With the launch of MetroBlogging Kuala Lampur, we enter a whole new country! KL is the largest city in Malaysia, and also it’s capital. The vast metropolis is a hub of art, culture, transportation, and ideas, and is home to the Petronas Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the world for a while.

KL will be a fantastic addition to the MetroBlogging family. And, they are off to a great start! Here is the answer to that age-old question “How do Malaysians celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?”

[Photo courtesy of Wikipedia]

Hi. I’m… uhm… new here.

So… this is… uhm… like my first post.

Or something.

I’m not new to the blogging game, I’ve been hanging around the web over on my own blog for a couple years now. I’m not new to NYC either, I just had my three year anniversary of moving to town. I may not even be new to you. Over on my own blog I keep a diary of subway sketches that has been getting some press lately. (In fact you can check out the article on me in today’s NYPress if you feel so inclined.)

But I am new here. And that’s what matters.

So… see you ’round the schoolyard I guess.

Dear Readers,
NYC Metroblogging is growing… QUICKLY! To facilitate this, we are looking for more enthusiastic bloggers to come aboard and write interesting entries for us. As a Metroblogger volunteer, you will be free to write about whatever they want as long as it has some connection to NY, but you must post AT LEAST three times a week. You also must live in or right around New York City. Other than that, it’s open season! We encourage series posts, or new ideas that will keep people interested and help us grow. It is a great opportunity to get your opinions heard, gain writing experience, blow off steam, or just see what it’s like to write to a broad audience.

We only have a few spots, so if you are interested, you need to move on this NOW! We will only be accepting applications until Friday at noon, so drop us a line before then. Include the following:
- Full Name
- Writing or blogging history if applicable (if you have not written before, that doesn’t mean we will not consider you!)
- A short explanation of why you would be a good blogger with us

That’s it! To apply, send a note to nycmetblogs@gmail.com. We also welcome questions you may have. We are excited to hear from you.

- The Metroblogging Team

Please join me in welcoming our 53^rd Metroblogging City–San Jose, California! It’s pretty odd that it’s taken SJ so long to be represented here on our blog-network, being the home of Silicon Valley and the birthplace of many things tech, but I say better late than never! This is also our 5th Metroblog in the great state of California!

Here are some interesting facts about San Jose, courtesy of Wikipedia:

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, and the tenth-largest in the United States. It is the county seat of Santa Clara County. For the past several years, it has held the title of The Safest Big City in America. San Jose is located in Silicon Valley, at the south end of the San Francisco Bay. With a population of 912,332 San Jose is the largest city in Northern California. Once a small farming city, by 1950 San Jose was a magnet for suburban newcomers in new housing developments (1960s to the 1990s) and became a large thriving urban center of Northern California.

Stop on by and say “Hi!”

Metroblogging San Jose

Welcome our neighbors to the west–Metroblogging Pittsburgh! Pittsburgh is our second Metroblogging site in the fine state of Pennsylvania, preceded by our friends over at Metroblogging Philadelphia. Swing on by, check them out and say “Hi!”

Check out some interesting facts about Pittsburgh over at Wikipedia–come on, you know you want to.

What started out as a once-city venture just keeps on growing. Metroblogging today announced the launch of their 51st city-specific blog community in Auckland, New Zealand.

While Auckland represents a brand new country for Metroblogs, it is actually the second blog focussed on the ever-interesting Australasian continent (following Melbourne). The blog is sure to flourish as its first writer, BigNosedUglyGuy, has the experience of helping to launch Metroblogging London under his belt.

If you get a chance, stop by Auckland and say “G’Day!” I know, I know, that is more of an Aussie thing, but that is the only cheesy reference I can think of! Give me a break.

[photo courtesy of Wikipedia]

Just in time for holiday shopping, we have Metroblogging merchandise ready! Go check out the designs and get all of your holiday shopping done all in one fell swoop.

…to take over the world! Bwah, hah, hah!

Well maybe not the world, but if you have a Helio phone you can now browse all the Metroblogging sites under the “Surf Helio” options with the esteemed company of The Onion, Slate, Yahoo! and Maxim. Helio is clearly focused on providing quality content for their users, and we’re excited that they’ve added Metroblogging as a part of that experience.

Working with our partner WINKsite we have created a network of mobile sites optimized and specifically designed for Helio’s line of mobile devices. This integration will make it a snap for people to read about their hometowns from the unique perspective provided by our local Metrobloggers.

And remember, if you don’t have a Helio phone, Metroblogging is already available on any web capable mobile phone at mobile.metblogs.com.

Hey faithful readers–just thought we would let you know that Metroblogging just added the 50th city to our little blogging network. And the lucky city is…drumroll please…

Graz, Austria!

If you don’t know Graz, here’s an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry:

Graz, with a population of 285,470 as of 2006 (of which 248,146 have principal residence status), is the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna and the capital of the federal state of Styria (Steiermark in German). It has a long tradition as a student city, with six universities with over 40,000 students. Graz’s “Old Town” is one of the best-preserved city centers in Central Europe, and in 1999 was added to the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. Graz was sole Cultural Capital of Europe for 2003. The city is situated on the Mur river, in the southeast of Austria. It is approximately 2.5 hours south of Vienna by train or 2 hours by car. Graz is the capital and largest city in Styria, a green and heavily forested area. The city itself is surrounded by low hills on 3 sides, thus making it predisposed to haze in the warmer months.

Welcome to the family Graz!
Everyone, please stop on by and say “Hi!”

Hello all,
I am your newest blogger… Hope you like my posts. If not, I’m cool with it.

- My favorite thing about this time of year is not the foliage or the holidays, as it is with many other northeasterners… For me, my favorite part is noticing other people’s choices of clothing. Inevitably in this city, there is a group of people who refuse to make the switch from shorts to heavier clothing. So, right on through Thanksgiving, you have those aloof, socially awkward dudes who are still wearing short sleeves and maybe even sandals around town, clearly cold as hell but trying their best not to show it… I love those guys! They keep me laughing until the spring comes again.
(more…)