10 Questions For: Barry Parr

Barry Parr of Coastsider.com

Barry Parr is the publisher of Coastsider.com a community news site for coastal San Mateo County, and Mediasavvy.com, a blog about networked media. He has over twenty years experience in online and print publishing, marketing, research, advertising, and direct marketing. Barry lives in Montara with his wife Cheri.

Why did you start Coastsider.com and what is your vision for it looking forward?

I built a couple of big news sites at the Mercury News and CNET in the ’90s and I had been blogging for a couple of years on “Why newspaper websites should be more like blogs”.  I realized that blogging software had reached the stage in 2004 where it could be used for news coverage and that the Coastside was unserved by the dailies and electronic media, and inadequately served by the HMB Review, which was updating its site weekly at the time.

My vision is for Coastsider to be a place for the community to carry on a conversation about what the Coastside should be like.

In this age of media overload, Twitter, Facebook etc, do you feel we are ‘over informed’?

I’m learning to exercise selective attention. I seldom read my RSS feeds any more. I rely on a few aggregators (techmeme, memeorandum, slashdot), favorite blogs (daring fireball, talking points memo, boingboing,…), and friends to keep up with the buzz. I try to save time to read stuff on paper, like The New Yorker and some books.

What in your mind makes the coastside so unique?

The Coastside would be a unique place even if we didn’t have the ocean. It’s the only genuine small town experience in the SF Bay Area that I’m aware of. We’re also blessed to have so much open space between the towns, and behind us in the hills. And we have unusually accessible beaches for a  California coastal community.

What do you think the coastside will look like in 50 years time?

I hope we’ll be able to preserve and improve our small town character. I fear we’ll become yet another tacky tourist strip. I think either outcome is equally likely.

Which current local issue is the most important to you as a coastsider?

The big issue is always the pace and character of development on the Coastside, and everything else flows from that. The issue closest to my heart is home rule for the Midcoast. The most urgent issue is water policy.

If Montara State Beach is ‘closed’ as part of governor Schwarzeneggers threatened State Parks cut backs, what do you think will happen to it?

The tides will continue to come and go.

What is your most prized possession?

My watch, which was a wedding present from my wife.

Why do you live in Montara?

Open space, fresh air, quiet, good neighbors, variety, the sound of the waves at night, the trees, Farallone View Elementary School, and all within 25 minutes of downtown SF.

What do you do for fun?

Biking, hiking, Coastsider, reading, travel, going out with my wife, and spending time with my family.

Mac or PC?

Mac.