“Nevada has gold, silver, and wild horses.”

Ray Field, Executive Director

Wild Horse Foundation

From our offices here in South Reno we can look out the windows up to the scraggy peaks of the Virginia Range where wild horses forage in the sage and grass. We hike and ride bikes among the Virginia Range Mustangs, we drive up after work to catch the sunset over the Sierra Nevada as they graze the flanks and meadows.

We even use them in our branding materials; of course, we have to give them colored mohawks and other various treatments. But that is just the way we roll! :~)

Nevada is home to more than half of the wild horses in the United States, and for the most part they exist in harmony with the land and people, as integral to our identity as the Sage, Bighorn Sheep, and Lahontan Cutthroat Trout that we hold as official icons. The state derives identity from the western ethos the wild horses represent, and we as a company derive inspiration from their intelligence and tenacity.

YouTube, MySpace, Blip.tv, Crackle, Sclipo and Viddler

So when the Nevada Department of Agriculture announced plans to monitor the largest contiguous herd in the United States with the notion that more than half needed to be removed from the land, we decided to go out and take a closer look.

Thankfully Willis Lamm, a wild horse supporter and owner of Least Resistance Training Concepts; country singer and president of the Let ‘em Run Foundation, Lacy J. Dalton; and Craig Downer, Wildlife Ecologist and expert on the Virginia Range Wild Horses from the University of Nevada, were more than happy to show us around. We would have also liked to have spoken with representatives from the Nevada Department of Agriculture, but they were either unable or unwilling (see comment below).

What we found were a few bands of healthy and happy looking horses ranging peacefully across the low hills above the Carson Valley, southeast of our offices in Reno. The main thrust of the NDA Wild Horse Position Statement is that the range can support about 500 to 600 wild horses, according to an estimate in a study by the Natural Resource Conservation Service in 2001. But that estimate appears only to pertain to the 85,000 acres of rangeland in the study plot. The herd actually roams on more than 200,000 total acres of rangeland. According to the NRCS projections, there is more than enough rangeland to support the 1000 to 1200 Wild Horses known to exist in that area.

Most visitors see the Wild Horses when driving to and from the Virginia City area, but much of the range is publicly accessible by 4×4, ATV, foot and bicycle. Other states like New Mexico and Maryland are actively promoting their wild horse herds and get many thousands of visitors as a result.

From Mammoth Lakes, CA to Yellow Stone National Park wildlife and humans have been butting heads in the West for much of the last century. In Nevada, encroachment on habitat and conflicts with humans are a constant and growing problem. There is no doubt that the Virginia Range Mustangs need to be actively managed to survive; but the volunteer groups, and local adoption can be a benefit to the community rather than a drain on tax dollars. Since wild horses are so closely tied to the existence and history of humans in the west and the unique identity of Northern Nevada that we owe it to ourselves to find a palatable way past this crisis that benefits our land, our horses and the Nevada brand.

For more information or to get involved visit:

• NVWildHorses.com
  
• Wild Horse Mentors
  
• Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association
  
• Let ‘em Run
  
• Save Nevada’s Wild Horses Diigo Group

-Mike

In case you have not heard, there is a very heated issue erupting here in Nevada around the protection of wild horses. The Department of Agriculture has plans to round up hundreds of wild horses for slaughter because they claim the horses are starving and do not have enough land. What is perplexing is that no one has witnessed any starving horses, and instead only seen healthy horses grazing in plentiful pastures. And regardless if there was a population problem, surely more humane practices could be implemented like relocation and sterilization of some of the herd, which have been intermittently used.

Celebrities such as Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg have done radio spots urging people to call Governor Jim Gibbons, (775) 684-5670.

Listen to the radio spots here:

Willie Nelson

Snoop Dogg

Protestors gathered outside the Nevada Capitol yesterday holding brooms and plungers emphasizing their desire to see the Department of Agriculture “cleaned up.” Media outlets all over the West have picked up the story including:

• San Jose Mercury News
• Monterey Herald
• The Modesto Bee
• Sacramento Bee
• Las Vegas Sun
• Contra Costa Times
• The Press Enterprise
• And many more!

