We’re a new blog: writing in the rAw

Starting a new blog is a funny endeavor. Why do it? People ask about mission statements and intentions and they want to know: what will this accomplish?

Honestly, I don’t know. This might be the very first time in my life that I have no expectations. I don’t know what this place will become. I have no set idea on what is success and what is failure.

In fact, this isn’t even my blog. I’ve funded it, but I don’t own it. Ownership seems hard to claim in a venture so open to other people’s ideas and vision shaping and driving it.

Perhaps it is a bit experimental: I’m curious what evolves from chaos: there are few rules, no boss, and an eclectic group of writers, poets, musicians, and thinkers who may find themselves here from time-to-time.

For me, this is about finding a way to influence an entire planet in thousands of small and profound ways. But these are my own intentions and I do not speak on behalf of the others who may join in here. I can only tell you I am looking for ways to break communication barriers, discover common ground, and reclaim options over how this life thing goes forward.

With that said, I’d like to make some very necessary acknowledgments.

Ha! Opening night at a blog. I remember the first time I experienced that rush. It was at Docudharma, my mother blog. It was really where I grew up as a blogger and it will always be, in some sense, home.

Thanks, buhdydharma, for inviting me to your lively, demanding, and special space and for giving me a place there. Some of you and what I learned from you is in the mix at writing in the rAw

Not everyone is lucky enough to have an ek hornbeck in their blogging life. He was something of a guide when I arrived as a newbie at Daily Kos. He taught me blog manners and the meaning of fierce (in a good way). Certainly, something of ek and what I learned from him are part of WITR. Mostly, you can find him over there, at The Stars Hollow Gazette.

Ahhhh… Daily Kos. Where many of us started blogging and connecting and believing we could, networked and plugged in, change the world.

In some ways, dKos has changed the world. Many of us who started there have scattered like seedlings throughout the blog0sphere, sprouting new sites, innovating blog radio, blog TV, and an incredibly dynamic platform for politicians, pundits, and prognosticators… amazingly, many wonderful authentic voices have also made it on this stage. I’ve found that, indeed, surfing this seemingly endless internet highway is a real trip.

The real surprises in all of these blogging years are the friends made… we’ve met in Paris, Boston, a Connecticut diner, the countryside of North Carolina… and there are those who keep promising they will visit… these are the ones who’ve kept me going. Hugs and kisses to masslass, riaD, jessical, and undercovercalico.

As for Edger, well what can I say? His technical help and expertise were invaluable. He put a lot of work into this site and put up with 1000s of e-mails from me. He was patient and kind and innovative. I’m sure SoapBlox will never be the same… but it will be certainly better.

Last but not least there’s keirdubois. He has no idea how he saved me. i’ve been blue lately. BP slayed me, had me reeling, feeling completely out of control and almost willing to let life roll all over me. out of nowhere, kd saw my powerpoint made blog and asked if he could work on it a bit… and he gave this beautifully edgy design. i am still blown away. cosmic. really.

There is, I realize, one last acknowledgment: to teh bloggers. Everywhere, of every stripe, opinion, and perspective. I hope some of you will bring writing in the rAw to life with your energy…