Kevin Freitas, the developer of Feed >> Tacoma, came and spoke to our class Monday. He spoke at length about Feed >> Tacoma; a hyper local news feed thread similar to the AP news feed but just on a local scale. It was obvious that Kevin not only has vision, but also the skills to see his vision through to fruition. It is also pretty obvious that Feed >> Tacoma could very well be the next big thing; not only competing with local newspapers but "feeding" them as well.
Feed >> Tacoma is similar to Exit 133 from the standpoint that both are hyperlocal in nature. However, the similarities sort of end there. Feed Tacoma >> Tacoma has no staff, no ads, and seemingly no moderator. It is simply a forum for those, who granted have been approved by Kevin, to voice their opinions without any sort of editorial fact-checking filter. In Kevin's own words, a very "organic" creation where the users monitor themselves and contribute whatever they want, when they want.
I am sure Kevin has a bright future! The question in mind is where will he go with Feed >> Tacoma from here? Will he continue down the "utopian" and "organic" path, or not. This is just the sort of thing that could easily take-off in a pre-packaged form and passed along to other communities outside of the South Sound area. Will he resist the temptation to turn this into a money maker, or continue "doing the right thing". I am not sure if this were my idea I would be able to show as much self-constraint towards getting involved as Kevin has to date. However, I wouldn't be surprised if this attributable to the fact that he probably has an even grander idea stewing on the back burner. Only time will tell, but until then it is still cool knowing that we have such great minds in our midst here in South Sound!
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