Political Cortex: Open Thread

Open Thread

By Open Thread
11/15/2005 12:23:10 PM EST

What do you think about Cross Posting?

Is it a good idea for the Cortex Writers to avoid regular crossposting?

Check out the poll over the flip and consider this an Open thread!!

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Votes: 26
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Open Thread | 54 comments (54 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Thanks for the topic (5.00 / 3)

because I've been wondering about this.

My first post here was also posted at TPM Cafe, and it felt a little weird. I think from now on I'll keep my posts separate.

But then you have to think about what "kind" of post works here, versus the (ever growing list of) other blogs out there. (And since I'm new here, I think I'll wait it out a little longer before posting again.)

The one place I don't post anymore is dkos. Front page is still required reading, but it's too big to post there.

Anyway, that's my long-winded way of saying no to cross-posting.

Dissent Protects Democracy

by cscs on 11/15/2005 12:22:39 PM EST

That is exactly the point (5.00 / 2)

The less cross-posting that exists, the more original the 'personality' of the individual blogs. Once you get a feel for those various personalities, then you will know what works there and what doesn't.

THEN, you will have a true choice about where you want to go and what you want to read. Then, there will be a legitimate choice for not only reading, but also posting of your own material.

Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic

by Tom Ball on 11/15/2005 12:27:39 PM EST

[ Parent ]

: Here's my thought : (none / 0)

Crossposting "lite"
[ see above ]
Heh heh.
[ also - I sent you a code tidbit in the mail ]
by Bruce Wilson on 11/15/2005 12:42:47 PM EST

[ Parent ]

I think we all miss the real issue (5.00 / 3)

If it's just traffic you want then cross posting might help. Original content is what keeps people coming back though.

BUT, and this is what i think gets missed. What's the point if all the lefty blogs all have the same people reading them ? Shouldn't the goal be to bring NEW readers into the lefty blogosphere.

If that is the real goal, and certainly a better one i think, then it would be clear to me that you have to reach beyond the lefty bogs to grab those newbie readers. Develop THAT strategy and i think you have something really worthwhile.

Blogging the 2006 Ohio Senate Race

by Pounder on 11/15/2005 06:48:36 PM EST

here's the deal (4.66 / 3)

If you crosspost everywhere, dkos, MLW, BooMan, etc. then that dilutes the effect, doesn't it? It seems to scatter the discussion and doesn't provide an incentive to visit a given site.

It's tough though, getting writers to limit their writings to a site that may not get enough hits, say, as the Big Orange.

My blog is pretty.

by Georgia10 on 11/15/2005 11:47:39 AM EST

I strongly agree (4.85 / 7)

I've tried to keep the stuff I post on MLW exclusive to that site (and even go so far as to post "A My Left Wing Exclusive" atop my frontpage entries). I've only ever crossposted anything once, and that was my diary on the Vietnam Vets' Memorial I did last Friday.

I think that crossposting does tend to scatter the discussion. Moreover, it doesn't provide any incentive for anyone to visit the various new sites, if everything can simply be found at big orange.

We all seem to do a good job of linking to and riffing off of other writers in our blogosphere, from Atrios to John Aravosis to folks at Huffington Post. I don't see why we can't do the same with our dKos-spawned sites as well. If georgia10 writes something brilliant here, I can use it to shape an entry of my own at MLW, and then someone at dKos can comment on what you and I have said.

Let a thousand flowers bloom, I say.

Besides, crossposting tends to breed more of it, which drowns out original site content in favor of something that's posted to like 6 different places.

I'm not a part of a redneck agenda - Green Day

by eugene on 11/15/2005 12:11:19 PM EST

[ Parent ]

eugene, you're brilliant (5.00 / 6)

You say: If georgia10 writes something brilliant here, I can use it to shape an entry of my own at MLW, and then someone at dKos can comment on what you and I have said.

I think that is probably the ideal solution to the cross-posting, that the spin-offs from DKos try to read, riff off of and comment with and between each other.

Writing a response at MLW to a post here is a great solution to cross-pollinization -- no Xeroxed duplicates, but dialogues and conversations that float and progress from one "salon" to another.

At least, that's the best articulation of the concept I can come up with.

by SusanG on 11/15/2005 12:33:17 PM EST

[ Parent ]

: Well said (none / 0)

both of you.
Perhaps there should be a more concerted effort to do exactly that.
Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic
by Tom Ball on 11/15/2005 12:37:09 PM EST

[ Parent ]

"Let a thousand flowers bloom, I say." (none / 0)

So True.

by Open Thread on 11/15/2005 12:19:22 PM EST

[ Parent ]

: It's nice to see that (none / 1)

"Open Thread" is so active in the comments sections. Shows he's really passionate about his work;)
Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic
by Tom Ball on 11/15/2005 12:22:08 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Georgia10 (4.50 / 2)

My name is Carnacki and I'm a cross posting addict.
::Hi Carnacki::

It's been 12 hours since my last cross post.

I posted it every where.

I see your point but I find myself powerless to stop.

Particularly the happy stories when I think they come out well.

But I think happiness should be spread widely.

Maybe that's a cop out.

I'll take the rest one step at a time. ;)

I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exhaltation. Sherlock Holmes.

by Carnacki on 11/16/2005 07:56:36 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Perfect summary (none / 1)

of the philosphy behind the move.

I think the blogosphere, and particularly the progressive political blogosphere needs to have some new and unique voices.

Cross-posting sort of blurs that site originality and encourages fewer radically new ideas to take root -- often quashed by the mass of the 'established' blog powers. IMO.

More original voices, means more perspectives, more ideas, more discussion, and a more powerful overall voice.

by Open Thread on 11/15/2005 12:13:27 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Well, I crosspost to DKos only, now... (none / 1)

for the most part.

And I have to say, each and EVERY time I crosspost a diary that makes the RD list at DKos, my traffic at MLW goes up. Sharply.

Which is why I keep doing it.

-9.63, -7.03... Rage, rage against the Lying of the Right at MLW

by Maryscott OConnor on 11/15/2005 03:01:23 PM EST

[ Parent ]

: Thanks, Maryscott (none / 0)

Exactly the kind of information we need to chew over.
by Devilstower on 11/15/2005 04:05:49 PM EST

[ Parent ]
: I was thinking about that... (none / 0)

...earlier today. I know you've mentioned that before. And we could all use more traffic to help pay the bills...
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda - Green Day
by eugene on 11/15/2005 11:00:42 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Of course, it's tempting to cross-post... (none / 1)

... everywhere, because people want to direct traffic to their blog (at least when they first start their blog, or until they build a steady readership), but I agree that it dilutes the effect.

The only times I've cross-posted something from TNH more than one place was to dailyKos and to the EuroTrib, and that was only when I'd written something that would be of interest to European readers (US foreign policy as opposed to strictly US politics, like unions, etc.).

by Plutonium Page on 11/16/2005 04:59:33 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Did cross-posting drive UP traffic? (none / 1)

Because it gives Next Hurrah more exposure? Or does it drive it down, because people can read the same thing at DKos?

That's what I'm trying to get a handle on. Logically, I'd think it would drive traffic down at the original site (here or Next Hurrah) if it Daily Kos is serving as the clearinghouse where everyone is cross-posting.

But from MSOC's statement in this thread, it appears to drive it up, which to me seems counter-intuitive.

I guess I'm having to re-think the dynamic because it's not working in a way I would have predicted.

by SusanG on 11/16/2005 07:10:27 PM EST

[ Parent ]

: Traffic (4.50 / 2)

Well, cross-posting to dKos certainly drives up traffic, but obviously, the traffic is only coming from one source, so it's not really indicative of how good or popular your blog is.
We get an average of 3,713 unique hits per day now, and they're from blogs other than dailyKos, as well as Google searches. That's what I mean by a diverse audience.
So, cross-posting on dailyKos gives your blog initial exposure and drives up hits, but the goal is to get unique hits. Otherwise, it's just a clique.
I love Political Cortex, btw. You guys have some fantastic writers, and plenty of stuff to digest :-)
Some blogs are zirconium. Yours is a diamond. It's the real thing, and has great content/substance.
by Plutonium Page on 11/17/2005 02:28:51 AM EST

[ Parent ]

I think that... (4.50 / 2)

for the most part, when posting personal diaries, musings, reflections, analysis, etc., that keeping to one blogging spot is probably a good idea.

that being said, if you've just interviewed Valerie Plame, or identified the location of the lost Ark of the Covenant, or something equally big, then you should cross-post with abandon. That will help drive traffic across blogs, and hopefully people will stay and read the aforementioned musings, anecdotes and travelogues.

Just my $.02

Visit

by Timroff on 11/15/2005 12:04:02 PM EST

I see your point (none / 0)

-- that inportant information should be disseminated as freely as possible.

But I think that is what linkss are for. One of the great advantages to the internet is that new information is never more than a click away.

by Open Thread on 11/15/2005 12:17:16 PM EST

[ Parent ]

There is a middle ground here : (none / 1)

Some might think of this as tacky, but I consider it a wise compromise which offers the best of both worlds :

Why not crosspost - on many sites - the first paragraph from a longer post or story, with a link to the entire piece on one central site ?

If someone can't convey the gist of their piece in a paragraph, well I probably don't want to read it anyway, this approach also saves page space and server load for those many sites crossposted to : they get more variety on the cheap, and in turn they provide eyeballs.

by Bruce Wilson on 11/15/2005 12:40:08 PM EST

[ Parent ]

The thing is ... (none / 0)

epm seemed to be trying this tactic at DKos (after I left the group, so I don't know what tactical thinking went into it behind the scenes).

They'd post a "teaser" and ask people to come read the story in full at their site and comment. They did this for ... I don't know ... a month or so.

But I've noticed they've abandoned it recently, going back to posting articles in full at DKos. I don't know if it's because it wasn't driving traffic the way they thought it would or if it was proving too much of a burden to prepare separate teasers. I would think though that if the strategy had been wildly successful, they would have continued it.

It seems on the surface to be a possible solution.

by SusanG on 11/15/2005 12:49:10 PM EST

[ Parent ]

But should the teasers (none / 0)

go in the Diaries, or the comments sections?

I know. This sounds like a perfect post for the Cortex "Nerve Center"!!

Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic

by Tom Ball on 11/15/2005 12:56:41 PM EST

[ Parent ]

My own gut feeling is ... (none / 1)

That if MLW and Cortex and Talk to Action, for example, have a loose affiliation based on having cross-over community members anyway (with most people largely based in one community or another), that cross-posting would most naturally come up in comments. As a discussion about say, Alito's views on abortion get discussed at MLW, and we have a discussion going on here about his views on the ICC, for example, I'd say it would naturally come up at each site in the comments that there's another really interesting aspect of Alito going on at the other site.

I guess if I spotted a really terrific discussion at MLW that I didn't necessarily want to write a separate post addressing, I'd probably comment there (I love MLW, by the way ... love it love it love it), and then post a quickie at the Nerve Center here that there's really a fantabulous discussion going on, and link it. I'd do the same in an open thread here, I think.

I DO think it would be beneficial for the spin-off creators to have discussions about how best to drive traffic to each other, to keep their own voices, to help nourish each other's communities.

I think of the progressive blogosphere as a huge house party on an English country estate. Obviously, Daily Kos has taken over the the entire first floor of the main house, but as people group together in small bunches, they'd wander off to have more quiet and in-depth conversations ... in the garden, in a smaller room on the second floor, at the stable, etc. Since it's a house party weekend, they'd still drift into the main Big Orange salon for some socialization, but the quieter and more focused conversations would continue, drifting from place to place on the estate.

My God, that took a lot of writing. And was not very coherent, to boot. Sorry about that.

by SusanG on 11/15/2005 01:10:13 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Acually (none / 0)

that made complete sense. And it sounds like something that would be competely doable and beneficial to all involved.

Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic

by Tom Ball on 11/15/2005 01:38:48 PM EST

[ Parent ]

: I agree (none / 0)

From a Talk to Action perspective, Street Prophets is a logial ally as well.
by Frederick Clarkson on 11/15/2005 03:29:44 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Nice analogy ;> (none / 0)

by katerina on 11/15/2005 03:35:55 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Re : Susan's comment (none / 0)

Another Best. Comment. Evah.

[ Below : a rumenative yet before breakfast essay disquised as a footnote which - in terms of human ethology and sociobiology - is possibly a form of stotting. It also is a wry reflection of the way group blogging culture has neglected to consider mechanisms by which noteworthy individual comments or threads that emerge on post discussions could be promoted from the commentary flock..... and more, including a Cape Code clamshack, discussion of group blog culture, Godzilla, and deadly combat between a young man armed with a knife and a grizzly bear. Read on. You'll see. ]

Susan - That's a very useful suggestion, one which I was immediately tempted to visualize as expressed in software.

I'm not sure I've actually ever encountered this line of thought or not, but here's what I think is at issue here : from participating on such group blogs such as dKos, and now pCortex, we think in terms of great "stories" and "diaries". OK, fine. But, what about great discussions that arise on those ? There no system I'm aware of - an any cms ( content management system, such as Scoop and Drupal ) that has a mechanism by which superior discussions, which often range beyond the topical nature of the originating, parent posts, get selected from the whole discussion fray.

I'm going to mention this to Tom : it actually wouldn't be that hard to do this, and one of the ways that sites such as Political Cortex or Talk To Action can distinguish themselves and build loyal user bases is to pioneer new conceptual improvements to the basic Scoop or Drupal platforms.

I have some pieces of writing, which I've talked to Tom on posting to Political Cortex, on Citizen Journalism. My thoughts are coming both from my experiences in ePm but also from extensive talks with Fred - who has a very interesting take on Citizen Journalism, as one who has long professional journalistic experience and who knows a number of truly hard core investigative journalists, the types who potentially put even their live at risk digging into the abuses of power.

I'm not sure on the extent to which the open source software systems of Scoop and Drupal have brushed up against the real world considerations that would tend to occur to experienced journalists.

From the looks of things - I'd guess - not much.

I've been chatting a bit with Jon Garfunkel, of civilities.net ( http://www.civilities.net ), and Jon has noticed a widespread "much smoke, little fire" problem in the Citizen Journalism universe - lots of talk, little actual implementation.

Jon and I share the impression that leading open sources cms's may have - as they are currently configured - exceeded (or they work against the constraints of), American cultural limitations.

Why else - other than the highly individualistic American cultural mileau - can Koreans but not Americans pull off real Citizen Journalism ?

OhMyNews was founded in '99, but here we are in late '05 - and for all the buzz among digiterati and blogodemics on the topic - there are shockingly few American attempts to actually implement what cms systems such as Scoop and Drupal were built to enable.

I'd suggest that part of this may be inherent in certain utopian notions held dear and expressed in the almost magical power of Wikis :

The Wikipedia has been such a stunning success that I feel it has obscured a crucial point and led many thinkers on Citizen Journalism astray : not everything is - or should be - Wikified, and for very practical reasons ( some of which reasons owe a debt to my talks with Fred ) that I'll go into in a piece I'll post sometime soon after the Talk to Action launch.

"Open Source" is a fine and grand notion but one currently vested, by many not caught up in the demands of actual open source projects, with perniciously unrealistic expectations that all product must be free and that all that is not free is corrupt : maybe aggravated, too, in reaction to the extremity of the American cult of laissez faire capitalism. "Open Source" has somehow become, in the minds of many, a shining white knight on white horse, an inchoate sustitute for utopian anarchist and socialist yearnings better addressed by real world and local community involvement and not internet software projects. Open Source cannot talk to one's neighbor or - if it could - the result might be less than satisfying.

I'd suggest that the surrounding culture of Open Source

or imagined Open Source, because I'm levelling this critique more at those not actually involved in creating open source software and content as much as those caught up in fuzzy notions that open source will make everything free as well as bake a tasty apple pie, walk the dog, deliver a pizza, mow the lawn, and save the World

may have become a crippling hindrance : succesful Open Source projects, such as the Mozilla project and - in social terms - the creation of Live Journal [ see footnote ] and likely the Wikipedia as well, have succeeded or succeed on the basis of their ability as hybrids: they inform, guide, and protect the social process - as well as somehow corral the more fractious tendencies of American individualism - yet protect themselves by harder edged business concepts, informed by business management and also the considerable body of knowledge inherent to the nonprofit realm.

[ footnote ]

In the course of working on the ePluribus Media project I had a number of conversations with Mark Kraft, the business manager ( "all things business" was Mark's actual appellation ) of Live Journal who has a great deal to say on the Open Source process, for that process built Live Journal. Mark has a depth of insight, perhaps shared by few, on the creation and solification of buy-in among volunteers in a vast, distributed open source project. LJ's servers, I've heard, are - or were as of a few months ago - on a scale comparable to Google's and LJ has a larger user base than Blogger. As it developed and grew, Live Journal was run as a business, yes, but on every major decision Mark and his several partners solicited feedback from the LJ community and generally made decisions in accord with the majorty consensus derived from that feedback process : business decision making as a quasi-wiki process.

[ beware - the best runon sentence ever written lies ahead ! heh heh. For readability I've marked off some of the more massive massive parenthetical statements with italics ]

That is a very different model from what is inherent to such Zillablogs as the Daily Kos

Godzilla blogs, of enormous scale which - as manifested by the US political blogging left - like the later Godzilla of Japanese cinematography are generally benevolent but autocratic, slow to respond, and clumsy such that they crush much of the delicacy of consensus whilst lurching about spouting fiery gouts of rhetoric to defend the Tokyo of liberal body politic from pachydermasauric monsters, and lumbering after the democratic good that is sometimes set aflame and crushed underfoot.

