.

Apparently no one has found the phone yet, and that means it’s about to get very interesting here in Birmingham, AL.

Last week Verizon Wireless announced that 21 Droid X from Motorola phones had been hidden across the country. The phone is due to be released for sale to the general public tomorrow (July 15). Some of the clues that had been provided suggested that one of the phones is located right here in The Magic City. Here are the clues previously shared about phone #8:

Five days until Droid X designate #8 will be in a city built on steel. Droid X is built on 1Ghz processing power.
Workers here built the rocket that went to the moon. They might think Droid X designate #8 came back from there.
Droid X designate #8 doesn’t wish it was in Dixie. Or connect in hdmi. Because it’s already both.

Apparently there have also been latitude and longitude clues provided via Twitter (@droidlanding to be exact). Which also means that there will be a few folks wandering the metro area looking for a new free cool smartphone… maybe.

They’re getting ready to talk to us after all…

2 Comments

Posted in Online

Tagged contest, Droid X, giveaway, information, scavenger hunt, search, Verizon Wireless

How big is the oil spill? You don’t want to know…

Posted on May 10, 2010 | 2 comments

That’s the question that the folks at Google decided to help people figure out. The image to your left is a screen capture from Paul Rademacher’s website and shows the spill in relation to the size of Birmingham and Central Alabama.

Rademacher’s site currently contains a Google Earth embed using the application’s API that lets you see how the oil spill compares to several major U.S. cities. Here’s a link to a screen capture of the oil spill in relation to Chicago, IL and Lake Michigan. He’s the engineering manager for Google Maps’ front end.

Visiting the site will also let you compare the size of the Deepwater oil spill to any city and points you to where you can download the data to show it in your own install of Google Earth.

UPDATE: Additional images – one showing the spill area in relation to Atlanta and Montgomery and another one showing the capture from when you first enter Birmingham, AL into the interface.

Image: Screen capture from http://paulrademacher.com/

2 Comments

Posted in National, Online

Tagged Alabama, Birmingham, google, information, interactive, map, oil spill, Paul Rademacher