One of the reasons I've not blogged much (understatement) for the past several months is that I've been rather busy and preoccupied on a business project. The project is a new online magazine and community focusing on American culture - everything from pop culture to politics and fashion to family.
It is called Culture11 and you can find it at www.culture11.com.
There are many stories to tell about its creation, its name, and my participation but I encourage you to take a few minutes and check it out.
Our hope is that you will find some irresistibly interesting perspectives on life in America from some of the country's most dynamic voices. We aim to be an online destination that has the editorial excellence of a great magazine, the thrill of a terrific conversation, and the comfort of a supportive community all rolled into one.
We're still in the beta stage and working out a few bugs so we could use your input. We're also launching very quietly - no big press releases or press conferences, no claims that we are going to change the world. We just want to build something that can be an everyday part of life.
Two more things. I am going to keep JWalking here at Beliefnet. I love this company and this little community. At the same time, I will be blogging at Culture11 with a friend of mine named Joe Carter. He is our managing editor and we will call our blog Kuo & Joe. I know, massively original. I hope you will check that out as well my blog here.
Let me know what you think about any and all of this... my new email is david@culture11.com
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I like it at first glance and some browsing. It reminds me a little of facebook with content and I am entirely at sea with Facebook, but young people like Thinker should be comfortable there. I'm looking forward to the Great Books discussion, although I should warn you, I really let my midwestern drawl up and unwind in grat books discussion.
I looked and it is interesting. I hope it delivers the style and substance that I have come to find in reading your blogs and other published works.
I had the chance to spend a little more time on the Culture11 website today. It looks terrific and I'll bookmark it for sure. I'm not much of a joiner so don't know if/when I'll register but if I come to value it over time, maybe it will make the list of blogs I financially support when it comes time to make my contributions.
I particularly appreciated the Poulos and Freire articles, Ben Van Horrick's diary (although I admit I didn't scan/read beyond the front page), and of course, your (David's) blogposts. Your partner comes across as a little too partisan or aggressive for my liking - although I'll continue to read his posts and see if I appreciate his perspective more over time.
In terms of the site's layout/aesthetics, all in all I think you have done a great job. I found it slightly disorienting the first time I was on but that's only because I seem to need a mental image of a site to feel comfortable exploring. In any case, my only recommendations are to be consistent with your language (topics/categories) and if possible, to include a very brief description as a pop-up when one moves the mouse over the pull-down menus on the top. Otherwise, it might make sense to use front-page real estate on the list of categories on the left side and move some of the content from "below the fold" up.
Anyway, congrats on the new endeavor! My best to you and your family!
Nan
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