Also, you might want to check out what this local Nevada blogger has to say. Clearly, this is an important issue to many people and rightfully so. The horse is an integral part of this Nation’s history and an iconic symbol of the West. And might I add, GREAT FOR TOURISM IN NEVADA.

You might remember a blog post we did back in November 2006 regarding the American Horse Act. This issue hits close to home. You don’t come to work everyday for a company called, Twelve Horses, and not on occasion think about why you built your brand on that name.

We will bring more information to you as we receive it. You can also visit http://kbrhorse.net/news/vre-nda11.html 

Yesterday the One-Two Crew went to Directions 2008 hosted by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada–of which our CEO, David LaPlante, was recently elected to the Board of Directors– and the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce. It was held at the Convention Center, and we found no rhinoceros droppings left over from the Safari Club International expo of last week. Not sure why that would have been an issue, but one of the presenters expressed his concern…

Nevertheless, this conference was all about the future of economic development in Reno and Sparks, how it is tied to local, regional and national transportation policy, and renowned economists making cheesy jokes while sharing their optimism of the future. During intermission Earl Spriggs, our videographer/video editor, and I went around the exhibit hall asking attendees for their thoughts on these issues and what they thought of Greater Reno-Tahoe.

It was encouraging to hear RSCVA CEO Ellen Oppenheim talk about the cool things going down in town to enhance tourism and our local quality of life, like the minor league baseball park planned for downtown Reno.

Also, RTC Washoe’s Executive Director, Greg Krause, had some really encouraging things to say about the future of local transit policy with respect to alternative transportation modes like bikes, walking and mass transit. RTC Washoe is doing a lot to help with their Smart Trip programs run by Carol Perry.

The outlook from the speakers was far from the lugubrious accounts coming from the media. Though the residential housing market is doing poorly, Jeff Threadgold, President of Threadgold Economic Associates, pointed out that it only represents 5% of the national economy. Since much of the rest of the economy is doing well, the negativity was blamed on the media by most of those speaking. Not THIS, the TRADITIONAL media… (that’s the kind of media which would never mention pachyderm spoor in a business article.) “The world is not falling apart,” agreed Dr. Eugenio J. Aleman, Senior Economist at Wells Fargo, during a panel discussion lead by former local TV news anchorman Tad Dunbar.

As usual, it was great to see Chuck Alvey, President and CEO of EDAWN. He and Doug Kurkul, CEO of RSCC, closed the show with the top 5 business issues for 2008, so I figure it’s a good place for me to close too.

#5 Continued workforce issues and skilled worker shortages.

#4 Education funding shortfall.

#3 Statewide budget cuts.

#2 Tied for second place are: Presidential election and transportation infrastructure.

#1 Residential housing market.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and watch the video. We’d love to hear what you think. Were you there? Did we miss something? What do you think 2008 has in store for Reno and Sparks?

Thanks to EDAWN and RSCC for putting on the show, and thanks to all the sponsors! Thank you also to those who took the time to comment for the video. It was great talking to you!

-Mike

I was recently working with one of our designers from the Creative Services team to produce this ad for the Nevada Business Journal when it occurred to me that I have never blogged about the work we do for the Las Vegas Monorail; therefore, I am taking the opportunity to do so now.

Before starting a relationship with Twelve Horses, the Las Vegas Monorail did not sell tickets online. This was in part because they did not have the technology to take online ticket purchases, as well as the fact that they needed an enhanced web presence. What we helped them uncover was that a lot of opportunity existed to create new relationships, increase awareness, and generate a greater demand for tickets.

If the Las Vegas Monorail was going to sell tickets online they would need an ecommerce solution that was flexible and customizable. For example, Las Vegas receives a plethora of different groups to the city. If the Monorail was going to service these customers they would need to be able to handle large group purchases, as well as offer special incentives to encourage them to do so. Furthermore, non-technical staff would have to be able to manage it whether it was adding groups, defining the ticket price, specifying date ranges, managing the payment options, setting shipping preferences, and much more.

Needless to say we built it for them. Here is a look at some of the features of the Las Vegas Monorail Ticketing Platform.

Managing Channel Partners

The Las Vegas Monorail works with a number of channel partners and groups. The ticketing platform allows them to set-up a revenue share with these partners, as well as implement their own branding and images online, in emails, and print. It is extremely flexible. For example, they can run multiple promotions at once. This was the case for the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) where there were two different promotions - discounts for attendees and discounts for exhibitors.

Ticketing

The ticketing features are very diverse and capable of handling a multitude of different scenarios. Additionally, integration of ticket tracking and reporting is providing the Monorail with deeper customer insight, which enables to provide a higher level of customer service. Here are just some examples:

1. Automated postings of ticket blocks and and auto removal of postings by set parameters such as date of expiration.
2. Discount Codes defined and assigned either randomly or branded such as “CES2008.”
3. Overrides conducted either temporarily or permanently to groups, types, or partners.
4. Tiered ticket pricing based on quantity, time purchased, or aggregates.
5. Logic in the ticketing prevents, for example, trying to use standard postal delivery when it is international.

Fulfillment

The ticketing platform is flexible enough to allow the fulfillment of tickets via email, direct shipping, and soon - mobile.

1. Electronic delivery allows the customer to print the voucher at home and redeem onsite.
2. Email confirmations sent automatically with purchase confirmation, canceled order and refund, and tickets shipped. Email templates also include branding based on channel partner and/or promotion.
3. When the Monorail handles the print fulfillment they can download all the contacts and do a mail merge on all their envelopes, mailing labels, and tickets.

Customer Service

1. The customer service module gives the Monorail the ability to look up the customer based on any information they give.
2. Those with set privileges can void and change tickets, which reconciles on the financial side and funnels down to the various communication channels.

Reporting

1. The Dashboard shows financial report summaries and projections, so they know how they are doing.
2. Integration with Salesforce matches opportunity numbers to promotions so they can track real-time ticket sales and the success of a campaign. It also allows them to see important items such as what a particular vendor or channel partners agreement was from the previous year.
3. Redemption tracking not only makes sure the ticket cannot be used again, it also lets the Monorail know where and when the customer scanned the ticket, so they can better understand traffic and know where there major stops are.

All of this may seem like a lot, but this is just a brief overview of everything the Las Vegas Monorail Ticketing Platform can do. Suffice to say, the integration of this ecommerce solution has unlocked another channel of additional revenue for the Monorail, and because it is business automation at its best, it is completely scalable and requires very little additional internal resources to get it done.

tags: online, ticketing, ecommerce, solution, business, automation, las vegas, nevada

Headquartered in Reno, Nevada, and less than 30 minutes from the nearest ski resort means quite a few of us here at Twelve Horses like to ski and snowboard. In fact, two of Twelve Horses founders, David LaPlante and Martin Gastanaga, were professional ski racers back in the day before they got a wild hair and decided to start a web design and development company.

Obviously, their passions have an influence on the office culture, as well as the type of clients we have. As an indication, Heavenly Mountain Resort, Mountain Sports International, and Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place are just a few clients we have that are involved in promoting snow sports.

It is the latter client, along with a merry band of high altitude hucksters and several other sponsors, that somehow managed to convince the city of Reno to:

The video speaks for itself. You can also watch more on this YouTube channel. Can you say, Cool!?

Also, here are some awesome Ski Base Jump photos of Shane McConkey doing his thing courtesy of the RSCVA.

David LaPlante and I contribute a monthly article centered around technology and the web to RLife, a lifestyle magazine distributed in the Truckee Meadows. This article appeared in their November issue:

Are You LinkedIn?

Connecting with people in Northern Nevada occurs in many different ways and in many different places. Whether it happens through a First Thursday event at the Nevada Museum of Art, a networking event sponsored by a local organization such as EDAWN, or on a chair lift at Mt. Rose Ski Resort, these connections can prove invaluable. A memorable meeting or a quick handshake can lead to lasting friendships, new business opportunities, and alliances that can benefit you as an individual, as well as the larger community.

The only limitation to traditional networking is that you can’t be everywhere at once. It would prove very difficult to make a lasting impression on someone, or build a new relationship, if you are not there, especially if that person lives outside of the Truckee Meadows. The best way to overcome this hurdle (yep, you guessed it) is to go online; but you have to know where to look.

LinkedIn is the place. It is a social networking site primarily for business professionals. It is helping millions of people connect and stay connected with colleagues and cohorts all over the world. What’s great about LinkedIn is that it’s really easy to join the party. What’s even better is that it’s free.

If you hop online and head over to www.linkedin.com the first thing you will be asked to do is create an account to join. Don’t fret about it. The reason why you are asked to join is because you can’t be a part of a community of users unless you are one yourself. Create an account, import the contacts you do have, and then watch what happens. Before you know it you are sending and receiving invitations to link up to people you met back in high school, knew at your first job, or always wanted to know but never had the chance.

Of course, we all know that success in business is the not-so-secret-sauce of a few fundamentals - skill, tenacity, luck, that BIG IDEA, and the ability to build a significant social network. LinkedIn helps primarily with the latter, but you really need some of the other components to get the most out of it. First and foremost, you have to create a substantial profile. Speak to your strengths and skills and demonstrate your accomplishments. Ask colleagues for recommendations, and offer to give them one as well. Remember, what you are establishing here is a representation of yourself and your personal brand. How do you want people to perceive you?

Many of LinkedIn’s features are very helpful for building your network, but you have to actively use them. On the homepage, LinkedIn continually updates you on who has looked at your profile. It also provides helpful suggestions of people you may know, and gives you the opportunity to contact them or get introduced by someone else. Furthermore, you can explore the connections of those you are linked to, and then decide whether or not you would like to get introduced to them. You can see how your social network can quickly grow and grow.

There are countless stories of people using LinkedIn to reconnect with old acquaintances, find new jobs, conduct valuable market research, and gather important information. But again, LinkedIn will only work as well as you want it to work. You wouldn’t expect to meet many people at an event if you sat in the corner and didn’t talk to anyone, right?

Even if you decide not to be very active at building your social network through LinkedIn, there is still another added benefit. It will quickly, easily, and cost-effectively give you an online presence. If someone searches your name using a popular search engine like Google or Yahoo, chances are they will find your LinkedIn profile, and in today’s business climate, extending and enhancing your personal brand online is very important. Don’t believe it? A quick search on LinkedIn for Northern Nevadans in the 89501 zip code shows that at least 500 or more professionals in our area who think so.

So, come online, create an account, and connect. Don’t be the missing link.

As tired horses feebly found their way into the office this morning, there was little surprise as to why they were a bit sluggish. Yesterday, Twelve Horses was honored with the “2007 Technology Company of the Year” award in Las Vegas by the Technology Business Alliance of Nevada (TBAN).

It was a great event, and a huge thanks goes out to the Officers, Directors, and Members of TBAN who nominated and elected us. Furthermore, none of it would be possible without an awesome team of talented employees, customers who have been with us since 1994, and an array of partners who have supported Twelve Horses going back to the early days when we were Aztech Cyberspace.

We are not only honored, but thrilled, excited, proud, stoked, fired up, and above all - humbled. The fact is there are many cutting edge technology companies in Nevada that are doing impressive work and collectively elevating the tech environment of the state. They are here for a myriad of reasons, but suffice to say, it is because Nevada is a great place to do business.

So, why did we win? Well, you can read what the president of TBAN had to say in the press release. Clearly, it has a lot to do with the type of web development Twelve Horses is doing, as well as the length of time the company has been in business. But from my perspective, there is more.

Part of TBAN’s mission focuses on “supporting and expanding technology in Nevada.” Twelve Horses is involved in numerous community organizations that center around technology, marketing, design, education, and economic development, but one organization in particular, which has really grown in significance in recent time, is the Nevada Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NCET). David LaPlante, CEO of Twelve Horses serves on the Board of Directors as chairman, and I know he has put a lot of personal and company time and energy into seeing the organization flourish.

David LaPlante is what I would call an extreme advocate of technology in Nevada, and you would not believe the amount of energy he puts forth in driving it. Between myself and social marketing manager, Leilani Schweitzer, we have an incredibly difficult time just keeping up with him and his schedule. It is INSANE. He is not the only one either. His partners, Steve Spencer and Martin Gastanaga, take on their fair share of community involvement and support as well. But it really and truly comes from a great love for what they do, and while I am biased, it looks as if it is really achieving really great things for the state of Nevada. This brings me to one final point.

Does Twelve Horses do all of this for semi-selfish reasons? The answer is, yes. Because we are headquartered in Reno, Nevada, and yet, service clients all over the country and beyond, we are aligned in many ways with the Reno-Tahoe brand and business environment. The better the region looks and functions, the better we look and function. It is no different when tech companies establish themselves in Silicon Valley. They know there is a certain brand perception that comes with that geographical area, and they know there is a certain level of infrastructure and employee potential.

Martin Gastanaga is a fifth generation Nevadan, and David is very much rooted, along with his family, in Reno, Nevada. Many of Twelve Horses’ employees were born, live, and love it in Reno-Tahoe. So what you have is a partnership. Local community organizations, governments, businesses, and citizens and stakeholders help Twelve Horses by creating and fostering the type of business environment we need to be successful, and in turn, we do what we can to help Nevada become even better.

Twelve Horses will keep striving to develop new technologies and applications, open up new office locations, and also support the communities in which we operate. It has been a ton of work and a ton of fun, and we have met a lot of great people and enjoyed many new and exciting experiences along the way.

Again, a huge thanks to TBAN for the award, and our promise is that we will do what we can to live up to it.

I just had to share this Modest Mouse music video that features the son of David LaPlante, CEO of Twelve Horses. Today, it appeared on the front page of MySpaceTV.com.

The director of the video is Justin Francis, a native of Reno, Nevada who moved to New York to pursue his MFA degree at NYU’s prestigious Graduate Film Program. He has already built an impressive portfolio of work featuring artists such as 50 Cent, Eminem, Alicia Keys, Weezer, and of course, Modest Mouse.

Along with his partner in The Saline Project, Justin was nominated for “Director Of the Year” in 2005 by the Music Video Production Association, and also received a nomination for “Best Hip Hop Video” at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards.

For you Reno folks, see if you can figure out where the actual locations are featured in the video and then let us know in the comment section. If you need more clues, check out David’s Flickr photos from the shoot.

Modest Mouse - Little Motel

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tags: reno nevada myspacetv.com justin francis

The following article was written by Twelve Horses for the local Reno publication, RLife magazine. Keep in mind that it was written for a wide audience, many of whom might not understand what search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) entail. If you are looking for greater specifics then you might be interested in reading this recent SEO and SEM press release or Contacting Us.

*****************

The other day, I was preparing to leave my house for work when I heard my dog begin to bark. This was followed by the familiar sound of something smacking the ground. Concerned that something was awry, I hurried outside to see what was upsetting Goose. There, in all its yellow glory was the guide of all guides, my conduit to all the pizzas and plumbers that Northern Nevada can serve up. It was my brand new Yellow Book.

I brought it inside, and then began to ponder what to do with this enormous paper weight. Would my life be incomplete without this directory, or could I afford to feed it to the recycling bin?

What was really going on in my head was the evaluation of the World Wide Web today. Did I feel confident that I could find whatever I needed in Northern Nevada simply by searching for it online? My conclusion was “sort of” because the reality is that online search is only as good as those who want to be, or know how to be, found.

