Following up on my [somewhat] harsh post last month, LA Times launched BrandX yesterday. An events blog for the kids. Yawn.
“It’s content sharing on an extremely local level and will bring our great work to an audience that does not currently see it,” explained Times editor Russ Stanton in an all-hands memo.
So far it’s good blog content, written mostly by Carolyn Kellogg, a friend who was once editor of LAist (she also blogs for the Times’ book blog, Jacket Copy). The appearance and presentation could definitely pop more and have more interactivity, especially if Brand X is aimed at the younger set.
It certainly is nice to see the LA Times fully embrace the culture/entertainment/tech blog style of an LAist, BoingBoing, or LA Metblogs and I’m sure to read more content via this RSS feed than I ever did in the print <em>Metromix</em>.
So, what is Brand X? It’s trading next-generation ideas on lifestyle, tech, entertainment, food, events, volunteering, style and the outdoors. Brand X is a curated shot of shared intelligence about how we live now and how we want to live tomorrow — the next movements in social networking and the return of the kitchen garden; micro-philanthropy, and the breakthroughs in science and art that are helping Southern Californians evolve and thrive. — editors Dean Kuipers and Deborah Vankin.
Speaking of Coachella, I’ll be there this weekend. You?
