What Makes Newburyport “Tick?”
The Newburyport Blog has all but disappeared from Google’s search engine, and I wanted to figure out why, I always have liked that question, “Why,” and got me to thinking, “What exactly is The Newburyport Blog anyway??”
The Newburyport Blog is not a place to find out where to eat or shop in Newburyport. There are many Newburyport websites now, including Google (which is almost becoming a website itself instead of a Search Engine), which would give answers to that question.
The fascination that I have, is not where to eat or shop in this wonderful historic city, but the fact that over the years the kind of restaurants and shops have radically changed (The General Store, the hardware/lumber store have been replaced by high end restaurants, spas, boutiques and very expensive furniture stores), and “Why” is that? and what does it say about Newburyport and how the culture in Newburyport is changing. What makes Newburyport “tick?” (the definition of “tick,” a verb, is “The motive and explanation of behavior” — that is what engages me.
The question of what makes Newburyport “tick,” was one of the reasons I was so hooked our once local political journal, The Undertoad. Despite Tom Ryan’s very often, in my opinion, offensive, bombastic, childish and sometimes just downright sadistic approach to reporting the “underside of Newburyport,” The Undertoad’s basic premise was “What makes Newburyport tick?”
When Ulrika Gerth was editor of The Newburyport Current, she had an underlining theme, “What makes Newburyport tick??”
And Tom Salemi, the editor of The Newburyport Posts, with his journalist education, and his light, amicable, often deceivably “simple” posts, also had an underlining theme of “What makes Newburyport tick.” (Come back to blogging Tom Salemi!!)
And Jerry Mullins, God bless him, with his long, researched, valuable content (that Google seems to ignore, so much for Google valuing “valuable content”), over at Brick and Tree, has that same theme too, “What makes Newburyport tick??”
And there are also the blogs by many Newburyport Councilors that address that very same question in a variety of ways.
The Newburyport Blog does have stuff on “gluten free,” but have you noticed the changes in restaurants, etc, gluten free has roared into out culture.
Where to park in Newburyport?? earlier post. Well, I never, ever thought we would have paid parking, but we do. It says something about our town (good stuff for a blog post).
And lots of Google search changes:
Ask for “Newburyport restaurants.” Google itself, not the webpages it “represents” in its search engine, will give you an answer.
Ask for 20+10, you will get an answer from Google, no need to go looking for a calculator on a website anymore.
Ask for information on “zucchini” and you will get Google’s answer. No need to look for a webpage anymore.
Ask for “Following Atticus,” Tom Ryan’s (Undertoad Tom Ryan) book. Google will tell you all about it, need to got to a website?? Maybe.
Look for “Newburyport,” Google will give you an answer, maybe not a good answer, but an answer. That answer will get better, more refined, and pretty soon — no longer need to go to a website anymore.
Look for “Why Newburyport is the way it is today, culturally, socio-economically, architecturally, politically?” That is not a simple question. And if that sort of question is important, maybe check out The Newburyport Blog, the Newburyport City Councilors’ websites, or go over to Brick and Tree and get Jerry Mullins take on what makes Newburyport “tick,” and maybe Tom Salemi will come back and blog again one day.
Inn Street, Newburyport, MA