When one declares oneself to be a conservative, one is not, unfortunately, thereupon visited by tongues of fire that leave one omniscient. The acceptance of a series of premises is just the beginning. After that, we need constantly to inform ourselves, to analyze and to think through our premises and their ramifications. We need to ponder, in the light of the evidence, the strengths and the weaknesses, the consistencies and the inconsistencies, the glory and the frailty of our position, week in and week out. Otherwise, we will not hold our own in a world where informed dedication, not just dedication, is necessary for survival and growth.

William F. Buckley Jr., Feb 8, 1956, NR

Friday, November 14, 2008

Trying A New Concept

After a lengthy, hand wringing staff meeting, we have decided to try a new concept in editorializing, and the first post of that nature is below this one. Let me try and bulletpoint the idea:

-Post will be written in a "talking paper" format. Don't want to bore you with details, but it will basically be a post, as normal, with a few choices for recommendations at the end.
-We would like to get comments on the recommendations. Pick the best one, argue with them, agree with them, modify them, whatever is appropriate for the post and best suits your opinion of the subject matter
-Each post will have a "closing date" or a deadline for comments. You can comment after that date without a problem, but for the next step there has to be a deadline. It will make sense.
-The original author then updates the post with a conclusion. This is the hardest part to explain. The comments will be taken and a summary will be written. It will do something that I have never seen in the blogosphere before, and provide a conclusion to each post.

It may not sound like it makes sense, but I think you will like the outcome. This gives you an actual voice in the final outcome of the post, and that is what we want to happen. We want everyone as owners to some degree in our place.

Give the concept a test drive, let us work some of the kinks out of the process, and then give us some feedback as to how you like it. In the meantime, guest posts are accepted and just email Jenn or me with your interest.

There will be times when there is info that is not in this format. We like to also stay on top of developing issues, and it may require a "normal' type post. We are trying to provide a variety of content,as well as keep all of our content of substantial quality and interest.

As always, subscribe, link, email, or put a bumper sticker on your car advertising us...the rally point grows each day!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting idea. It could work.

Anonymous said...

Cool blog!
You are all excellent writers.

Dardin Soto said...

Robert,
I think this idea of feedback is something that can and will work. I am real excited about the new dynamics in reciprocity this format will bring to our table of ideas.
Excellent!

Robert said...

Thank you for he kind words Pinky. Come back often! We have a wall of coffee cups...bring yours, use it often, and we will wash it and hang it up for your next visit.

Kick your shoes off and set a spell....

rockync said...

Robert, now that the first "experiment" has concluded and you've done your final summary, I think you have found an excellent format for posts.
You certainly did a nice job with this first one.

Robert said...

Thank you Rocky, and we will see if we all become better at this as time goes on. I cannot claim credit for this idea. I wish I could, as I think it unique and interesting! It was actually Sam who made the intitial suggestions.

We will see if it is sustainable and effective.