Phillyblog.com was an Internet forum or Virtual community whose focus was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 and its surrounding communities. Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 governor Ed Rendell

Ed Rendell

Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...

 was its honorary chairperson. As of July 8, 2009 Phillyblog is no longer in operation.

History

It was started in October 2002 by four Philadelphians who decided to create a site for productive discussion about the city of Philadelphia and its surrounding region.

Membership

Residents and former residents of Philadelphia's many neighborhoods (and its immediate suburbs) met here to ask questions, share ideas and discuss their experiences of life in the fourth largest metro in the United States. Phillybloggers were a mixture of natives, long-time residents and newcomers to the city, as well as the occasional expatriate. Popular discussion topics included food and dining, local and national politics, parenting and education and crime in the city. As of 5/3/2008 there were 52,489 threads, 748,683 posts and 23,171 members.

Like any other public Internet forum, it had its share of Internet trolls, as well as a breed particular to Philadelphia, the Negadelphian, or someone who says negative comments about Philadelphia, especially about its professional sports teams. The site had an impact on local Philadelphia issues. State Representative Mark B. Cohen

Mark B. Cohen

Mark B. Cohen is a Democratic politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Succeeding Eugene Gelfand, he has represented Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 202 in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since June 10, 1974, making him the most senior member in the Pennsylvania...

was an active blogger.

Community Impact

Because of its search-engine placement, Phillyblog had been a go to resource for people who wanted to discuss issues about Philadelphia. The site was also followed (and quoted) by members of the local media, and used by law enforcement officers for gathering and disseminating information about crime and criminals.

PhillyBlog ran a "Best of Philly ..."" contest. . The site and its founder Wil Reynolds were profiled in the February 15, 2007 Philadelphia Daily News.

External links

• Phillyblog.com
• Philadelphia Speaks Forum, where many of the folks from PhillyBlog have moved on to