Building Cincinnati: Urban Development in the Queen City

Kevin Le Master

Combining his interests in urban issues, architecture and photogrpahy, Kevin LeMaster put together Building Cincinnati to chronicle what was going up as well as coming down in the Queen City. Here's what he had to say about how he built his placeblog:

When did you start keeping your placeblog?

Kevin: I started my blog in December 2006, but my first real, substantial post wasn't until January 2007. It wasn't until I got a little recognition at the beginning of August that I started posting five to six pieces per day and really tried to produce fantastic content.

Why a placeblog on Cincinnati architecture? was something going on that got you writing about it?

As my business card says, it's really all about "development, urban issues, photography and architecture". I'd say I write more of a development blog, with construction photos. I touch on some other urban themes, but it's mainly about what's getting built and what's getting torn down.

About five years ago, I was putting together one of those free websites and was looking for a nice skyline shot for some reason. I ran across a message board called SkyscraperPage, and several of their members formed the message board Urban Ohio. As a moderator and sometimes administrator for the urban-themed site, I found myself producing a lot of content.

I was reading several local blogs at the time, none of which really filled the development niche. I figured, "Well, I've got all of this content. Why not start a blog? It's free, and maybe I can make something out of it."

So I went ahead and did it, and I've been trying to build it from there. And since then, there has really been an explosion of great local blogs written by interesting, nice, positive people. It's been cool to be a part of that.

What's been your best and worst moments on your blog?

Best? That's probably a tie. Building Cincinnati was recognized by Cincinnati.com, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber and CincyTechUSA for having one of the ten best local blogs in 2007. I also parlayed my blog writing into a job as the Development News Editor for a new weekly e-zine called Soapbox, despite having no formal experience as a writer or reporter.

Worst? I would say that there have been no truly bad moments in my life as a blogger. It's a lot of work, and every now and then I just don't feel like doing it. But it gets done.

What's your software? do you see yourself upgrading at any point?

Right now, I'm just using Blogger with a custom domain. I do have hosting set up and I'm trying to get Joomla 1.5.1 up and running, but it's giving me fits. I'm definitely pretty weak when it comes to programming. It's a work in progress.