As more websites are created, and more people get in the habit of searching for what they want online, appearing in the results of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or MSN becomes increasingly important. But how does it work? The most important part of the equation is to understand what keywords people like us are using to find things.

For example, one of the things that Reno can boast is an exceptional array of diverse and delicious restaurants. You probably know that if you live here, but you might not get that impression from searching online. Why? Because either there are not a lot of individual restaurant websites, or they are not designed for search engines to find them. But people are searching. Web-savvy locals are comparing eateries before booking a reservation, and visitors are researching dining options for their vacation; and it all starts with the words they know. They open up their favorite web browser and type a keyword or keyword phrase like “reno dining.”

When I typed in “reno dining” Google kicked back 2,170,000 results for me. Whew, that’s a lot! Why so many? Well, the first thing the search engine does is look for websites with the specific phrase of “reno dining” and then the keywords of “reno” and “dining.” We don’t really have to be concerned with all of the results because those that appear first are what the search engine considers to be most relevant. Of course, it is not a perfect system because it is built by humans and manipulated by humans, but what is really cool about it is that it is in large part dictated by you and me.

The search engine places great importance on how keywords are used throughout the website. If these keywords don’t match up to what we think they should be, then you and I don’t find it and they can’t get our business if we don’t know they exist. Another factor is how many inbound links the website receives, and what the qualities of those websites are. If reputable websites within the greater online community are not linking to a particular website then the search engines assume it is not as important. Finally, the search engines also take into account how individual users have interacted with the site in the past, which includes the amount of time people like us have spent on the site and how many clicks of the mouse the site receives. If you are interested in more information about natural search try Googling the term, “search engine optimization.”

The power of search is only as powerful as the people who use it. In the end, I decided to keep my Yellow Book because I don’t think we’re completely there yet. There is still a large customer base that is not in the habit of using the Web to find what they’re seeking. In addition, there are a lot of small businesses out there that have not yet begun to explore the benefits of a web presence. What’s exciting, however, is that it’s getting much easier and cheaper for businesses to get online as new types of software tools are designed and built. For example, look at Wordpress.org. Wordpress is empowering millions of people by giving them the tools to develop their own websites, which can then be found by the search engines.

So, I reluctantly stuffed my Yellow Book away in one of those drawers you reserve for stuff you don’t really want to deal with or see. I probably won’t pull it out again before the next one comes, unless, of course, I need to order a pizza.

After blogging for a while, one can quickly lose sight of the fact that many people do not understand why blogging is beneficial in the context of both personal life and business. That could not have been more evident than at a recent conference I attended where I led some roundtable discussions on blogging.

Simultaneously, a cool new local magazine here in Reno called, RLife asked us to do an article on blogging to help clear some of the confusion about it. Instead of writing in the usual article format, David LaPlante and I made into more of a conversation because isn’t that a large part of what blogging is all about?

The hope is that we shift the mindset of readers from the historical perspective that blogs are places where weird people post their thoughts, to an understanding that blogs are powerful channels of communication offering valuable information and the chance for collaboration. I’ll take the liberty of posting it in its entirety here. Obviously, we had fun with it.

What’s all the Blog About?

“I’m constantly learning and growing through the exchange.”

Blogging has been around for a number of years, but it seems like there’s been an explosion of blogs dedicated to Reno and Nevada lately. The reason? It has gotten easier. That, and there’s a lot to do and talk about regarding the Northern Nevada region. In order to explore this phenomenon further, we decided to ask local bloggers Robert Payne and David LaPlante what the fuss is all about. David is the CEO of Twelve Horses and was named Marketer of the Year by Nevada’s American Marketing Association in 2004. Robert is responsible for brand building and global positioning of Twelve Horses. They must be doing something right, since EDAWN recognized Twelve Horses as its 2005 Business of the Year. Both David and Robert are certified technophiles and blog addicts, so who better to help us navigate the sometimes complicated world of blogging?

Robert Payne: There’s so much to write about regarding blogs, where should we start?

