InJersey

Our intrepid editors — and early adopters — here at InJersey have been using the location-based game FourSquare more and more lately. We have a heated battle in Cherry Hill, NJ, between site editor Julia Hays and myself over who will retain the crown of Mayor of the Courier-Post.

Today we discussed new ways to use FourSquare to share local news with residents when they check into neighborhood businesses and restaurants. And almost the minute we got off the phone talking about it, lo and behold, InJersey tips started showing up at shops all around Collingswood.

Check out Julia’s Collingswood InJersey FourSquare Page.

If you like or work in one of the towns with an InJersey site, be on the lookout for tips from your local site editor. We’ll also post links to our InJersey FourSquare accounts as we get them set up.

Incidentally, props to the Wall Street Journal for paving the way for this type of news sharing with their FourSquare page, and many thanks to Jodi Gersh at Gannett/ContentOne for giving us the spark of the idea.

Starting at 5pm tonight, the Citizens Campaign — a non-profit group dedicated to teaching and nurturing community activists and citizen journalists — is hosting a “South Jersey Call to Service Summit” at Stockton College. Among the speakers will be yours truly. Hope you can make it.

Here are more details from the Citizens Campaign website:

The South Jersey Call to Service Summit has a new date, Tuesday March 16, 2010 from 5-8pm. SIGN UP ONLINE.

Want to actively participate in your community? You are invited to join government and political experts from around the state to discuss how citizens can effect positive change- from cutting your property taxes to rooting out government corruption.

This free South Jersey Call to Service Summit will provide you with insider knowledge and skills to effectively tackle the problems facing your town and county. The Summit will offer free training, including expert analysis and insight from political insiders, and open discussion on each of these topics.

Speakers include:

Keynote Speaker: Gil Medina, Cushman Wakefield, former Secretary of Commerce, former Camden City Councilman

Christopher Daggett, former DEP Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate
Debra P. DiLorenzo, President & CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey NJ State Senator Joseph Kyrillos
Paul Josephson, former Chief Counsel to the Governor and Legal Counsel to State Democratic Committee
Joan Wright, former Gov. Kean Cabinet Member & former Assemblywoman
Ted Mann, Founder, InJersey.com and Digital Director, Gannett News
Dr. Herman J. Saatkamp, Jr., President, Stockton College

Summit Program:

• 5-5:30: Networking & Registration (A Wing Gallery)
• 5:30-5:40: Welcome to the Jersey Call to Service (Alton Auditorium)
• 5:50-6:50: Break out Panels (B & C Wings)
• 7:00-8:00: Call to Service Celebration (F Wing Atrium)

Break Out Panels:

• Tools for Citizens to Control Prpoerty Taxes and Cut Government Waste
• Citizen Leadership Service- New Opportunities to Serve on Government Policy Boards under the Citizen Service Act.
• Citizen Control of Political Parties- Exploring the New Party Democracy Act
• Citizen Journalism- A Cure for Closed Door Government

Sign up online now!
Car Pooling available! Contact us 732-548-9798×2

Our Freehold site editor, Colleen Curry, has a great blog post today on the SeeClickFix blog about all the great ways that our users have taken advantage of the tool to report issues in their communities that need fixing. Check out the full post here:

Hi there, SeeClickFix folks. My name is Colleen Curry, and I run Freehold.InJersey.com, a hyperlocal news website in New Jersey and one of Gannett’s first hyperlocal sites in the country. We’ve been using SeeClickFix on our site for a few months now, and it has helped engage our readers, generate stories, and impel action in our local community. Ben asked me to share a few of these highlights with you.

via SeeClickFix blog

We’ll be helping stream live video of the citizen journalism conference tomorrow, being hosted by the Citizens Campaign at Monmouth University.

Tune in at 11am to watch the event live. (click on the “+” icon to turn up the audio)

We’ll be on hand next Wednesday for an exciting conference being put on by the Citizens Campaign, all about citizen journalism and how we can combat the “culture of corruption” in New Jersey. From their site:

Citizen Journalism; Countering the Culture of Corruption

This conference will discuss the current state of local news reporting and how we can utilize new, innovative web tools and our own civic knowledge to report what’s happening in City Hall. Find out how you can be a hyperlocal or citizen journalist in your community.

Agenda
11am: Registration and Coffee

Price: free
Register for the Citizen Journalism Conference by emailing: Heather@JoinTheCampaign.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (732) 548-9798 x.1 Register online by creating an account and then logging into the website and selecting register at the bottom of this page.

Venue: Monmouth University
Street: 400 Cedar Ave, Wilson Auditorium
City: West Long Branch