Last night, there was a small hubbub in the Yellowknife blogging community because one of the people in our group did an interview with our local newspaper. I am pretty sure the reporter did not intend to become the story, but he did. Well, it’s not about him at all: I should make that really clear. Nobody thinks it’s really about this individual reporter.

Jason, who did the interview, wrote about it on his blog, Gay White North. You need to click that link. I’ll wait.

Kyle responded on his personal blog, KyleWiTh, including on his regular podcast. I reacted to Jason’s story here at Reflections in the Snow-Covered Hills. There was also a lot of talk on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve decided to interview Kyle.

What is YkOnline?

YkOnline or Yellowknife Online is a blog all about Yellowknife. It can be considered a community blog or local blog. If it is happening or has anything to do with Yellowknife, chances are I will write about it. It includes video, photos and audio – it has gone multimedia.

What gave you the idea to start YkOnline?

Last May I realized that many posts on my personal blog (KyleWith.com) were about Yellowknife and as I was looking for my niche I decided to separate it into its own blog. I don’t know if it is because of the site, my passion for Yellowknife has grown or because of my passion for Yellowknife, the site has grown. It is about passion and enjoyment first and foremost. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it.

So far, what has been your proudest moment?

There have been many proud moments for YkOnline. The Olympic Torch Relay was a big one, I have video and pictures and was getting a lot of National attention but it wasn’t my proudest. That would have to be the High School Human Chain post. Which again featured pictures and a video. The proud moment came when I found out the High School, St. Pats, showed the video during an assembly to some 400 students. That was a cool feeling.

What do you want YKOnline to be?

Still to this day I am trying to figure this question out. I want YkOnline to be the online place for residents to find out about local events that are happening, as well as seeing past event photos and/or video. A place where businesses and people a like are featured for being outstanding. Where local discussion is happening about current issues.

At the same time, I want YkOnline to be a resource for tourists or folks moving to Yellowknife. Offering tips and tricks, information (Food Prices) and even hiking trail info and so on.

I basically would like to see YkOnline become a Yellowknife multimedia information website.

How did you feel when you heard that our local newspaper considers you “competition”?

I thought it was kind of funny. I mean seriously, competition? I can kind of see how I might be when it comes to entertainment, we cover some similar events, but come on I’m just a blogger not a journalist. One of my first thoughts when I read that they thought I might be a threat was, I must be doing something right. For a well-established paper to think a blog is competition must mean the blog has a lot of potential. Which makes me feel good.

Do you think YKOnline is a news source?

Definitely not to the same degree a newspaper is. I may break news if I see it. Like the vehicle accident on Highway 3 in Yellowknife, I was able to take video and pictures as I drove by and then post them. But as for who, what and why it all happened I don’t know. I don’t go looking for news. I try and engage discussion after news has been reported. But I wouldn’t call YkOnline a news source, maybe an information source.

Is there any “competition” between writers in Yellowknife? Do you think bloggers are competing against each other?

Not between bloggers! I think the blogosphere in Yellowknife is amazing, it is like we all have each other’s backs. We constantly link between each other and support each other. We are very lucky that there are so few of us still, that’s not to say I don’t want others to start blogging, by all means do it. What I mean is we all have our niches and topics of choice that we rarely step on each other’s toes. Life in the Knife is very similar to YkOnline, not as often updated but has reviews of local restaurants and photos of events, which I think is great. There is a saying in the blogosphere “Do your best and link to the rest” and that is what I have done, unfortunately not often, but I have linked to Life in the Knife if we happened to cover the same event.

What should happen next?

I am assuming you mean with YkOnline, and not paper vs. blog. I am going to continue to promote YkOnline and update as often as possible. I hope to expand it with new and exciting things. Part of what YkOnline offers is a voice for anyone; anyone can register on the site and write a contributing post. The podcast has gone down to a once a month show and will include at least 2 guests. I am also working on a weekly update video shot on the streets of Yellowknife. As well as much more video embedded into posts.

In the past, you’ve mentioned that you like to keep the focus on the positive, not on the negative. What do you see as your responsibility when something has gone wrong?

If there is something that is negative in the news and I think it deserves discussion I will write about it. If I happen to move past a story that can be discussed it is more likely that I just don’t fully understand it and do not want to start writing about things I don’t fully understand.

When it comes to restaurants and businesses, I am careful to try and not call them reviews, but rather featured places. I want to highlight what Yellowknife offers more than what we don’t offer.

What sort of reporting do you do? Do you conduct interviews? How often do you do original research?

Not very deep reporting. I may make a phone call or two, or scour the Internet. On occasion I have, and it is something I want to start doing more to incorporate into the Podcast. Not often, I will generally refer people to the source I found the information from, whether it a new media or traditional media.

Where is the line between the writing you do and the writing a traditional media organization does?

I do not go into too much depth. I try to keep my writing light and relatable. If this makes sense, I write as if I am the reader. I write about little tidbits that I think other locals will find interesting.

Is there anything you would NEVER do?

Bash people, businesses or organizations. I want to promote Yellowknife and the great things with in it, not take it down. I could elaborate but I think everyone understands my stance on Yellowknife.

Does the fact that you sell ads change anything about the way you see YKOnline’s place in our community? Does it make you more of a threat to traditional media?

I don’t really think it changes the way I see it within the community. I made it a point not to bash anyone before offering ads and I stand by that, so having ads on the site does not affect the way I write. I can see how I can be seen as a threat though. I am potentially taking part of someone else’s market, but times are changing whether we want them to or not.

How could our local news media make better use of online tools?

Well I can’t give away my secrets!! I’m kidding of course. I would say a proper website is something every local blog and media site should have. Easy to look at, easy navigation and although it may be tough for print media, comments. People love to give their opinions whether good or bad. Open up to the community, be honest and don’t hide behind a wall. Have conversation with readers, and remember conversation is 2-way, actually listen to them. I hope to cover more of this on KyleWith.com.

Can you really make a living on YkOnline?

Not right now and I think it would be pretty tricky to do so. I would need to build up my audience first, to prove to advertisers it is worth buying ad space and then sell a lot of ad space to even come close to being able to make it a living. As I do not charge for content, which traditional media does, I would rely almost fully on ad revenue. This again is something I have been researching about and am always thinking about. Do I want to make a living on YkOnline? Absolutely. This is my dream job. It is my passion and it is something that motivates me.

What advice do you have for new bloggers?

Do it out of passion. I suppose people don’t blog unless they have passion for something, but still. Make sure you stay true to that. If it becomes stressful and demanding, step back and think about what you are doing and why you started doing it.

A geekier tip would be SEO (search engine optimization). If you have a certain niche you want to blog about, research it first. See who else is writing about it. When getting started make sure your blog name and titles clearly state what you are blogging about, this will help Google find your content. Once you are established go back to the similar blogs and start commenting, this will lead people to your blog. Also link to those blogs, I know it seems odd, but this can in turn create a network.

Would you consider merging YKOnline with a traditional news organization to make it more like the Globe & Mail’s blogs or washingtonpost.com?

Yes and No. Like you say, many news organizations within the US have teamed up with bloggers to create more local content, which I think is great. The one thing I fear is losing control and wrecking the thing I have put so much passion and work into. I currently deal with everything and make my own decisions and that is something I would have to think hard about changing.