Our eyes can glaze over as we become exhausted from reading long(ish) form writing. This is true even if those essays are relatively short. You likely have noticed that reading online has changed your ability to process and retain information. Apparently, there is an emerging body of empirical research which supports that intuition.
Do not abandon your hardbound, softbound, real world, tangible books. They are where the knowledge resides. Feel them. Smell them. Write in them.
I have some semi-related questions and observations; do please comment as you feel is appropriate.
1. I am always reflecting on what we are offering here on WARN. Would you like more long-form essays or short essays? Should we be doing more quick posts where we just share links in a one paragraph or so post? Alternatively, do I post too frequently or not frequently enough? Giving too much or too little time between sharing?
2. More than a few folks have asked me about an email list or newsletter/compendium that would bundle up some posts from the site and also include news items suggested by readers. I was uncertain about whether to proceed. Thoughts?
3. I finally installed Google Analytics on the site. Apparently, and this is contrary to what I expected, there are more readers here on WARN than I expected from Statcounter, etc. Good stuff. Thus, the following question: how can we encourage those lurkers to chime in and comment more often?
4. Do you think having a link on the sidebar that includes a way to buy or otherwise access the many books we talk about here on the site is a good idea? I am also thinking of keeping a running compendium of articles, books, and other resources via a link on the sidebar which readers can access and explore. A WeAreRespectableNegroespedia? Would you contribute?
5. Following up on the above. We have a nice bunch of readers who comment on a regular basis. I am so appreciative of all of them--and of course the folks who donate their hard earned monies to encourage me forward here on WARN (speaking of which, I need to write a thank you note).
Thus, I would like to do something random.
How about you introduce yourselves to each other and to me? Why do you come to the site? What are you up to in "the real world"? Any hobbies or random factoids to share? What are you feeling or thinking about? Recipes to contribute? Fun pet stories? Me thinks you get my drift...
I am making that request because I regularly talk to a few of you online via email and I am so impressed by your candor, sincerity, and intelligence. I tell myself that it would be great if those voices could interact more often.
If you are a lurker who tends to be quiet and watch--there is nothing wrong with that--please chime in too. It has been more than a year since we changed the comment policy here on WARN. I am so glad that I made that difficult choice. This is a salon. Do let yourself be heard.