David LaPlante: Well, for those who haven’t yet discovered the joys of blogging, why don’t we give them a (very) brief tutorial on blogging 101?

Payne: Sounds good. I’ll start from the beginning. The “Blog,” which is short for Web log, originally started as a “log” of diary-like entries published on a Web site in reverse chronological order. Avid bloggers were primarily made up of a select few of internet savvy individuals who either had strong opinions or useful information they wanted to share online. While some of that still holds true, a lot has changed in the blogosphere.

LaPlante: Agreed. The software and tools surrounding what constitutes a blog has evolved considerably. Many blogs for all intensive purposes look just like well-designed websites with interactive features and rich media. While it’s still a way for people to publish their thoughts for everyone to read, blogs can also serve as an extension of an individual or company’s brand.

Payne: Exactly. If someone Googles, “Robert Payne” they will find www.robertpayne.net; likewise, if they search “David LaPlante” they will find www.davidlaplante.com. Other search terms might even lead people to things we have posted about on our blogs. It is not only a means of getting to know us better but also an extension of ourselves and a means of forming new relationships.

LaPlante: Yeah. We’re cool. Totally A-List all the way. If you don’t have a blog, then you’re a loser <grin> - just joking. Actually, we’re two of perhaps a couple hundred super-active online bloggers who live in Reno. Why do you think they are blogging?

Payne: Because they have the opportunity to share their personal experiences and perspectives online, interact with the online community both here in Reno and throughout the world, and quite possibly, bring about social change. Personally, I’m constantly learning and growing through the exchange. What about you?

LaPlante: I enjoy participating in the online conversation, and creating an archive about my life and interactions with people for my kids to read someday. And I really like interacting with other Nevada bloggers online.

Payne: Who are some of your favorite Nevada bloggers?

LaPlante: Well I guess you’d have to start with Myrna the Minx (www.renodiscontent.com). Love her. Hate her. She’s got a huge following. Business is always good for political bloggers. She’s filled a huge hole in the local conversation that mainstream media just doesn’t delve into. She’s very direct and funny as hell. Too bad she’s anonymous, I’d love to buy her a XXX Blonde at the Silver Peak.

Payne: It’s certainly one of the more well known blogs in town. She gets a lot of different comments from both sides of the fence. I also really like the downtown makeover blog, (www.downtownmakeover.com) simply because it highlights so many of the awesome things happening in downtown Reno, from the many construction projects (with updates) to the cool events and when they’re happening.

LaPlante: Love the DMO blog. It’s cool and positive. Unfortunately, blogging can also skew in favor of the whiny. It can seem like an unmediated City Council meting that NEVER ENDS at times. So when I get tired of politics and current events, I wander over to (www.thebaconstrip.wordpress.com), (www.renobikeproject.blogspot.com), or (www.reno-rambler.blogspot.com) for some bike blogging.

Payne: Politics. Redevelopment. Biking. There’s certainly no shortage of topics people are blogging about. The last time I checked, www.Technorati.com (the blog search engine) was tracking more than 700 blogs about Nevada and something like 70 million different blogs in total. A lot of local businesses are picking up on it, too. But I often hear from non-bloggers, asking how we have time to visit all those blogs?

LaPlante: You don’t have to visit them, just subscribe to their RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. I subscribe to about 90 blog feeds, and about 30 of those are local feeds. I use Google Reader to manage most of them. I also subscribe to feeds on my Blackjack cell phone .

Payne: Google Reader rocks and RSS is revolutionizing the way people can consume content online. It’s like the TV Guide for the internet. I know exactly when people post new content to their blogs; but I digress. What do you think should be the biggest take-away for people reading our conversation about blogs?

LaPlante: That there’s room for a whole other RLife to be going down online. There’s a ton of very vocal, funny, pissy, smart, dumb, cute, ugly, typical and atypical local bloggers that are all about the Reno life. Get online and join in with all that’s out there.

Payne: Cool. Blog on!

tags: blogging, Reno, Nevada, RLife