Photo was taken by Melissa Brabham
While other Times Union bloggers in the business section wrote about marketing trends and rising entrepreneurs in the capital district, Matt Baumgartner blogged about Ronald McDonald and Ducati’s. Within weeks Baumgartner’s blog started to receive more than 45,000 views.
Michael Huber, the Interactive Audience Manager for the TimesUnion.com, recruited Baumgartner to write for the business section blog since he owns Bombers Burritos Bar and Wolff’s Beirgarten in downtown Albany. Baumgartner, a graduate from Union College with a bachelor’s in Economics and Spanish, had no previous experience writing, except on a blog section of MySpace.
Initially he was contracted to post weekly but Baumgartner wrote daily. Some of his early blogs were strictly business related but soon Baumgartner started to post controversial, but very popular, topics about strippers and homo milk.
In one blog titled ‘Grapes’ he writes about getting unintentionally getting drunk the night before while watching a funny newscast about grapes, which is why he did not post his trademark Friday Puppy blog. One comment read “You don’t owe anyone anything on this blog, take your time,” “Everything I write I worry about,” Baumgartner said. But “It’s not my strategy…to push the limit,”.
Although he broke the Times Union rules regarding foul language and appropriate topic choices, it was obvious that there was a method to his madness that just worked. Mr. Huber from the Times Union called it the “Birth of a blog but really the birth of a blogger,”
But after six months of a love-hate relationship with the Times Union, Matt Baumgartner left the TU and created his own blog, Fidaypuppy.com. The name Friday Puppy was his trademark Friday blog with the Times Union. Every Friday he would post pictures of people’s dog, or puppy, with a little blurb next to it. The first FridayPuppy was Lola the dog that lived downstairs from him.
Baumgartner launched Fridaypuppy.com October 2009 and called it “liberating,”. He said that although the opportunity to have written a Times Union blog was beneficial, writing his own blog without strict guidelines propelled his blogging. According to the about page of FridayPuppy, he likes vodka, xanax and Fudge Fantasy cookies; and warns about leaving mean comments. And maybe that too much information for some but as Baumgartner explains “people relate to it,” and that they “appreciate the honesty,”.
In one of his recent blogs titled ‘Fear of Public Speaking’ he explains how his recent trip to the University at Albany to speak to a journalism class about his blog made him “want to vomit,”. It’s ironic that Baumgartner, who “almost never buys a newspaper anymore,”, is speaking to a class of future journalist about his successful blog. He’s far from a trained journalist but has mastered blogging; something that has changed what and how news is now constructed. His advice on what to major in: “ accounting,”.
Although he manages to blog almost daily, Baumgartner spends a lot of time between his two restaurants. When asked whether he liked blogging or owning a restaurant better, “blogging,” he replied. Bombers Burritos Bar, located on the corner of Western Avenue and Lark Street, serves wings in a variety of flavors (Baumgartner’s favorite are the Tequila wings), drink specials and of course burritos. Bombers also has a blog that’s maintained with the help of Pete Corcoran. There are photos of newlyweds and customers celebrating their 21st birthdays with the infamous Birthday Margarita. He opened up Bombers in October 1997 with the prize money, $15,000 after taxes, he won playing a Let it Ride game at Turning Stone Casino.
