Press
As an online-only news startup at a time of great media uncertainty, Technically Philly has received notable press attention.
April 16, 2010: Our favorite policy and news sites — Economy League of Greater Philadelphia
Feb. 21, 2010: Better Than Best: People and Places — Philadelphia Weekly
Dec. 22, 2009: Hyperlocal News Sites: Technically Philly — In Other News
Oct. 19, 2009: From weak to strong news networks: Downie, Jarvis, & Technically Philly — Harvard University’s Nieman Journalism Lab
Oct. 14, 2009: Philadelphia tech site tries to put its news startup theories into practice — Harvard University’s Nieman Journalism Lab
Sept. 21, 2009: Revamped Journalism Courses Attract Hordes of Students — Chronicle of Higher Education
July 17, 2009: TechCast Episode 36 � Sean Blanda of Technically Philly – Chariot Solutions
July 14, 2009: Help wanted: Technically Philly�s push for profit – Philly.com
July 9, 2009: Technically Philly: Your resident blog for everything tech Philly – CitySpace
July 8, 2009: ‘Recycled’ School PCs Found In Africa – Fox 29
May 1, 2009: Technically Philly Web gurus spill start-up secrets – Courier Post
April 28, 2009: Philly Blogs you should be reading: Technically Philly – Geekadelphia
Press Coverage
From weak to strong news networks: Downie, Jarvis, & Technically Philly
Nieman Journalism Lab | By C.W. Anderson | Oct. 19, 2009
A journalism academic compares Technically Philly with a highly-publicized report on the future of news.
Having spent more than three years doing dissertation research on the changing journalistic ecosystem in Philadelphia, I was excited to see Technically Philly get a great write up last week. And having spent the past six months as a research assistant with the Downie-Schudson report on reconstructing American journalism, I see a connection between Technically Philly, CUNY�s New Business Models For News, and the report. The nub of the connection has to do with building stronger news networks and deciding on the network ties we allow ourselves to utilize when we build them.
Read it here.
Philadelphia tech site tries to put its news startup theories into practice
Nieman Journalism Lab | By Mac Slocum | Oct. 14, 2009
Co-founder Sean Blanda spoke to the celebrated news journalism research site about Technically Philly.
Technically Philly looks like a prototype plucked from an entrepreneurial journalism textbook. The website offers targeted coverage. The founders nurture their community, online and off. In-progress revenue streams are smartly diversified across advertising and services.
Read it here.
Stop the Presses! Revamped Journalism Courses Attract Hordes of Students
Chronicle of Higher Education | By Katherine Mangan | Sept. 21, 2009
Our reporter Christopher Wink addressed how Technically Philly was launched by three recent journalism graduates.
…
“There’s not a great future in working for mainstream media,” says Mr. Harper. “The future is for smart, hard-working students to band together, create their own media, and make a business out of it�and that’s what a lot of them are doing.”
Christopher Wink hopes to be part of that reinvented future. He graduated from Temple last year and spent three months stringing for daily newspapers in Pennsylvania before heading on a European backpacking trip with a journalism-school friend.
“We returned to an economy in recession and the print industry in free fall and said, ‘Hell, let’s build something of our own,’” he says. In February the duo began publishing Technically Philly, a news site that covers local technology and innovation.
Although it has yet to make a profit, Mr. Wink remains optimistic. “I very much feel in this media environment you have to create your own job,” he says.
Read it here [Subscription may be required].
‘Recycled’ School PCs Found In Africa
Fox 29 | by John Atwater | July 8, 2009
Our reporter Christopher Wink appeared on Fox 29 in response to his July 8 report on School District e-waste. See our own coverage of our appearance and attention from Geekadelphia.
The Philadelphia School District wants to know how its computer equipment ended up in Africa.
A recent PBS Frontline documentary showed a printer with a sticker labeling it property of the Philadelphia School District at a West African landfill.
The district said it paid a recycler to remove the printer. That recycler says it would be impossible for him to know what happened.
The district and the city controller are investigating.
Read it here.
Help wanted: Technically Philly’s push for profit
Philadelphia Inquirer |� July 14, 2009 | by Joseph DiStefano
TechnicallyPhilly is�a daily menu of tech-related�and emerging-company�information posted by Brian James Kirk, Sean Blanda and Christopher Wink,�three recent Temple grads who support their online-news habit with their parttime writing gigs. HQ�is�upstairs�in an airy�ex-Sandoz drug warehouse-turned-storage units/artist studios/recent-college-grad flophouse,�in a rowhouse-and-factory block of East Tioga Street up in�Harrowgate.
The trio�wants to make http://TechnicallyPhilly.com a paying gig. Wink doesn’t think there’s enough online advertising to go around, he told me over the kitchen table/command post.�But it takes cash to make cash. So last week they posted an ad for a Commission-Based Ad-Sales Rep as “the next step in creating a sustainable news product.”
The goal, Wink told me, is to move from display ads to “a jobs board we have in development, e-commerce, events and some other smaller pieces, leading to a membership structure” later this year.
