Chuck Olsen, Minnesota Stories

Chuck Olsen
Minnesota Stories

If the local Web scene has a godfather, it might very well be Chuck Olsen. He is the creator of the popular video blogging site Minnesota Stories, was one of the first video bloggers in the country, filmed a documentary on Web logs called Blogumentary, seems to know most of the Twin Cities online community, and is generally the go-to source for reporters who need a quote on all things Internet.

Olsen may be one of the few people in the world making a living as an online videographer, working for national video blogging sites and producing Web video for local companies and Web firms. In fact, he is so busy he recently announced that he wants to sell the Minnesota Stories franchise to an investor and has “taken it off the air until further notice.”

Even before You Tube was You Tube, Olsen was posting video to the Web. He describes his two-year-old Minnesota Stories site as a “citizen media channel” that’s “basically a collection of short videos on any topic you can imagine that people send to me.”

The postings in any given week might range from a scenic film of the North Shore to a political press conference, along with Minnesota-related snippets from You Tube or quirky submissions from Olsen himself.

“I’m continually surprised at the content I get,” Olsen says. “It helps show what a big media-making community is out there.”