You’re a month old now - it’s time we had a chat about bloggering
(No Ratings Yet)In the interest of moving things forward, I thought I’d start a thread on the content and direction of Partisan Free Politics (as well as some basic bloggery-nonsense).
My vision for this project (and please feel free to disagree) is to foster a partisan-neutral, issue-oriented community capable of holding its own against the partisan-frenzied mobs that dominate the political blogosphere. We (and not just the Millennial generation) have before us an unprecedented opportunity; to communicate, organize and impact the world through diffuse organic power structures. The source of this power is not derived from the internet - though the internet helps - it is derived from the discovery of a common ground (civic engagement). To that end, the authors of this blog and I invite you to get involved @ Partisan Free Politics.
The blogosphere in general is ossified and reflects the polarized status of politics in America. As the partisan arms race continues, societal ills remain. Bad policy, regardless of partisan affiliation, is still bad policy. For an interesting read on the history and functionality of blogs in general, check this article out. So where does that leave us - what do we need to do?
We need to attract an ideologically diverse audience. The best way to achieve this is to write an article and invite your friends to read and respond (don’t forget to tag it). It doesn’t have to be Shakespeare or Thomas Jefferson - it should be something you are interested in and relatively coherent. Additionally, if any of you are interested in using video or audio let me know.
The second best way to do this is to post comments on other blogs, let them know we are here, having a similar conversation and interested in what they have to say. The third way to increase our audience (and perhaps most importantly) is to increase authorship. Our current method for including additional authors is a mafia-style vouching system. If you know anyone whom you believe would make a good (even if only an occasional writer) invite them to sign up, and shoot me an e-mail. Finally, we are also advertising via Google ads (currently being supported by a generous donation from the Sarah Tulley Foundation).
On a technical level we have a far ways to go, but I hope you all find this simple wordpress install ample. So, that’s where I’ll leave it - thoughts, comments, ideas?
on September 2nd, 2007 at 8:41 pm
When this was originally posted, my foray into the blogosphere was still in its initial stages. Now, with a little more experience under my belt, I feel that I’ve got a better chance of understanding what it is that I want accomplish with this project of ours.
I’m looking to foster a community of debate where real ideas dominate instead of the usual sound-bites of everyday “political” media.
I suppose my posts and responses have, and will continue to be, somewhat longer than the average “amateur” blog. This is because to unload all the terminology and reframe a political debate takes a considerable amount of effort (lest one say too little and be misunderstood, as has been my error before.) To that end I will no longer be apologizing for the length of any of my transmissions, and I would prefer it if the dedicated community here would refrain from using the threads to suggest changes in my (or each others’) writing styles, it tends to sidetrack the debate. I would, however, be more than happy to hear your criticisms through other channels, the most easy at this point being through my personal email.
The blogosphere is filled with plenty of people venting their thoughts and feelings, I’m hoping that our site can stand above the rest by providing a real, thorough, genuine debate… which may require some longer posts, and a real back and forth discussion (without resorting to name calling, or sophistry) on the particulars of each issue.
Anyone else have new thoughts with an extra month of hindsight to guide us?