[ see footnote to this footnote ]

where autocratic owner/managers

who perhaps have become unwittingly caught up in the endocrine disorder which is the "physiology of power", by which Testosterone - and other hormone - titration among social primates ( including Homo Sapiens )changes markedly as individuals gain the social "dominance" imparted by fame, wealth, and power, and from that develop excessive and sometimes unfounded confidence in their decision making powers : there was a certain randomness in the emergence of the current constellation of Blogerati, and being first is not always synonymous with deep understanding

make at times ill-advised decisions grounded in idiosyncratic shortcomings. A striking recent example - in the dim distant past of internet and blogtime, that is to say last summer - was the earthquake of discontent which led MSOC, Georgia10, and others to sally forth - in disgust - from the Daily Club from their annoyance at what they seem to have felt was a bit of a boy's club atmosphere not especially informed by gender considerations or female perspectives.

[ footnote to footnote ]

Meta-this, Meta-that

Metafilter ( http://www.metafilter.com ) is a good example of a smaller 'Zillablog whose owner/operator

who no doubt was picqued at my observation that his business - though undeniably very influential - sports probably the revenue of a tiny roadside summer clam shack on Cape Cod. But, clam shacks don't confer the perks of speaking engagements or the ear of venture capitalists.

employs a lighter touch, with a closer ear to community consensus. This is done, in part, via an idiosyncratic and hugely time consuming institution - like an enormous ongoing chat club of linguistic flaying via high level repartee and put down - known as "Metatalk" by which members are whupped by community disapproval, called out for misbehavior in "The Blue" - the Metafilter front page - and hauled off for public shaming and excoriation in "the Gray", a seperate site section. There no official punishments attached to this public shaming, though, and Metafilter's owner only takes action if repeatedly provoked and in reaction to extreme misbehavior. Interestingly, this institution seems to build site - brand, that is - loyalty and consumes little of Matt Haughey's time while gobbling up vast amounts of member energy that is willingly, and even enthusiatically, contributed to this community gendarme function.

Why do they do it ? Well beyond the Cheersallure common to all Net chat rooms ( a place where everyone knows your name or at least your pseudonym or avatar ) this is due perhaps to a distinction anthropolgists might make between "formal" / "official" culture, the land of rules, protocol, and laws [ rules for public conduct ], and "informal" culture [ what we do and say behind closed doors ]. This is not Levi-Strauss's "Raw"/"Cooked" distinction but it embodies a bit of the distinction between "profane" and "sacred" and also between formal space and hang-out space. Another curious - and somewhat unique to big blogs - feature is Ask Metafilter, where members can ask - of one another - questions both practical, romantic, and absurd, as in this legendary post :

Could a typical young man, armed only with a knife, (say, six or eight inches long) be trained to consistently "win" fights with a grizzly bear? Assume no element of surprise.

by Bruce Wilson on 11/16/2005 10:26:33 AM EST

[ Parent ]

On the young man and the bear..... (none / 0)

The answer - of course - is no, or "only if the knife happens to also be a laser guided surface to surface missile, or at least an RPG, and the young man spots the bear's approach from miles away and has good aim."

But - you'll see if you read the discussion - getting to that conclusion is all the fun.

by Bruce Wilson on 11/16/2005 10:38:42 AM EST

[ Parent ]

My "open source" problem (none / 0)

(And really, this probably would be better as a comment in an article or diary you'd post here ... or somewhere ... since we're probably going astray.)

My problem with the open source model, in a nutshell, is that it creates a HUGE pile of information, the vast majority of which is useless in terms of pulling together a coherent narrative about an individual issue. Yet you don't want to limit what information is dumped into it, because you simply never know what will prove useful down the road; some piece of information or analysis that seemed like nothing later turns out to be a vital puzzle piece.

In my experience, the tendency to solve this problem centers on discussions of software and technology. And while more user-friendly sorting certainly would be useful for most projects, the ultimate problem is, in my view, a human one -- someone, or several someones, need to make judgment decisions about what really fits into an investigative line of inquiry or not. Thus, while I am sympathetic (but often bored) with discussions about "tools," I think these topics are STILL avoiding the problem at the core of it all: some kind of task-assignment needs to be made, with the understanding that human analysis is absolutely necessary to the process. And since many progressives balk at that human analysis residing in one person or one group of people, the process gets slowed to the point of molasses as discussions begin about who has a "voice" and are we honoring it and endless circular arguments about "process" take place (the process of process of process, eventually), until all work toward turning out a final PRODUCT gets shunted aside.

