In tonight's salute to neighbors, I note Scott Ehrisman's announced hiatus and transition at South DaCola, one of the longest-standing, hardest-working blogs in the state. Ehrisman has focused relentlessly on Sioux Falls politics, especially in the run-up to Tuesday's municipal election.
But Sunday, Ehrisman announced it's time for a break:
South DaCola will remain up, but commenting will be turned off to prepare for changes. Not sure what the new format of DaCola will be, but a (small) team of South DaCola foot soldiers and associates have been weighing our options. I can tell you this, it will no longer be a bitch session but a proactive community activism website and news source (what many don’t realize is the activism my site inspires that doesn’t grace the pages of the interwebs, they are numerous, and often). Not sure how long this transition will take, but I am guessing about a month. Some of the things we will be doing will be definitely ground breaking and ‘different’ to the Sioux Falls market (yes, I will be selling advertising), and different then any traditional media source that currently exists in the Greatest Little City in the country. I am looking forward to it, but I am also looking forward to the break from my tireless obsession with city government [Scott Ehrisman, "South DaCola, Change Is in the Air," South DaCola, 2014.04.06].
The South DaCola comment section is indeed closed... and "comment" and "closed" in the same sentence always makes my heart twinge.
Ehrisman notes that good blogging takes a lot of time, time that he'd like to reclaim for himself and some of the finer things in life. But Ehrisman has also found what I've found: blogging opens doors to new conversations and unexpected friendships that never would have happened otherwise.
Ehrisman promises to stay engaged in his community ("I Love Sioux Falls") and to make his reboot a part of his ongoing local activism. I like the sound of that. Rest up, Scott, and come back swinging!
It was Scott's blog that led me to your blog Cory. Great guy and concerned community member.
Oh, the connections, Shane!
I too found my way to your site via Scott, DaCola was a lot of fun for a few years. Lately has become a bit militant.
But I have some misgivings about what it may be becoming. I think it's a feeling that is a relative to your "twinge" sensation.
Much like ruf... I mean Richard, I enjoyed DaCola for several years. I didn't like the way it was going during the run-up to the election and seemed to drift away from reporting otherwise unreported stories to spreading rumors, gross exaggerations, and perhaps even some conspiracy theories. I was hoping he would get back to his roots after the election, but based upon his predictions and the drift towards extreme activism it would have been difficult. The final post on the site was so far over the top that even Scott opted to retract it, so clearly there were a lot of emotions tied to the election.
Who knows what the future will hold. Scott is a bright guy, he is well informed, and he is passionate about making a difference. I may not always agree with him on the issues, but I do admire his sense of involvement and his desire to have an impact. Obviously it isn’t the last we will hear from him and I only hope his new format is welcoming to a variety of opinions because I’ve found when differing opinions are silenced, the community suffers.
I can’t blame Scott for wanting to take a break though. Running that site and dealing with all of the legwork to produce content can be a full time job but without the income or benefits. People often forget how many meetings he attends, how many contacts he interacts with on a weekly basis, how many directions he is being pulled. Maybe it stopped being fun, or maybe he just wasn’t happy with the direction. Either way I’m sure I’m not the only one patiently awaiting for what he comes up with.