I often find myself having a somewhat difficult time explaining to others exactly what Knowing Charlotte is. That might be because I am still figuring it out for myself. But I think if you want to get anything out of the site it would be worth while to take a peek behind the curtain and learn a little bit about it's inspiration, it's future direction and the lowly wizard (yep, that's me) half-assing it all along the way.


the site

The site that defies conventions. Mostly because I'm half-assing it. But you'll at least get an idea about what my intentions are and what I hope to achieve... READ ON >>>


the city

Unless you're from Charlotte, I don't think you have much of an image of the city in mind. If you are from Charlotte, it's probably as accurate as a broken watch... READ ON >>>



how things got started....


A couple of years ago, I got it in my head that I wanted to start a site that both explored and highlighted the city I called home. I used to enjoy visiting sites about other cities and would long to hit the road to explore their mysteries. But in a "grass is always greener" realization, I thought about the potential treasures that lay strewn about my own back yard. I started to look at my home city with a new attentiveness. I set up this site and started to document some of the things I found.

I lost interest in short order. It wasn't the "what" that was bothering me, but the "how". I didn't really see what I was doing as being truly beneficial or valuable. I followed the typical blog format - go out and do something, then come home and share a personal opinion of the experience. The only problem was it wasn't satisfying. I didn't want a site that was just a personal journal. I wanted to create a resource, an artifact for anyone living in or visiting the city.




So now I am in the middle of making a few changes to the site. They are ambitious. And slow-going. But I have a much clearer direction. I want it to be about Charlotte, not about me. I want it to stand apart from the media miasma from which people consume vacantly. I want it to be a reservoir of information instead of a spigot; to be about discovery more than broadcast.

If you want to see my more personal side of things, head over to marcusfromnc.com. There is no way I am going to be able avoid the tangential experiences that are bound to occur during the course of a weekend's activities. And who am I to kid...I'm prone to a few opinions as well. I'll be sharing most of those things there so that I can at least attempt to keep Knowing Charlotte focused.