I’ve been asked, on more than one occasion, what has led me to produce this thing called ‘Barcelona Reporter’. If you had asked me that question back in January when the site launched, and looked completely different to what it does today, I would have provided you with a completely different answer also.

People out there who know me, either personally or virtually, must have wondered what to expect next on the site as it was chopped and changed, bits added and deleted, and new sections added and then withdrawn. And as for the multiple changes of colour - well, sorry about that. I’m glad to say that it’s settled down now and the pages seem to have reached a balance between content, navigation and visual appeal. I’m still tinkering here and there though, but you regulars will be glad (I hope!) to learn that things aren’t going to change too dramatically in the near future.

Some of you will know that at the time of starting Barcelona Reporter I was also writing a blog called ‘BarcaBlog’. That personal blog is dead now - may it rest in peace - as it simply didn’t make sense to keep it whilst I knew I’d eventually get around to contributing something of a personal nature on this new site. I just didn’t think it would take so long for me to write it.

That word ‘contribution’ is what the site is now focusing upon and provides the Barcelona Reporter raison d'etre. I’m grateful to those who have sent in letters to the site, made comments on news articles and especially to both John Barrass and Paul Clearwater who have made their own extended contributions to the site and have done so, I believe, in a way that I can best label with the relatively new and terribly fashionable term ‘citizen journalism’.

Although the site is nowhere near as comprehensive as I would like (I would need a volunteer army of Spanish and Catalan translators for that to be the case plus an extra week or two in the month …), I do hope that it gives English-language visitors a more realistic flavour for the city of Barcelona, the provinces of Catalonia and of Catalonia itself. There is, after all, only so much one can take from the Generalitat’s handsomely financed self-publicity and all-things-Catalan marketing machine and all those tourist guides, tourist magazines and tourist websites! Yes, yes we know what fantastic architecture and history Barcelona has, but what’s it like living there? Why was there a power cut the other day? Who started the fight in that small Catalan town which resulted in a stabbing death? How did that forest fire start? What are the local politicians up to now? Estatut - where can I find news on that in English? What are local bloggers saying? And so on and so forth …

Personally speaking, and I’m not putting anyone under any pressure here (!), I would really like for more people out there to get themselves involved with the site in some way, perhaps by adding their thoughts on the news items that have been posted, or sending in an email to raise awareness of an issue of relevance locally or, even better, start writing a regular column (once a month will do!) or a regular blog (once a week will do!).

I can’t believe, for example, only one person out of the thousands who must have seen the story has taken the time to comment on the ‘Half a million Euros for Generalitat self-publicity ad campaign’ item. The Generalitat is going to spend €500,000 of taxpayer money on telling people what they want to hear and what a fantastic government they're oh-so-lucky to have? And only one person found that to be a little odd? Oh that I could be free to write comments to the stories that I post!

Above all, don’t be intimidated by some of the more radical Catalan nationalists out there who can’t accept that there are people living here or who have an interest in the city or the province who have every much a right to discuss this province, its politics, its people and its culture as they do. Be critical. Be opinionated. Be forthright. Our view, in my opinion, is just as valid as theirs and we shouldn’t be bullied into thinking otherwise.

The thing is, and this shouldn’t come as any great surprise, I’m not a journalist or ‘reporter’ in the traditional sense of the term. I’ll continue to make the occasional mistake or mistranslation, I accept that: but it’s not going to put me off doing what I’m trying to do with the site. I’m just a guy who thinks there’s a niche for the kind of news Barcelona Reporter has to provide; can find, aggregate, translate and organise some of what’s already out there and put it under one roof; and have provided an outlet through which people - just like you - can air their thoughts and opinions. All you need to do is write, snap a picture or share your thoughts.

Wouldn’t it feel good to get involved?