Because like it or not, if we want to influence real world events, we need to come up with a coherent narrative of issues, based upon a vast body of seemingly unrelated facts. And only people can do that. Not tools or software or programs.

by SusanG on 11/16/2005 12:31:12 PM EST

[ Parent ]

: Susan, well I tend to agree. (none / 0)

I think I agree completely with your assesment there and have thought of an interesting approach to further discussion along those lines which I've forwarded to Tom.
In short, I've got some writeups on citizen journalism, "social software" ( such as Scoop ) and perhaps the attitudes and culture of the progressive/left that have a bearing on those. I've thought an approach of posting a series - which you'd be welcome to contribute to - to be released in stages in turn at Cortex, MSOC's site, and on Talk To Action, especially if I can make it relevant to the mission of that site.
You've brought up another important point there - maybe the most crucial even : that the relative inefficacy of the left - or to put it less critically, one deficit which if addressed would alow the left be more effective at achieving its goals - can be in part traced to refusal to accept that in order to get things done there must be clear lines of authority rules, boundaries.... all of the typical aspects you expect to find in functional governmental, military, business - or most social organizations - that are effective.
Also, one related aspect of this I've noticed is an odd refusal - which I've certainly noticed in the blogoshpere - to acknowledge the uses of professional specialization. Given the stock in trade of the blogosphere - endless fussilades of opinion and much less professionally informed commentary - this is not surprising but I suspect it also stands in the way of real - i.e. investigative - journalism.
by Bruce Wilson on 11/16/2005 03:54:18 PM EST

[ Parent ]

I don't know either..... (none / 0)

I've tried this once or twice and it does produce a very significant traffic spike.

But, the story has to be significant - or sound so at least - and I'm not sure what ePm has produced lately although I've heard rumors they've got some good stories cooking....

by Bruce Wilson on 11/15/2005 04:11:54 PM EST

[ Parent ]

: we'vve mostly been doing candidate interviews (none / 0)

and quiet little things.
But, as you suggest, we've got more than a few big irons in the fire, and I think you'll see some fairly big news coming from us soon
(sorry for the vagueness of this answer...)
Visit
by Timroff on 11/15/2005 04:25:08 PM EST

[ Parent ]
: and today saw the unveiling (none / 0)

of one of the new "big things."
Did you see the new Timelines section at ePM yet? It's a very interesting tool...
Visit
by Timroff on 11/16/2005 04:31:52 PM EST

[ Parent ]

There is little doubt that, (none / 0)

although the majority of the Cortex founding members are staunch Kossacks, this site will inevitably develop a truly original voice and personality separate from our original home.

Even better, that poersonality will be defined not only by the core group of writers, but also from the community that grows with us.

Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic

by Tom Ball on 11/15/2005 12:29:55 PM EST

In fact (none / 0)

if you're looking for something new and bold -- something that you can grow with and help to define the community's voice and personality, the Cortex is the place.

We're new and we are ready to rock, And once you take a look at some of the writers that founded the Cortex (And I'm not including myself in that assessment), it will be clear that it is just a matter of time before the Cortex grows into a meaningful blogosphere force.

So join us by registering NOW

Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic

by Tom Ball on 11/15/2005 12:34:53 PM EST

There's nothing wrong with cross-posting (none / 1)

so long as you're open about it, in my opinion...it's just a way of reaching more people if what you have to say, in your own mind, is important enough to share with others.

If you crosspost everything, however, then you run the risk of becoming tedious and that's not exactly how anyone wants to be perceived.

Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right

by darthstar on 11/15/2005 01:06:00 PM EST

Worse than tedious. (none / 1)

If you post on 4 different blogs, as some do, which one will you respond to comments on? If all you want to do is write, and have people read it, without interaction, that's not a blog, it's a newspaper article.

