Local business directories, online stores, social media management and other digital marketing services for SMBs are among the monetization strategies underway in the alt-weekly industry, which gathered last week in San Francisco for the AAN Digital Conference. Alt-weeklies are also collaborating more, with a video network up and running and a search engine for entertainment listings and reviews in the works.

“I think for the first time since the great bust, people are feeling better,” said Richard Meeker, publisher of Willamette Week. “Every publisher I know feels like their community is doing a little bit better.”