A New Blog from the NC Department of Commerce for Community and Economic Development Professionals

When is it fair to write a blog post about another blog? When the goal is to let the local economic and community development professional community know about a new valuable information resource.   In this case, it is the LEAD Feed, the blog from the North Carolina Labor and Economic Analysis Division of the NC Department of Commerce launched a few months ago. The material in the blog is a mix. On one hand, you will find somewhat esoteric announcements about new data from the Census Bureau or Bureau of Labor Statistics, such as how the Standard Occupational Classification system will be featuring new occupations (Unusual Occupations Are Finding Their Way Into the SOC System). On the other hand, you will find features to targeted audiences on particular industries or regions of interest (NC’s Western Prosperity Zone Is Changing Old Perceptions About Mountain Economies). However, the true gem is the Monday morning synopses of recent stories for economic and community development professionals garnered from various North Carolina sources, titled In Case You Missed It: News of Interest From Around North Carolina (week of April 10, 2015). This past week included stories from the Brookings Institution, Triangle Business Journal and WRAl Techwire. The stories are short, to the point, and focused on new information or announcements. An example is a paragraph on how Reynolds American is preparing to expand in Tobaccoville. These synopses are clearly the most popular posts for the Lead Feed, with hundreds of hits each week, which is not a surprise – any resource that saves time and effort in gathering focused information deserves attention. And don’t forget that we have our own synopsis of interesting news in Community and Economic Development that we share at the end of every month, entitled “What @sog_ced is reading on the web.” Click here for the March 2015 edition.