An idea...
I don’t think there’s a blogging program out there right now that makes collaborative blogging as easy as Tumblr does. Hell, one of the big lures of a tumblelog is it’s ease of use. A tumblelog can be tweaked at will if you know what you’re doing, added to, spruced up, you name it. There are no limitations on what stat trackers you can use (I’m looking at you Wordpress — I love my statcounter, and Wordpress makes it very hard to use that program), and you can add comments if you want — or not. I’ve been enjoying not having comments on this particular blog, though I’m not sure why. I think I’ve grown tired of the commenting culture so prevalent on most blogs today. I feel obligated to have comments on my crime blog, but not here. (That truly may change. We’ll see.)
One by-product of Tumblr’s being so easy to use has been the development of a couple of remarkable group blogs. The sites were founded on the same principle as the famous PostSecret.blogspot.com — allow people to send you anonymous material with a theme. The site owner has editorial control, but you, the reader, are the author. With PostSecret, people send artistic, often brilliant post cards that contain a personal secret. The submissions are completely anonymous. The result has been compelling enough to spawn a book and imitators.
In a way, Postcards From Yo Mama, edited by Doree Shafrir and Jessica Grose, is very similar, only the theme for that site is focused on our mothers. From the About page:
Does your mom still have an AOL account? Does she email you her random, yet charming, thoughts on life and love? Does she wish you called more often? Postcards From Yo Momma is a collection of the many delightful correspondences these traits inspire.
I recently found another site with an even simpler theme, and I’m addicted to it: http://iamneurotic.com/. It’s very simple — just “send your or others’ neuroses” in to an e-mail address or through a submission form. The site editors review all the submissions, and post them within a day, usually. Why it’s such addictive reading, I don’t know, but it is.
So I’ve had an idea along these lines. I won’t begin to claim it is original or anything like that.
I’m fascinated with the paranormal, the strange, the unexplained. Yes, I’m talking about ghosts, aliens, bigfoot, ancient mysteries, UFOs, chupacabra, the Mothman, you name it. I love that stuff.
My idea is for a Tumblelog with a design similar to I am Neurotic, with an e-mail address and form for submissions from readers, but ask instead for stories of the strange. Not regurgitated urban legends, but family stories of the strange and unexplained: your granny’s tale of the lady in the hoopskirt; your grandpa’s encounter with the orange flying thing. Most families have these. Sometimes they are b.s. — but some families treasure these tales.
I’d simply edit the site in the same way the I am Neurotic editors do with their own site, paring away submissions for length, spelling, grammar and the like. I’d also be on the lookout for old stories re-packaged as a personal anecdote, that kind of thing.
I’m going to start putting together this site soon, and will post updates here and on The True Crime Weblog as I go along.
UPDATE
Just so it’s clear, I have indeed created the site described above:
