A new resource for sharing local stories

By Ruth Melville

HamletHub is a network of “hyperlocal” websites whose driving mission is to help local people share local stories with their communities.

The project is the brainchild of Kerry Anne Ducey. About two and a half years ago, Ducey was working as a writer for a local magazine. Frustrated that more good ideas were pitched to her than she could get printed, she set up a website for sharing stories on WordPress. She was amazed by how quickly the project grew as word about it spread, largely through social media. “I had no idea there was such a need for local stories,” Ducey recalls. “The stories were so well received, it showed the community really cared a lot.”

Ducey realized that she’d stumbled upon an unmet need in local communities. And she knew she was going to have to get some help to expand. For one thing, her server was way too small to handle the traffic. She soon set up an advisory board and hired the tech personnel she needed.

HamletHub’s main offices are based in Ridgefield, Conn., but there are now 60 communities involved, spread throughout Connecticut and New York State. The network is continuing to grow. When Ducey and her team decided to expand into the Northwest Corner, they felt that since Norfolk was a bit small to support a hub of its own, it would make sense to combine it with Canaan. After an interview and vetting process, Ducey and her staff chose Norfolk resident, and Norfolk Now editor, Colleen Gundlach to edit the Norfolk/Canaan hub.

Gundlach was then required to complete HamletHub’s 30-day online training course. The editorship typically requires two to three hours of writing and editing a day. The position is unpaid, except for commission on ad sales. Participation on the site is free for individuals and nonprofits, but for-profit businesses can buy ad space. They can also purchase a membership, which allows them to write up to four stories a month about their businesses, with a fifth written by a HamletHub writer.

HamletHub is designed to be simple to use. It is important to Ducey that the process work smoothly and easily for both users and contributors. HamletHub “really loves submissions,” Ducey says. “It’s all about the submissions and the community.”

To post a story, all a person has to do is go to the website (news.hamlethub.com/norfolkcanaan) and click on “submit.” The writer posts the story, uploads a photo if he or she wishes, and clicks on “save.” The story then goes to Gundlach for review, acceptance and editing, after which she releases it for publication. The same procedure applies to the calendar on the site, with the additional helpful feature that the calendar is shared throughout the hubs. If visitors to a site put in their zip code and the number of miles they’re willing to travel, a list of events in that area will pop up.

Stories that are posted on a hub are automatically posted to the hub’s Facebook page and Twitter account. People who sign up for a free subscription will get a local newsletter in their e-mail box every evening.

A recent popular article on the Norfolk/Canaan site reported on a Twitter discussion—sparked by the July 4th thunderstorms—about Norfolkians’ pride in their challenging weather. The article received more than 250 hits, and close to 700 more on Facebook.

Asked how she sees the relationship between Norfolk Now and HamletHub, Gundlach stresses that “each serves an important but different, and complementary, purpose. Norfolk Now will continue to provide the in-depth reporting that it has offered to the community for the past decade. HamletHub will provide day-to-day short news briefs, personal stories and event reminders that people can access quickly.”

Gundlach shares Ducey’s vision of HamletHub as a valuable community resource. “It opens up a whole new way for townspeople to share information quickly. The overriding goal is community involvement, at the most basic local level.”