Urban Honking
Encyclopedia
Urban Honking is an American
webzine and pioneering blogging collective founded in 2001 by Steve Schroeder, Jona Bechtolt
and Mike Merrill. The site and the community that has grown up around it are often collectively referred to by the contraction "UrHo" or "URHO."
The site is based in Portland, Oregon
, and its content is provided by the authors of the 80+ blogs that are hosted at [urbanhonking.com. The blogs of Urban Honking display a great deal of diversity, and both reflect and innovate upon the most popular topics and trends of the contemporary blogosphere: they range from the traditional open-format personal blog (as with Regarding), to showcases for young, professional artists (Owl and It Won't Fucking Kill You), along with multi-authored efforts that provide opinionated commentary on popular topics such as music and gastronomy (Cowboyz 'n' Poodles and Digest, respectively). Other blogs chronicle the developments of local businesses (The Fresh Pot), non-profit organizations (PICA), and academic research projects (Co-Branded), or explore singular topics, like Science (Space Canon). Though most of the site's blogs are authored by Portlanders, many others are updated by bloggers who reside elsewhere, making Urban Honking a truly global blogging community.
The Ultimate Blogger was an annual reality TV influenced competition operated by the site, where bloggers from around the world participated in weekly "challenges" and posted their results on their personal blogs. The field was narrowed in the same process of elimination
popularized by the long-running reality show Survivor, where contestants are "voted off" or awarded "immunity" by their peers. The last contestant left standing is named "the best blogger on the World Wide Web
". Those that are eliminated are instructed, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, to vacate the internet
immediately. The Ultimate Blogger completed three seasons, and earned a notable amount of attention from popular media outlets.
"The site sat patiently for quite some time and then the blog
phenomenon started and breathed new life into UrHo. As the new writers grew so did the audience. Some people moved on, and new people moved in. Group blogs sprung up, photo and other visual blogs, and then Ultimate Blogger, which was a culmination of everything we learned!"
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
webzine and pioneering blogging collective founded in 2001 by Steve Schroeder, Jona Bechtolt
Jona Bechtolt
Jona Bechtolt is an electronic musician and multimedia artist based in Portland, Oregon, United States. He is a former member of The Badger King and The Blow, and has released solo records under the name Yacht since 2003...
and Mike Merrill. The site and the community that has grown up around it are often collectively referred to by the contraction "UrHo" or "URHO."
The site is based in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, and its content is provided by the authors of the 80+ blogs that are hosted at [urbanhonking.com. The blogs of Urban Honking display a great deal of diversity, and both reflect and innovate upon the most popular topics and trends of the contemporary blogosphere: they range from the traditional open-format personal blog (as with Regarding), to showcases for young, professional artists (Owl and It Won't Fucking Kill You), along with multi-authored efforts that provide opinionated commentary on popular topics such as music and gastronomy (Cowboyz 'n' Poodles and Digest, respectively). Other blogs chronicle the developments of local businesses (The Fresh Pot), non-profit organizations (PICA), and academic research projects (Co-Branded), or explore singular topics, like Science (Space Canon). Though most of the site's blogs are authored by Portlanders, many others are updated by bloggers who reside elsewhere, making Urban Honking a truly global blogging community.
The Ultimate Blogger was an annual reality TV influenced competition operated by the site, where bloggers from around the world participated in weekly "challenges" and posted their results on their personal blogs. The field was narrowed in the same process of elimination
Process of elimination
Process of elimination is a method to identify an entity of interest among several ones by excluding all other entities.-In education testing:...
popularized by the long-running reality show Survivor, where contestants are "voted off" or awarded "immunity" by their peers. The last contestant left standing is named "the best blogger on the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
". Those that are eliminated are instructed, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, to vacate the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
immediately. The Ultimate Blogger completed three seasons, and earned a notable amount of attention from popular media outlets.
History
From the website:"The site sat patiently for quite some time and then the blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
phenomenon started and breathed new life into UrHo. As the new writers grew so did the audience. Some people moved on, and new people moved in. Group blogs sprung up, photo and other visual blogs, and then Ultimate Blogger, which was a culmination of everything we learned!"