The Inquirer published PhillyTech, magazine and Website,�during the dot.com boom, and folded it when ads got scarce. I like the TechnicallyPhilly gang’s�goal of finding more diverse, creative, community-oriented revenue streams. So how’s that job search?�”We got just a handful of inquiries – less than seven… in the first day,”�Wink told me yesterday. “We saw a lot of traffic, so we suspect it’s being passed around.”�Go get ‘em.
Read it here.
TechCast Episode 36 — Sean Blanda of Technically Philly
Chariot TechCast podcast | by Ken Rimple | July 17, 2009
I had a great conversation with TechnicallyPhilly’s Sean Blanda last week.��� We talked about how the Philly IT scene is still lively, and about how he and his two compadres Brian James Kirk and Christopher Wink gather and write up news on their lively and informative website.
Technically Philly covered our Philadelphia Emerging Tech show in the spring (article here).
Some of our topics of conversation have related articles:
- Someone who bikes a lot on the trails in Philly (we have a lot of good road biking trails here) wrote an app to track crime on the trail.
- Read their article about recycled machines ending up in Ghana
- Read up on the state funding issues for Ben Franklin Technology Partners, a capital group based in Philadelphia.
Enjoy the website.� You can hit it from www.technicallyphilly.com or www.tphilly.com if you don’t want to type so much, and it’s iPhone friendly.
[audio http://cdn1.libsyn.com/chariottechcast/July14-TechCast-TechnicallyPhilly.mp3?nvb=20090725003452&nva=20090726004452&t=07bc70266601d2900970b]
Technically Philly: Your resident blog for everything tech Philly
CitySpace | by Aaron Stella | July 9, 2009
iPhone-philiacs, lap-top-toters and all you other technological-types out there have a new watering hole right here in Philadelphia. Technically Philly (www.technicallyphilly.com), launched February 9th, 2009, in response to Philadelphia�s growing Web economy, keeps a cyber-eye on all things technology in Philly, with special attention given to covering tech-involved social organizations, venues, venture capitalist companies, start-ups, design firms and media.
Technically Philly�s founders, Brian James Kirk, Sean Blanda and Christopher Wink currently run the site. As adepts of journalism and web development, the trio employs their talents to �covering the community of people who use technology in Philadelphia,� with their sights set on a more prosperous, economically solvent Philadelphia.
So what can you get from this blog?: stories, updates, profiles, product reviews and listings related to trends in technology both small and large in Philly; streaming content (new posts published daily); diligent reports and shrewd perspectives balanced with a humorous edge; and on the whole, a Philly-focused technology blog, one of the rare few of its kind. (You can also keep up with Technically Philly through Twitter).
Technology and the Web are the future mainstays for Philadelphia�s economy and the global world. Any and all vigilance on related trends, such that Technically Philly offers and specializes in, is an asset to revitalizing our economy and livelihood overall. So hit up www.technicallyphilly.com and get the scope on everything tech-Philadelphia.
Read it here.
Philly Blogs you should be reading: Technically Philly
Geekadelphia | by Eric Smith | April 28, 2009
Seriously. You should be.
Founded by three incredibly talented local Philly writers, Brian James Kirk, Sean Blanda and Christopher Wink, Technically Philly are quickly setting themselves up to be Philadelphia�s local version of TechCrunch. How? By covering all wakes of Philly�s wonderful local tech scene. Just check out their about section.
“From the small group of programmers working on the next big Web application to large businesses that employ hundreds, the Philadelphia technology community is growing. Sometimes, it�s hard to keep track of all of the start-ups, organizations, venture capitalists and businesses that are working to make Philadelphia thrive.
“Technically Philly will be there to help you stay on top of all of the news that affects our technology community with a Philadelphia-first mind set, and we will let you know when the next event is happening in your neighborhood. In fact, the three editors of Technically Philly have never even set foot in Silicon Valley.”
Chris, Sean, and Brian may not have stepped foot in Silicon Valley, but they sure know what they are talking about. Their site boasts an events page, a Twitter, and more. Add �em to your RSS, your bookmarks, tattoo their URL on your chest, whatever. Pay them a visit. You won�t be disappointed.
Read it here.
Technically Philly and BarCamp NewsInnovation 2009
On April 20, Technically Philly helped organize and was a lead sponsor of the first national BarCamp NewsInnovation held at Temple University.
Technically Philly Web gurus spill start-up secrets
Courier Post (Camden, N.J.) | May 1, 2009 | Whitney Rhodes
Community news startups first need to find:
- A need
- A community based on that need
- A way to reach out and fulfill said need for said community
Technically Philly suggests you tackle a community you already consider yourself a part of. Technically�s founders, three recent college graduates and tech gurus, did just that. They saw a tech coverage hole in Philadelphia and created TechnicallyPhilly.com to fill it.
Read the rest here.
Technically Philly also received Barcamp-related love from a few other sources:
- Our very own Christopher Wink was interviewed about new vs. old media � CUNY�s full post on the event, including a ridiculous photo of Chris.
- Karl Martino mentions Technically Philly was his favorite� session
- The Courier Post summarizes our presentation
See a roundup of other related coverage.
TP AS A SOURCE
- Catchup with AroundMainLine.com in September on Sept. 10, 2009
- Knight Center of Digital Excellence on Digital Philadelphia on July 7, 2009
