Curbed SF’s Philip Ferrato Shares His Thoughts on HubPages Marks the Spot

One of our judges for the HubPages Marks the Spot contest is none other than Philip Ferrato, the Contributing Editor for Curbed SF.

Philip is a great blogger and a fun person to chat with, and luckily for us, he had a spare moment to share some of his thoughts on the contest! Check out our interview below:

HubPages: would you mind telling us a bit about yourself and Curbed SF?

Philip Ferrato: I’ve been around. I grew up in in the suburbs of New York and lived in New York City until I was forty, then moved to Portland OR.  About fourteen years ago I moved to San Francisco. The Curbed network of blogs began about eight years ago by Lockhart Steele, who started out by writing about his neighborhood in Manhattan (while working at Gawker) and has grown into a huge enterprise, mostly with the phenomenal success of Eater. Curbed SF began about five years ago- I’d been a long-time fan of the NY and LA blogs and suggested starting an SF version. When the pressures of my real job got too intense it was time to move on, but I’ve always been a fan, and now back as a contributor, while I figure out if I’ve actually retired.

What have you thought about the contest entries so far?

Good stuff. Distillation is critical- the temptation is include too much text. A good corollary is the old comment on a woman getting dressed- “before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off”. I realize if you’re only wearing a t-shirt and hotpants you might get arrested. But it still applies to blogging.

Think ahead to new smartphones and the iPad. I love Google’s “My Maps” and and trotted out out my own “beta” map– still a work in progress. The digital world will only get more interactive.

What is your take on HubPages so far? Had you heard of us before?

Impressed. Um, no. *ducks*

What kind of locations (restaurants? shops? parks?) would you like to read more about?

Biodiesel locations. Carwashes. Clean bathrooms. The Laundromats of Barcelona.

If you were to write an entry for the HubPages Marks the Spot contest, on what would it be? (historical buildings? cafes? etc..)

All of the above!

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Thanks Philip!

To see the results of Philip’s first (and if you’re reading this later, subsequent) judging, visit our contest page.