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November 24th, 2008 by Josh Klein | Printable Version
This is Part 1 in a 3-part series called How To Write a Blog Worth Caring About.
Introduction
I recently wrote about my laser-focusing of this blog on making websites worth caring about. Blogs are a particular kind of website that only work if they’re worth caring about.
Blogs need to be more than search-optimized words and the latest flashy widgets, so I’m going to walk you through the recent updates I’ve made to this blog distilled into lessons for any blog.
In part 1 of this series, we’re going to talk about the necessary features of a blog:
- a strategy with clear goals
- content that doesn’t suck
- a layout that maximizes your strategy
- an optimized squeeze page
- a feedback loop
- a rabbit hole
None of this has to be perfect the day you launch your blog — start blogging now, read this post later — but when you begin to get serious, this is how to get your ducks in a row. Continue reading »
November 5th, 2008 by Josh Klein | Printable Version
I feel I must mark this moment as my own, so I can revisit it over the next few decades and say, I was there, I wanted it, and it happened.
In an email this morning, my Mom informed me she was saving today’s front page of the New York Times, adding it to her collection of only two other issues: the JFK assassination and 9/11.
Today is that kind of day.
Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States of America. I’m not overwhelmed with excitement so much as relieved and exhausted. I had emotionally committed to this outcome as inevitable, as cosmic justice.
I won’t dog you with my ideology; this post is simply a marker. On October 15, 2008 — during the third and final presidential debate — I twittered:
I so rarely have the feeling of watching history as it actively unravels before me.
Thank you for obliging me.
November 4th, 2008 by Josh Klein | Printable Version
It’s about time the democratization of the web — through social media — brought transparency back to government.
A new project called Democratus will let ordinary folks share their ideas and build coalitions around the policy issues they find most important, directly connecting with each other and local politicians to petition for change.
In other words, it opens up the conversation about government beyond politicians, lobbyists, and activists, so anybody can share his voice and leave a transparent digital trail. And I’m just skimming the surface.
I think this is the use of computer technology that would most impress our founding fathers, barring a kickass round of Halo 3. It’s time to bring back the user-generated part of government.
Democratus will be a website worth caring about, and it needs your help; they’re applying for a grant from the Knight Foundation and need votes. It’s free, and will take you less than 5 minutes. Here’s what to do:
Continue reading »