I have no idea how many people noticed the disappearance of CulturalChicago.com, but I have come to miss it and all the great people I met through it.

This time around, things will be a little different. Only free services will be used. An example of just how much you can do on the Web for free. These services will be used for illustration then sometimes reviewed, critiqued, relied upon or abandoned.

The blog will have a more personal element, whereas CulturalChicago.com was neutral and anonymous. A certain amount awkwardness is inevitable, but should soon pass. One thing that won’t change is the prevalence of interviews. Why? I love to interview people and hear their stories.

My hope is that people, anonymous or named personalities, will send in contributions. Unpaid, of course. Make this a community blog where my voice is one among many who love the culture of this city.

If you read the above and thought, I want my own site, use 3to1Studios.com for your Web design and media firm. They do great work. I can also provide the names of some excellent freelancers who work for reasonable rates.

But me? I’m just trying to ride the recession.

Short list of some free services that will used:

Tumblr.com (blog)

Gmail.com (e-mail)

Google Sites (web site)

Google Docs (mainly word processing)

Free Web hosting (various services)

Elgg (open source social network platform)

Facebook (social networking)

Twitter & Twitter Tools (microblogging)

Flickr (photos)

YouTube (video)

Who did I leave out? Please make recommendations.