Blogging takes you places. This blog has taken me to places around the state and around the country. That may sound odd for a news site focused on Birmingham, but that’s how blogging works. It opens the door to places beyond your tiny domain.
Wade on Birmingham celebrates its fifth anniversary today. Let us look at the places charted and uncharted on the journey to date.
The blog of 2010 is not too different from the 2005 model. I still write a majority of posts, including a daily haiku. I still focus on Birmingham with occasional glances at the newsworthy in Alabama, too.
But looking closer, the evolution of this news site becomes more apparent. Nearly 3,000 posts have made this into a unique resource for the metro area, with 20 guest bloggers to date. I’ve had countless scoops and exclusives, plus special reports on everything from politics to crime to food to pop culture.
Why? Why invest so much time and effort and even a little money into this humble enterprise?
Because the opportunities continue to pour in for this online journalist.
I talked about blogging last week in Baton Rouge and will discuss it again next week in Las Vegas. I’ve already booked a speaking gig for 2011 here in town. So working on this site contributes directly to my expertise in this niche area.
Wade on Birmingham also gives me the opportunity to talk about this community: its challenges, its successes, its future. One reason why I believe many residents have become apathetic about the state of the city — and the city is in bad shape — is because they aren’t aware of the alternatives.
When you travel, you see amazing things and meet amazing people. You see how other cities have reliable and affordable buses and trains, or attractions where vacant buildings once stood. You see thoughtful development and invading tourists and hometown pride.
In short, you see the things Birmingham is not. Or the Birmingham that could be.
(I wish more of you would slip the surly bonds of Jones Valley to voyage to other places. Travel broadens the mind and ignites the soul.)
A few would prefer that Birmingham’s problems remain unnamed and unpublicized, that it creates an air of discontent. I respectfully disagree. If you want people to stop talking about the numerous long-term problems of this city, let’s solve them once and for all.
Ideas are fine. But actually working together to put those ideas in place? More of that, please.
I don’t have all the answers. But many of you do. This site is built not on one individual’s efforts, but on the collective efforts of too many people to name here. I’m eternally grateful to the readers, who never hesitate to give praise or criticism when needed.
I’m also grateful to tipsters, fellow bloggers, interview subjects, sponsors, photographers, rabble rousers and developers who had a hand in what you see before you. It really took a village.
Blogs come and go, many during these past 5 years. But this blog will be around for awhile. As blogging here has taken me places, let it carry you to the undiscovered corners of our fair city. Let it showcase the heroic efforts of everyday people. And yes, let it also continue to bring persistent problems to the forefront, so that we may defeat them rather than defer them.
Whether you came in on Day 1 or Day 1,827, welcome to Wade on Birmingham. We have a lot to talk about.
Wade Kwon is a Birmingham native and publisher of Wade on Birmingham.
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First, second, third and fourth anniversary posts.
Photo: Jelani Newton, J&M Photography and Design
Birmingham has come a long way since 2005, as have I, your humble blogger. I’m proud of the city as it stands in 2020, even if we still struggle with our place in the world.
We’re grateful to our readers and fans who voted in the Birmingham News’ “Birmingham’s Best 2009” reader survey. The results, announced earlier today, 
