EveryBlock: Another uber-local site for community news

Here’s another hyperlocal website to add to your publicity toolbox: EveryBlock, perfect for publicizing local news in bigger cities, and also for finding other local blogs and media outlets you might not know about.

MSNBC.com bought it in 2009 and unveiled the new version yesterday.  It operates in 16 cities mostly on the east and west coasts: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

EveryBlock offers news down to the block level and encourages collaboraton among neighbors.  Enter any address in one of those cities and you’ll see news articles, blog coverage, crime reports and a wide variety of other local information, all updated throughout the day. 

You can also submit your own news, which they don’t edit.  Create a free account, and you can participate in discussions and even get email updates.
   
  
3 Main Types of News

• Civic information, including building permits, crimes, restaurant inspections and more.  In many cases, this information is already on the Web but is buried in hard-to-find government databases.  In other cases, the data hasn’t been posted online, but Everyblock gets it through government agencies.  
      
• News articles and blog entries, including information from major newspapers, community weeklies, TV and radio news stations, local specialty publications and local blogs.  If you can track down a local blogger who you didn’t know about, you can start pitching that blogger when you have local news to share. I found Meetups and even school reviews for Atlanta.
      
• Fun from across the Web, including local photos posted to the Flickr photo-sharing site, user reviews of local businesses on Yelp, and lost and found postings from Craigslist.  You’ll even find local deals from Groupon and ValPak.
       

This site is perfect for news from clubs and civic groups, schools, nonprofits, churches, political campaigns and neighborhood groups, and it’s continually updated daily throughout the day. EveryBlock welcomes you to draw a map of your own neighborhood (the example here is from Atlanta) if you don’t see it on the master list. 

It differs from Patch.com because EveryBlock concentrates on larger motropolitan areas. Patch is for suburbs and outlying areas. 

I’m adding EveryBlock to the long list I’ve already accumulated and shared on the webinar 50+ Places Online to Promote Your Live or Virtual Events to Reach Your Target Market & Pull Sell-out Crowds.  
     
    
Share a Tip for Using EveryBlock

Are you already using EveryBlock? If so, share tips on exactly how you use it, or how it has saved time for you.

If not, how will you integrate it into your publicity campaign?