For me, when I know something is available everywhere, it seems I'm less likely to read it at all, ie; "I'll check that out when I get to xyz." And, no rush, since that poster is probably long gone to the next site.

by roysol on 11/15/2005 02:04:53 PM EST

[ Parent ]

: That's a good point. (none / 1)

I often go back and look for resposnes to my responses to others (this moment is a good example)...I figure it should be a two-way discussion, and that is a feature that cross-posting can affect negatively.
Thanks for the comment, by the way.
Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right
by darthstar on 11/15/2005 02:38:01 PM EST

[ Parent ]
: My question... (none / 0)

would be, what is it you are writing? A discussion or an article? If you are writing an article or "op-ed piece", I would not expect the author to respond and posting to several sites would maximize your exposure. If you are begining a discussion, and are soliciting feedback, posting to one site would be optimal and you can respond in a more coherant manner.
by Emeriol on 11/15/2005 04:44:15 PM EST

[ Parent ]

I honestly don't know... (none / 1)

...which way is 'better.'

I crosspost my daily diaries at 4 sites (Kos, Boo, MLW, Euro), and was recently asked to post it at a fifth site.

I didn't respond, but I also didn't take up on the offer (kind of rude, I know).

I crosspost to get in front of more people, though with the cross-readership that's not a huge amount of leverage.

My diaries don't generate very much discussion, and that's generally not the point anyway, so maybe my situation is different than most diarists who seek to generate lots of discussion.

Finally - time is a precious commodity, and while I applaud the proliferation of progressively-minded sites like Cortex et al, I lament my own inability to spend an adequate amount of time and energy at them all - or at the few on the surface that I'm able to scratch.

I know I'm missing out on community as well as content, but I can't spend 14 hours/day reading and writing.

So, I guess I like cross-posted content because it comes to me, rather than the other way around. And I like to be able to post my stuff in several locations, for the chance to be seen more widely.

"...psychopaths have little difficulty infiltrating the domains of...politics, law enforcement, (and) government." Dr. Robert Hare

by RubDMC on 11/15/2005 01:28:00 PM EST

Trying to think of my own reading habits.... (none / 0)

....I like to read Kid Oakland and he posts occationally at Booman and dkos, but his home is his own site and I got here daily to see what's up.

I, personally, will post here and that will be that....unless I find the answer to all of life's questions, in which case, I'll post at Free Republic as well.

The Albany Project. The best damned blog about New York State politics.

by NYBri on 11/15/2005 01:28:58 PM EST

I got here (none / 1)

because of cross-posting. It's a good idea.

ARGville: Strong opinions, Advice, Discussion Forum, Humor, and some typos

by victornj on 11/15/2005 01:36:29 PM EST

: Ditto! (none / 1)

Only here because of Georgia10's cross post on DailyKOS.
One thing to consider is that a significant amount of the people that will read blogs are only now discovering them... although I have been reading & posting to blogs for some time, I only stumbled across DKOS about a month ago. I found it from a crosspost on another site which I found through a crosspost on a third site that I discovered from a blogroll on yet another...Now, four sites later, here I am at PC.
My $0.02 : cross-post articles only, and do it on a limited basis. Draws readers in, but maintains the uniqueness of your site.
by Emeriol on 11/15/2005 04:51:31 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Depends on the subject matter ... (none / 0)

...in my opinion, and what the writer is trying to accomplish. For those of us whose chief mission is activism, discussion (per se) may not be the main goal, and getting information to the largest number of people may be what motivates us most.

Few people can visit more than a handful of blogs each day. If you want to reach a substantial audience and not merely bounce around in an echo chamber, posting in a few different locations may make perfect sense. The discussions you have at these different sites can often be startlingly different.

Understandably, you PC folks want to up the attendance here, and you may be right that only posting here - and not cross-posting - will drive traffic this way. Or, you may find that your readership dwindles as a result. I hope that you consider the actual results after a couple of months. If traffic doesn't rise significantly, I hope you all reconsider. I'd hate to see so many fine writers/thinkers limit their readership.

by Meteor Blades on 11/15/2005 01:41:55 PM EST

Good points, MB (none / 0)

Because discussion--and in some rare cases when things can make it to the front page of a mega-blog like dKos, influence on policy-makers--is a primary goal, it's hard to make the decision to limit venues.

I've been a strong proponent of originality at all sites, and had the grand vision of writing on separate issues at each place. Then reality struck, and I've found I don't really have time or energy to write one or two pieces a week, much less four or five to scatter about blogotopia. If I manage to come up with anything I think is particularly good, I'm likely to be cross-posting it. At least for the next few months.

by mcjoan on 11/15/2005 01:55:18 PM EST

[ Parent ]

How's it handled at Next Hurrah? (none / 0)

Do you and the other posters there EVER only post there? Do you all ever fret about not having significant traffic there? Had you ever had these discussions?

