We started Pittsburgh Bloggers in late 2004. Our goal was to make it easier to find blogs that originated in the Pittsburgh region. We knew they were out there, but no one had a definitive list, so we set out to create it.

We tried to put as few restrictions as possible on the kinds of blogs we listed.  We defined "Pittsburgh region" broadly--I lived and worked then, as now, about an hour's drive north of the city, and I wanted to be included on the fun; plus we recognized that the area in which residents define themselves as "Pittsburghers" extends well beyond the city limits.

We also decided to include blogs written far away, as long as they regularly included content about Pittsburgh or the region. That way, a blogger in Colorado who was a fan of the Steelers could be part of the local sports conversation.

The site has grown steadily since the start: From an initial list of a few dozen blogs on a range of topics, it's grown to include over 900 sites, including blogs, podcasts, and other variants of social media. It has been useful in finding and following blogs on various topics, although we never have enough time to make all the technological improvements we have planned.

But what I think is more interesting than the Pittsburgh Bloggers directory is the physical, in-person community that is connected with it.

Bloggers have the reputation of living at their desks, never venturing out to the real world, but we regularly have strong turnouts for our quarterly BlogFests. The bloggers and podcasters who have organized three PodCamp Pittsburgh conferences seem to enjoy the camaraderie as much or more than the chance to show off their knowledge. People in the community regularly offer advice, job leads, support, and friendship to each other.

We Pittsburghers might be a bit lucky in having an ideal foundation for this kind of community to form. Our area is rich in tech-savvy people who are comfortable in the online world, so that gives us a lot of tools for communicating and organizing, for following up on ideas formed during in-person meetings. And the relatively small size of the city means that a little change can have a perceivable impact.

I don't know if other cities have the same kind of community, one that thrives both online and off. I'd like to hope they do, because it's a wonderful kind of community to be part of.