You blog. We blog. Let’s do it together...for hundreds of thousands of readers in Boston.

Boston is a diverse city with a distinct personality. Even under all the winter scarves, hats, and coats, you can tell a local from a tourist a block away. We walk quickly, we like our coffee scalding, and we have no respect for sidewalks. If we drive, it's fast and with purpose, and we're not afraid to give a little Boston Bump to squeeze into that parking space on Newbury. We know what we think, and we aren’t afraid to say so. With conviction. And, apparently, we're terrified of Lite-Brites, but what can you do? We're taking the good with the bad, here.

Unfortunately, Boston’s traditional media rarely capture this uniqueness or the voices and personalities of the folks who make Boston so appealing (to us, anyway). But that’s no surprise, is it? Mainstream media just don’t get it. Never have, probably never will.

But this has to change. For media to have any relevance or resonance in our lives, we, the media, have to give you and people like you a voice and a platform for your voices.

With your help, BostonNOW will be the first newspaper to truly reflect its community in print and online, with you playing a prominent role.

BostonNOW is a new free daily newspaper launching this year that will incorporate both traditional and citizen journalism. Your ideas about the Boston community (news, politics, sports, the arts, etc.) will appear side-by-side with the words of BostonNOW staffers and wire service journalists. We will promote your work prominently both in the paper and on the website, not in a “local blogs” or “reader photos” ghetto.

Every day, BostonNOW will direct readers to the Web, where they will find real depth and discussion. BostonNOW will become the place to learn what folks around here really think about politics, entertainment, sports, and their fellow humans. This dialogue will create a newspaper of the people, by the people, for the people.

BostonNOW will truly be your newspaper.

This is your opportunity, as a local blogger, photographer, artist, or pundit, to get in on the ground floor and contribute. You will get to share your perspective on living, surviving, and thriving in this amazing city. Participation in the BostonNOW experience will give you massive exposure to a huge reading audience -- your words in a daily newspaper going to tens of thousands of commuters and residents; your words on a website generating thousands of page views; your words syndicated worldwide with a share of any profits going to you.

The best part? You're already doing it on your blogs and websites. We want to give you the opportunity to share your insight with the entire city.

If you are interested in learning more about BostonNOW and the opportunity, please join us for free food and soft drinks at the All Asia Cafe in Cambridge on Saturday, March 10, from 11am to 2pm.

Free appetizers and soda will be available, and tunes will be spun by a DJ. If you have any friends or compatriots you think would be interested in this opportunity, please feel free to forward this invitation and bring them along.

We want to create a newspaper that truly reflects our community, where real people get a chance to publish what matters to them.

Revolutionary, we know.

Be a part of it.

Your city will thank you for it.

Sincerely,

Regina O’Brien
BostonNOW Web Content Manager

John Wilpers
BostonNOW Group Editor

Official Website: http://bostonnowpaper.blogspot.com/2007/02/boston-bloggers-summit.html