I agree that we'll need to ponder and assess as we go along. One of the things I MOST dislike about progressive blogs is everyone's insistence that you don't TRY something unless you can guarantee its 100 percent success beforehand.

Really, the risks aren't that onerous. No one's going to die if we adopt no-cross-posting, or try a hybrid, or continue cross-posting or whatever. It's a learning experience in a new medium, and hell ... it's supposed to be experimental and cutting edge and all that, and if you can't handle the huge "risks" (ha!) involved, really ... you ought to stick to ... I don't know ... crocheting or something.

Really, when you see some of the instinctive recoiling at DKos about the slightest possible tweak in the system, you'd think you were dealing with people in love with the 13th century. For all our touted openness to change, we can be awfully reactionary about our favorite "things." (Witness the enormous amount of grief that went on at DKos when he tweaked the look of the site months ago. My God. It made me want to pound my head against a wall.)

by SusanG on 11/15/2005 02:00:35 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Yes, we at ... (none / 0)

...The Next Hurrah often post only there.

by Meteor Blades on 11/15/2005 02:23:47 PM EST

[ Parent ]

: Thanks, MB (none / 0)

Hurrah is a good model for a successful "start up."
by Devilstower on 11/15/2005 04:32:04 PM EST

[ Parent ]

More than simply (none / 0)

'driving up attendance' we want to develop a community with a voice -- a unique voice that offers, perhaps, a different perspective on the state of the world.

That might be ushered along by a no-regular-cross-posting policy. Maybe not. We'll find out soon enough.

In the meantime, I think it's important that we focus on nurturing a Cortex community, developing our own community personality and otherwise providing the best environment, information and discussion that we possibly can.

If we can do all that, there is little doubt in my mind that the traffic will come naturally.

Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic

by Tom Ball on 11/15/2005 02:56:04 PM EST

[ Parent ]

SOmeone should post... (none / 0)

The urls to the x-posted PC diaries at DKOs today -- or did you guys decide not to do it? I can't take the time to scroll through all the diaries looking for them, but if they're posted here, I'll click and recommend each and every single goddamned one, by gosh, by golly, by gum!

-9.63, -7.03... Rage, rage against the Lying of the Right at MLW

by Maryscott OConnor on 11/15/2005 03:02:25 PM EST

: The ones I can find (none / 0)

Georgia10
Frederick Clarkson
btyarbro
Tom Ball
Devilstower
NYBri
I know I missed at least a couple.
by Devilstower on 11/15/2005 04:13:42 PM EST

[ Parent ]

I'm not sure (none / 0)

whether there's any real utility in adopting a strategy of restraint, (i.e refraining from cross-posting), in an open source arena like the blogosphere where, presumably, (at least from the liberal/progressive blogging perspective), the intent is to propagate the best and most relevant info across the widest community possible.

I understand the pragmatic realities of blog hosting as far as time, money and devotion are concerned, and I'm sure many promising blogs start up and fade quickly due to lack of exposure or lack of ability to keep up with the demands of maintainng the site.

My experience in the blogs is as a commenter, and only infrequently as a diarist. I travel to quite a few blogs through the course of an average day, and I find the interlocking personalities that contribute to several blogs very appealing and very useful.

With any of the blogs I frequent, regardless of how much time I might spend at each, I would say this. In order to help prevent the implementation of a strategy to not crosspost on other sites, I'd be willing to commit to spending more time at your particular blog, commenting as vigorously as I might be able, and interacting with the ads to the extent those ads might have relevance for me.

I'm familiar with many of the names here at Political Cortex and I'm hopeful that I will see your sigs around the blogosphere almost as much in the future as I have in the past. And the more frequently I see your sigs and commentary elsewhere, the more stimulus I have that reminds me to come here. As Maryscott O'connor mentioned above, when she posts elsewhere and links/plugs her own site, her traffic at MLW goes up. And I think this sort of substantive inter-blog connection is a powerful form of advertising to draw attention to one'sown blog.

My own successes in business have been erratic, so I'm no authority on the business side of blogging. But I do believe it is our individual selves who provide the value to the blogosphere regardless of which particular site we may determine to be our home. I want the "WE" of us to be as broad and cooperative as possible if for no other reason than that is the way toward enlightenment and joy.

by sbj on 11/15/2005 06:18:54 PM EST

We've got a discussion going about this (none / 0)

...over at My Left Wing. Your feedback is most welcome.

I'm not a part of a redneck agenda - Green Day

by eugene on 11/19/2005 06:19:05 PM EST

Open Thread | 54 comments (54 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)