From her home on the 21st floor of the downtown Woodward's building, Zoe Li documents "life within a mile" online at www.WoodwardSmile.com. Part social geographer, part culinary explorer, Li writes about food, festivals, markets, merchants, and the daily life of her neighbourhood. With her attention focused within the radius around her home, Li's hyper-local writing gets deliberately specific.

"I want to provide the perspective and think of in a locational way," she said.

Li launched her site, which she casually calls a hobby blog, at the beginning of this month, and will use maps and images to detail the precise shelf and aisle location where her favourite items hide within stores. Readers can check out her recommendations for coconut juice and pickled plums at T&T Supermarket at Keefer Place or her choice purchases from the Main Street farmers market.

She also translates. As her site grows, the 30-something, Chinese-born Canadian said she intends to record short audio tutorials for English speakers. "There are a lot of delicious barbecue meat places in Chinatown and I think that some people find it intimidating if they don't know how to order," said Li, who learned from watching her mother order in Cantonese to request one or two ribs from the pork strung up in the storefront.

Irwin Oostindie, the executive director of W2 Community Media Arts Society, said media diversity is good for audiences and democracy. Online publishing atomizes the media landscape by splintering a few news sources into many, and this diversity, he says, helps residents makes sense of their city and gives voice to those who otherwise remain unheard.

Oostindie points to AHA Media, which began with three self-described citizen journalists covering the East Side and now offers media consulting to residents and organizations across Vancouver.

"They're a great example of how social media breaks the divide, providing a voice to people who would not normally have a voice.

"Bloggers have the opportunity to use their neighbourhood as a platform to engage in a meaningful way," he said.

Dean Wilson intends to engage, and he may even outrage.

The Downtown Eastside resident and activist with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users is launching www.V6eh.com, named for the postal code that draws attention for its poverty and drugs. Wilson has a different objective.

"We of course make a lot of news, but I think the analysis needs to be better and I think I'm the guy to do it," he said, noting his frustration that media coverage of the DTES can be voyeuristic.

"In spite of all the good things we've got going on, there is always a catch. Not only do I want to comment on the politics of the neighbourhood, I want to define what the Downtown Eastside is to the rest of the country," he said.

He described his site as the Huffington Post of Hastings and Main.

mstewart@vancourier.com