By: Chuck Miller
What's Up in the Neighborhood

7 and 7 on Saturday, May 19, 2018

You might have noticed that the “7 and 7” Saturday blog and podcast share has been slightly bereft of Times Union blog posts.

Let me explain.

A few weeks ago, I discovered that one of my old photos – a night shot of the Madison Theater – was being used in conjunction with an article on the new owners of the Madison.Β  I also noticed that the photo was credited to a Times Union photographer and not to me.

As you can see, my name is still on the photo,Β  but Nick Buckowski’s name is closer to the picture – thus indicating that the closer credit is the actual credit.

I addressed this with the Times Union’s digital team, and eventually received a response from Rex Smith, Times Union editor.Β  He noted that because I had apparently signed an agreement way back in 2009 (when I first blogged as an independent writer for the TU), it gave the TU the right to use any of my photos from my blog any time they wanted, in perpetuity and in any format, royalty-free.Β  Urgh.

And as for Buckowski being credited on the photo?Β  I was told by Smith that because my credit was in a larger font, it was more obvious that I took the photo … and that Buckowski’s credit appearing was, in Smith’s words, “a glitch in the software,” caused when people scroll through the photo gallery.

Glitch in the software.Β  Yeah.Β  Sure.

With that in mind, and the fact that the TU still won’t promote or showcase any of the community and independent bloggers outside of just an appearance on their blog platform – heck, TU staff blogger and social media strategist Kristi Gustafson Barlette has done an entire year of her “20 things you didn’t know about” this personality and that personality blog feature, and in that one-year span, she has never deemed it worthy of showcasing any current TU community blogger on her recap.Β  Not once.

So I thought to myself … well, if after all these years they’re still not giving the community bloggers any decent support, why should I do the Times Union’s work for them?Β  My fence-painting days are over, Tom Sawyer.Β  I don’t blog for the TU any more, and even in my absence Big Hearst still finds ways to use my old content to their advantage, whether I like it or not.

So the TU blog content in this Saturday recap dropped to maybe five entries … then to three entries … and last week it dropped to zero entries.

The other day, I realized something.Β  I’m making a mistake.Β  I’m restricting this Saturday access for my fellow bloggers for no other reason than my bitterness over the TU’s contempt of my work.

So rather than just group off seven blogs from TU community bloggers … I’m just going to list those blogs, whether they come from the TU or not, until I reach fourteen posts – seven and seven – on the Saturday recap.Β  I can’t punish good blogging just because of its originating platform.Β  But I can’t make that originating platform a basis for its own separate blog quota.

So …

Here we go.

Blog posts that I found this week that I hope you will enjoy.

And they include:

  1. Carl Johnson’s Albany history blog “Hoxsie!”, “Mr. Ford Builds His Dream Hydro Plant.“
  2. Roger Green’s “Ramblin’ with Roger” blog, “Sister Marcia: contribution to the genealogy talk.“
  3. Daniel Berman’s “FUSSYlittleBLOG” blog, “Five One Ate Day.“
  4. Silvia Lilly’s “DelSo” blog, “Five for Friday.“
  5. Fran Rossi Szpylczyn’s “There Will Be Bread” blog, “Sunflower Time.”
  6. Sara Rose Wheeler’s “Roaring Twenties” blog, “Chapter 20.“
  7. Gina Peca’s blog, “May…“
  8. Field Notes From Over The Hill, “Baby blue jay update 5/17/18.“
  9. The Resurrected Camera blog, “Up at the Ziplines.“
  10. Joshi Daniel photography blog, “Cracking Up.“
  11. Rob Moses photography blog, “Crystal Ball.“
  12. This That and the 3rd podcast, “A game of runs in the Yakima Valley.“
  13. Lawrence White’s “Field of View” blog, “Governor Cuomo’s Feral Cat Challenge.“
  14. Rob Hoffman’s “Hoffman Files” blog, “Shakespeare, ballet, poetry and art.Β  Why don’t I get it?“

So although I won’t segregate the blog posts into TU and non-TU blogs for the time being, I’m still going to find a way to promote the blogs from my blogroll and the blogs from my friends.

That’s just me.

That’s how I roll.

And I hope you roll to a great weekend.