ChicagoNow's “Chalk Blog”

Last week the Chicago Tribune officially launched ChicagoNow, their new collection of local blogs. They put the word out every way they could – at a Cubs game, with interviews on WGN (including mine), and in ads in the paper and in RedEye, to name a few. One particularly innovative method was the Chalk Blog. Chalkboards were lined up on the sidewalk in Pioneer Plaza, the open square at the base of the Tribune Tower, and invited to voice their opinions on the Olympics, the CTA, and their favorite things to do in Chicago. As one of their bloggers I spent some time on the plaza and I can verify it was an unmitigated success with chalk “boards” filled from one end to the other.