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The New Facebook

TheDigitel closes a round of funding!
Belated congratulations to Ken Hawkins and his team at TheDigitel for landing their recent investment. TheDigitel is a true asset to the Charleston community, both tech and otherwise; I know that I’ve become better in-tune with my city than ever not only because of the work they do, but because they permit citizens like you and me to directly contribute to the news. If you’re not in Charleston and think this sounds awesome, don’t fret: you can vote on the next city TheD

I’ll be at #chstweetup tonight — will you?
I’m looking forward to #chstweetup tonight at Bambu in Mt. Pleasant. Christina Lor of Ergonomix PR, who recently relocated to Charleston, is working to launch a new series of Twitter-based networking events here designed to connect a wide variety of professionals and other interested parties. These meetups will be a great complement to what we’re doing with Social Media Club and Lowcountry Bloggers (among other events), especially because this tweetup will bring out folks who might not necessarily be interested in specific social media-like topics. That, and it’s a great opportunity to tr

BarCamp Charlotte
I went up to Charlotte, NC on Saturday to take part in BarCamp Charlotte 2. I got a great deal of value out of the presentations, and it was really important for me to see a BarCamp in action — important as we prepare for the inaugural BarCamp Charleston on Saturday. I was only able to attend the afternoon sessions, but fortunately I was able to see how Charlotte’s interpretation of BarCamp works. I even tried to pitch a session talking about what I’ve done with my weather projects, and while there was some interest, it didn’t quite pass

Twitter geolocation ‘imminent’; I’ll stick with Brightkite
Smarterware says geocoded tweets are imminent. Twitter geolocation is a win for newsgathering situations where it may be more expedient to tick off a “share my location” box than it is to check in on Brightkite and start posting notes. They’re doing a couple things weird here, though: scrubbing the data after 14 days (apparently to elude subpoena) and only giving the user control insomuch that they can specify whether location data is embedded in the tweet (though I’m sure app developers will be able to do more to the data before it’s posted). I like this fo

Hurricane Hugo
There’s lots of remembrance in the Lowcountry today in recognition of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Hugo. You might be surprised to know that I wasn’t here for it. My family moved to Charleston (specifically, Goose Creek) in the summer of 1988. But during the summer of 1989, my dad’s job relocated us to Dalton, PA (yes, I lived near Scranton before it was popular). We rented out our house (with the full intent of returning once my father was finished with his assignment in PA), and watched nervously as Hugo made a direct hit on the Lowcountry. Fortunately, just the fence took